floor ducts vs wall ducts

jeffrenaud · 11-23-2018, 08:48 AM

Just picked up my Northern Spirit 2963BH. Had a few issues that I am not going to be able to get back to the dealership for 6 months. In the meantime...I am looking to fix them up. have already taken 2 off my bucket list...but now I am to the heating ducts.

All of my ducts are in the walls or cabinets. I have 5. The bathroom door, main door and kitchen all have full sized (6 inch?) round vents that work well. My living room and front bedroom have the same vents...They have no heat coming from them. I pulled the inspection plate off from under the stove to find that the piping coming off the furnace is maybe 2" round at the best for those two. I can see one was disconnected althogether. It seems to go into a hole in the floor. When I jammed the hose back into the hole...the bedroom duct got warm to the touch...but had little to no airflow.

Any advice? What should these connections look like? should there be something coming up from the floor to connect to? Can I access them from below the trailer. This is the last issue...if I can't fix it...it will have to go back to the dealer...but because it is a 6 hour drive...I would like to avoid it. And...learn the lesson...next time...even if it isn't the exact model you want...buy local..... I got my dream trailer...but some of the experience (warranty) is turning out to be a nightmare.

5picker · 11-23-2018, 09:00 AM

Heat duct suggestions are hit and miss.
It seems EVERY one of these R/Vs are ducted differently, even like models so what works on one unit may not even pertain to another.

It is not uncommon to hear of crushed ducts, unhooked ducts, misrouted ducts, wires laying on ducts restricting the flow of the ducts.. etc... you get the picture.

You are simply going to have to pull the areas where the ducts run and see what might have happened. Sometimes that is in cabinets, behind false panels or sometimes it is in the underbelly.

Keep in mind some units use the radiant heat from the duct work to help heat the underbelly or plumbing so keep that in mind should you decide to do some rerouting.

cavie · 11-23-2018, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffrenaud

Just picked up my Northern Spirit 2963BH. Had a few issues that I am not going to be able to get back to the dealership for 6 months. In the meantime...I am looking to fix them up. have already taken 2 off my bucket list...but now I am to the heating ducts.

All of my ducts are in the walls or cabinets. I have 5. The bathroom door, main door and kitchen all have full sized (6 inch?) round vents that work well. My living room and front bedroom have the same vents...They have no heat coming from them. I pulled the inspection plate off from under the stove to find that the piping coming off the furnace is maybe 2" round at the best for those two. I can see one was disconnected althogether. It seems to go into a hole in the floor. When I jammed the hose back into the hole...the bedroom duct got warm to the touch...but had little to no airflow.

Any advice? What should these connections look like? should there be something coming up from the floor to connect to? Can I access them from below the trailer. This is the last issue...if I can't fix it...it will have to go back to the dealer...but because it is a 6 hour drive...I would like to avoid it. And...learn the lesson...next time...even if it isn't the exact model you want...buy local..... I got my dream trailer...but some of the experience (warranty) is turning out to be a nightmare.

I am a little confused as to your vents and ductwork. You say Ducts are in walls or Cabenits. I havents seen that before. Your furnace is on the floor as you know. The air is forced out from under the furnace thru ducts in the floor. That's whey you can't see them. Yes, sometimes they also run sum you can see. 2" seems way too small for heat ductwork unless it is a very short run thru a cabinet as you mentioned. I Have one in mine that comes up from the floor in the bathroom and blows out the side of the cabinet but that is reverse of what you're talking about. Does this 2" duct come off the furnace? Pictures would help.

jeffrenaud · 11-23-2018, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cavie

I am a little confused as to your vents and ductwork. You say Ducts are in walls or Cabenits. I havents seen that before. Your furnace is on the floor as you know. The air is forced out from under the furnace thru ducts in the floor. That's whey you can't see them. Yes, sometimes they also run sum you can see. 2" seems way too small for heat ductwork unless it is a very short run thru a cabinet as you mentioned. I Have one in mine that comes up from the floor in the bathroom and blows out the side of the cabinet but that is reverse of what you're talking about. Does this 2" duct come off the furnace? Pictures would help.

