Fridge and furnace not lighting quickly

steverkemp · 06-24-2015, 03:45 PM

Hi all, new Forester 3171 here and several issues with gas appliances. I suspect this may be an issue that the gas pressure isn't being appropriately regulated. Here is what is happening. Lease let me know what you think.

1. Fridge- takes no less than 4-5 minutes to stay lit. It will light then go out repeatedly then will finally stay lit. When the flame does light it sounds like it may be getting to much gas. (The sound is as if the the wind is blowing while using my camp chef)

2. Furnace- this will usually light right up but last night when it was cold it would not light at all and would fault. I turned the coach power off and on to try again. It took several cycles of this before it finally lit. Again, close to the same sound as fridge as mentioned above.

3. Hot water heater- This hasn't given me any issues lighting but it does sound like the other appliances when lit though.

Thanks !

benagi · 06-24-2015, 05:59 PM

Steve, I don't like all the problems you have been posting regarding your new 2016 3171. As you know, we have the same unit but it hasn't seen home yet because the passenger slide still not fixed since it arrived at the dealer over a week ago. Wish it was here so I could compare notes with you and try the things you are having problems with. Hope things get better down the road and once you get thru the debugging stage you will be able to enjoy for many years to come.

Crockett · 06-24-2015, 06:37 PM

new tanks are pressure tested with air at the tank factory. when the dealer gets them from FR, they have to be purged. if FR is testing these coaches at the factory they must use their own tanks. so, these tanks arrive at the dealers with compressed air in them. if the dealer fills them on top of compressed air instead of purging it first, then you see where you could have issues. too lean mixture(noisy), and sporadic behavior. just listing this as a possibility...

steverkemp · 06-24-2015, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benagi

Steve, I don't like all the problems you have been posting regarding your new 2016 3171. As you know, we have the same unit but it hasn't seen home yet because the passenger slide still not fixed since it arrived at the dealer over a week ago. Wish it was here so I could compare notes with you and try the things you are having problems with. Hope things get better down the road and once you get thru the debugging stage you will be able to enjoy for many years to come.

Well, I could list the million other things that are working. Sorry to concern you. I'm all in in the middle of Yellowstone and there's no better place to be debugging if you catch my drift

. I hope they get things figured out for you very soon!!!

steverkemp · 06-24-2015, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crockett

new tanks are pressure tested with air at the tank factory. when the dealer gets them from FR, they have to be purged. if FR is testing these coaches at the factory they must use their own tanks. so, these tanks arrive at the dealers with compressed air in them. if the dealer fills them on top of compressed air instead of purging it first, then you see where you could have issues. too lean mixture(noisy), and sporadic behavior. just listing this as a possibility...

Boy, that sounds very likely. Thank you. Would temperature or some other factor play into that? The fridge will eventually stay lit after a while... Just curious.

Crockett · 06-25-2015, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steverkemp

Boy, that sounds very likely. Thank you. Would temperature or some other factor play into that? The fridge will eventually stay lit after a while... Just curious.

try another tank rather than dump gas and refill. just hook up and purge manifold through range for a few minutes. maybe run the water heater a few as well. then check for operation. if all smoothes out, then dump gas. it would seem to me that if the tank sits then the air would settle to the top and be concentrated. once propane was used, the liquid would boil off in the tank and the concentration would lessen. purely speculation on my part...lol. give it a try

Crockett · 06-25-2015, 12:52 AM

just noticed were talking motorhome here. an extenda- stay would be a nice and easy mod to test this with, especially if you were contemplating the mod anyway. otherwise youll be under the coach hooking up another tank. when i experienced this problem in the past it wreaked havok on smaller flames, especially pilots. youll have to determine the best direction to test this theory depending on the amount of propane youll have to dump and other factors. keep us posted...and good luck.

Harkerr · 06-25-2015, 05:50 PM

It takes several attempts to purge air from the lines to keep reefer lit. I start by getting a stove burner lit then start the reefer. Usually takes three tries to stay lit. Once that stays lot furnace and wh are no problem. This is normal start up after winter shutdown

steverkemp · 06-26-2015, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harkerr

It takes several attempts to purge air from the lines to keep reefer lit. I start by getting a stove burner lit then start the reefer. Usually takes three tries to stay lit. Once that stays lot furnace and wh are no problem. This is normal start up after winter shutdown

This is taking upwards of 30 tries. It will light and stay lit for 1-5 seconds. Then progressively longer.

steverkemp · 06-26-2015, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crockett

just noticed were talking motorhome here. an extenda- stay would be a nice and easy mod to test this with, especially if you were contemplating the mod anyway. otherwise youll be under the coach hooking up another tank. when i experienced this problem in the past it wreaked havok on smaller flames, especially pilots. youll have to determine the best direction to test this theory depending on the amount of propane youll have to dump and other factors. keep us posted...and good luck.

You're info alone is enough for me to go back to the dealer with to have them figure it out. I'll also price out an extend a stay option for the future.

EastlakeRoo · 06-26-2015, 06:02 AM

Sounds like a bad regulator or air leak somewhere. Shouldn't take 30 attempts to keep a stove burner lit. Seeing how its a new unit I would get on the phone with dealer.

rbetzwieser · 06-26-2015, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EastlakeRoo

Sounds like a bad regulator or air leak somewhere. Shouldn't take 30 attempts to keep a stove burner lit. Seeing how its a new unit I would get on the phone with dealer.

I second that. Mine went in the first year!

Crockett · 06-26-2015, 02:40 PM

i just put a camco 2 stage in an old winnie. they have a built in manometer. got bad reg creep, would not hold. generally they raise about 1" water column after going to static load. you use to just tap at the range burner head but all the appliances have their own regs now except fridge. thats the best port to test IMO. gonna start testing after every reg install now...

Crockett · 06-26-2015, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steverkemp

You're info alone is enough for me to go back to the dealer with to have them figure it out. I'll also price out an extend a stay option for the future.

i know the dot tanks are not purged...not absolute on the ASME motorhome tanks. your dealer will know...good luck

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