New to This Site -- Need some help

[brianbazar]

I bought a new 2010 MiniLite 2304 for my wife for Christmas. We are about to be empty nesters after the first week of January, and are excited to go camping and spend some weekends away. We have not had our dealer "walk through" yet and I made a rookie mistake by not asking how to turn on the furnace. Can someone please help me out? I see a Suburban thermostat, with only a dial from cooler to warmer on the top, with no on/off switch or anything. Any suggestions? Gas is on, as I am able to light the stove top burners. There is no outside door for the furnace that I can see. There are the two vents on the outside, and a couple of ducts inside and the grate covering the furnace at the bottom of the cabinets.

[Emptypockets]

If as you say the stove burners light then just turn the temp up to the desired temp. It does take it a little while to light & also fan runs awhile after the flame goes out as a cool down mode.

The only on/off is pushing completely to the lowest temp - at the very last you will feel it or hear it click.

[MtnGuy]

1st off, welcome to the forum !!!

Get the dealer to show you during the PDI how the furnace works. And you can post a picture for those that have the same thermostat so you can get "real world" directions on how that puppy works.

[brianbazar]

Originally Posted by Emptypockets

If as you say the stove burners light then just turn the temp up to the desired temp. It does take it a little while to light & also fan runs awhile after the flame goes out as a cool down mode.

The only on/off is pushing completely to the lowest temp - at the very last you will feel it or hear it click.

Must be a bad thermostat because there is no clicking when I move the setting to off or up to warm, and the fan motor does not come on the furnace at all. Welcome any suggestions...is there a switch other than the breakers...I checked and all were in the on position as well.

[brianbazar]

Originally Posted by brianbazar

Must be a bad thermostat because there is no clicking when I move the setting to off or up to warm, and the fan motor does not come on the furnace at all. Welcome any suggestions...is there a switch other than the breakers...I checked and all were in the on position as well.

And thanks guys for the quick reply to my question.

[donn]

Check the fuses at the converter panel first. Second, be sure it is not set for AC and is on heat. Third, turn the furnace on, and set the Tstat to 75 or even 80 and wait a few seconds. Should be able to hear a click,click as the igniter tries to fire the furnace. If nothing, then it is time for a trip back to the dealer for a more thorough PDI.

[brianbazar]

Originally Posted by brianbazar

I bought a new 2010 MiniLite 2304 for my wife for Christmas. We are about to be empty nesters after the first week of January, and are excited to go camping and spend some weekends away. We have not had our dealer "walk through" yet and I made a rookie mistake by not asking how to turn on the furnace. Can someone please help me out? I see a Suburban thermostat, with only a dial from cooler to warmer on the top, with no on/off switch or anything. Any suggestions? Gas is on, as I am able to light the stove top burners. There is no outside door for the furnace that I can see. There are the two vents on the outside, and a couple of ducts inside and the grate covering the furnace at the bottom of the cabinets.

Eureka!!! I read on another site to turn off the gas at the propane bottle for 5 minutes, then turn the gas back on, and then turn the thermostat back on, as this is sometimes necessary on initial use to move air out of lines....IT WORKED!!! We will be warm after all!!

[Herk7769]

That tip is here as well. The furnace is the biggest propane draw in the system and can trigger the new style valve into thinking there is a massive leak and shut off the propane.

While it is "off" there is still enough flow to light the top burners, but the flame is very low and will not increase as you turn the knob.

Shutting off the valve for about a minute, the SLOWLY opening it with everything off inside will allow the pressure in the lines to stabilize and not trigger the shutoff valve when the furnace kicks on. You will need to do this with BOTH bottles to avoid a "failure to switch over" when the first burns empty.

[Offagain]

You always want to turn your gas on slowly and only one full rotation from full closed. Also, you will probably want to invest in a ceramic heater as keeping warm strictly with your furnace will deplete your gas relatively quick. We have one and with that running our furnace rarely goes on, and we've camped in some pretty cold weather. Good luck to you.

[old guys]

I'll second the electric ceramic heater. It's amazing how much heat they can put out and also how much propane the furnace can use. The heater is also much quieter than the furnace.

[Dakota EV]

I will agree with the extra electric heater. That way you are using the campsite electricty and not your gas. We were lucky that our V-Lite came with an electric fireplace and we use it alot. We seldom have to use the gas furnance since the fireplace will heat the trailer most of the time and we also bought a small electric heater for the bedroom for the nights when the temperature got too cold.

[bigdaddy23]

Welcome to the form. The dealer will do a walk through at PDI. They will show you how it works.