I can take the access panel off and take pictures later. basically the unit is under the oven. it has 3 large ducts (similar to a household dryer vent) that run along the floor inside of the cabinets...all of them work. I also have two smaller silver collapsible tubes that come off the furnace and are hot. I cannot see where one of them goes...but the other for a into a roughly cut 2"hole in the floor when I pushed in tighter (further)...the bedroom vent became warm to the touch with little to no airflow. Just trying to understand what is between that "hole in the floor and the bedroom vent which is mounted in the only interior wall...about i" off the floor.

jeffrenaud · 11-23-2018, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5picker

Heat duct suggestions are hit and miss.
It seems EVERY one of these R/Vs are ducted differently, even like models so what works on one unit may not even pertain to another.

It is not uncommon to hear of crushed ducts, unhooked ducts, misrouted ducts, wires laying on ducts restricting the flow of the ducts.. etc... you get the picture.

You are simply going to have to pull the areas where the ducts run and see what might have happened. Sometimes that is in cabinets, behind false panels or sometimes it is in the underbelly.

Keep in mind some units use the radiant heat from the duct work to help heat the underbelly or plumbing so keep that in mind should you decide to do some rerouting.

I have opened the panel to the unit as well as a fake panel beside it. I can clearly see where all the big vents are going. I am more interested in the "underbelly " as it seems my bedroom is connected to a smaller silver tube whumich seems to simply be jammed in a hole in the floor. I am wondering how I access that connection

5picker · 11-23-2018, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffrenaud

I have opened the panel to the unit as well as a fake panel beside it. I can clearly see where all the big vents are going. I am more interested in the "underbelly " as it seems my bedroom is connected to a smaller silver tube whumich seems to simply be jammed in a hole in the floor. I am wondering how I access that connection

You are going to have to remove the underbelly.

Some underbellies are made of Coroplast, a plastic like cardboard.
Some are made of a fabric material similar to a plastic tarp.

Neither are real easy to remove as both types are typically laid on the framework BEFORE the body is installed. Sometimes the Coroplast is fastened to the frame with fasteners that are shot in with a 22 caliber fastener system and are difficult to remove. Often, removal of very large pieces is the only way to get it down.

Another method of access is to cut a three sided access hole (flap) with the remaining 'hinge' side towards the front. Then you can pull down the flap and inspect and then reseal with good sealing tape or EternaBond tape.

If the underbelly is fabric, there are some mobile homes that have the same design underbelly and there are special tapes made to reseal the fabric once cut for access.

Regardless... either 'cutting' method will leave the underbelly less than perfect but it is often the only choice.

FrankMor · 11-23-2018, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cavie

I am a little confused as to your vents and ductwork. You say Ducts are in walls or Cabenits. I havents seen that before. Your furnace is on the floor as you know. The air is forced out from under the furnace thru ducts in the floor. That's whey you can't see them. Yes, sometimes they also run sum you can see. 2" seems way too small for heat ductwork unless it is a very short run thru a cabinet as you mentioned. I Have one in mine that comes up from the floor in the bathroom and blows out the side of the cabinet but that is reverse of what you're talking about. Does this 2" duct come off the furnace? Pictures would help.

Vents in the wall/cabinets/furniture are quite common. Out 2015 Coachman 248RBS TT had them and our 2015 Windsport 27K has them. No vents in the floor in either of them. The Windsport furnace is under the floor.

Frank

whj77372 · 11-23-2018, 12:53 PM

2018 Cardinal 3825 FL: five heat vents, bedroom wall, bathroom wall, kitchen cabinet, staircase on wall and floor in living area. The intake is in bedroom wall near floor on my side of bed. I think it is a little nosey but BH said it will not keep me awake.

SailorSam20500 · 11-23-2018, 01:32 PM

I had problems with a couple of ducts in my rig not providing decent heat or airflow. Front half of my underbelly detatched itself on a trip forcing me to totally remove it.
The mylar flex ducts used were so long, they were dragging on the ground. Doing some research on the proper use of that stuff indicates, that for optimal airflow, the duct should be pulled taught. Forcing use of rigid elbows where needed.
So, in your case, the 2" duct you are talking about that has problems may well be too long. If it is slack, there may be bends further restricting flow. Also, critters are known to chew holes in that stuff...

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