Furnace Question

rburns4147 · 03-17-2014, 05:37 AM

We were packing our new 8285IKWS fifth wheel last Friday. It was cool, so to heat the coach up and to see how well it worked, I fired up the furnace. There are four floor vents, two in the living area, one at the top of the stairs next to the bathroom door, and one in the bathroom. The two that are in the living area seem to have very little air flow. The other two have good airflow. After a while, the living area was noticeably cooler than the bathroom and bedroom.

There is also a vent in the basement storage area. I shut that one off but it didn't seem to make a lot of difference for airflow in the living area. There might be another vent under the floor somewhere, but that area is sealed.

Is this common? Is there anything I can do to restrict the air to the bathroom and bedroom areas to help with flow to the living area? Our old travel trailer had pretty even airflow to the front and back of the unit, but the furnace was more centered. The fifth wheel has the furnace more to the front.

SKnight · 03-17-2014, 08:51 AM

Mine has a similar situation, but I noticed that it balanced pretty well overall after a cycle of two. Now the bathroom, that gets toasty. I've thought about replacing the vent registers with household ones that can be shut off, they look to be a common size so should work easily.

Dave_Monica · 03-17-2014, 09:51 AM

Yes, unfortunately that is common. I suggest that you run the overhead fan on low speed (pushing down)...we find that it balances the heat much better.

Dave

BamaBob · 03-17-2014, 10:09 AM

This is a general heating comment and not directed toward your register issues...

I think this is one of the BEST reasons to invest in "them-thar new fangeled electric fireplaces"

We always viewed the electric fireplaces as a over the top novelty - the one-uppance of the RV world so to speak.

Then we picked up our Rockwood 8289WS...the fireplace was "Standard" with the Diamond package. Oh well....

Then our first night out in below 40º weather. Wow. Game-changer! We canturn on the ceiling fan, leave our electric fireplace on (it has a thermostat AND a remote control that works from the bedroom

and the whole unit stays warm! Oh, one night it got into the upper teens and I turned on the furnace but that was almost overkill (but made for a toasty warm bathroom!)

So, for those of you who are in the market for a new unit, do NOT dismiss the electronic fireplaces!

And for those of you who already own a unit without a fireplace - consider one of these:
Amazon.com - DeLonghi EW7707CB Safeheat 1500W ComforTemp Portable Oil-Filled Radiator - Black - Heaters
(BTW I have NO idea why Amazon says this is a $400 heater! We only paid $65 for it in Dec of 2013)

SKnight · 03-17-2014, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

This is a general heating comment and not directed toward your register issues...

I think this is one of the BEST reasons to invest in "them-thar new fangeled electric fireplaces"

We always viewed the electric fireplaces as a over the top novelty - the one-uppance of the RV world so to speak.

Then we picked up our Rockwood 8289WS...the fireplace was "Standard" with the Diamond package. Oh well....

Then our first night out in below 40º weather. Wow. Game-changer! We canturn on the ceiling fan, leave our electric fireplace on (it has a thermostat AND a remote control that works from the bedroom

and the whole unit stays warm! Oh, one night it got into the upper teens and I turned on the furnace but that was almost overkill (but made for a toasty warm bathroom!)

So, for those of you who are in the market for a new unit, do NOT dismiss the electronic fireplaces!

And for those of you who already own a unit without a fireplace - consider one of these:
Amazon.com - DeLonghi EW7707CB Safeheat 1500W ComforTemp Portable Oil-Filled Radiator - Black - Heaters
(BTW I have NO idea why Amazon says this is a $400 heater! We only paid $65 for it in Dec of 2013)

My unit has that fireplace, I've only used it one night but I had a very similar experience. Glad to hear it wasn't just a set of just right conditions. It doesn't seem to put out an extreme amount of heat but it did a great job of keeping the living area warm overnight. I thought it was just my imagination.

ddphillips52 · 03-17-2014, 03:15 PM

[QUOTE=SKnight;564900]Mine has a similar situation, but I noticed that it balanced pretty well overall after a cycle of two. Now the bathroom, that gets toasty. I've thought about replacing the vent registers with household ones that can be shut off, they look to be a common size so should work easily.[/QUOTe

The adjustable household vents are exact replacements for the vents in my 295RST. I replaced all of mine with them. Also, closing them helps to keep dirt out of the ductwork in the summer.

OldCoot · 03-17-2014, 03:33 PM

Our 8528RKWS was the opposite, little air flow in the bedroom/bath and a lot in the living room/kitchen. I put home style adjustable registers in the living room/kitchen and balanced them out just fine. Also re-sealed the duct work to the floor with the alum heating tape.

dirtracing · 03-17-2014, 06:25 PM

I have similar issue. I just spent 3 hrs at rockwood/flagstaff today about the heating issue. I have little to no airflow in any vents. Even checked one on the line. We spent one night in it with temps around 40 and froze. Didn't have a fireplace. Dealer had for 3 months this winter and even put in new furnace. Check all duct work. No probs found. I believe that the furnace is insufficient for these size campers. I have a 8528bhws. Furnace manufacture coming Tuesday to see what can be done. Flagstaff has been very helpful but I would just like to figure out the problem soon. Ready to go camping in a week. Will update you when I find out what they say.

garbonz · 03-17-2014, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtracing

I have similar issue. I just spent 3 hrs at rockwood/flagstaff today about the heating issue. I have little to no airflow in any vents. Even checked one on the line. We spent one night in it with temps around 40 and froze. Didn't have a fireplace. Dealer had for 3 months this winter and even put in new furnace. Check all duct work. No probs found. I believe that the furnace is insufficient for these size campers. I have a 8528bhws. Furnace manufacture coming Tuesday to see what can be done. Flagstaff has been very helpful but I would just like to figure out the problem soon. Ready to go camping in a week. Will update you when I find out what they say.

Unbelievable. its a friggin squirrel cage blower. It has a fan curve. Sounds like they need to hire an HVAC engineer To take static pressure readings at the fan outlet, and evaluate the duct sizes and outlet areas. It's not rocket science.

Brother Les · 03-17-2014, 07:23 PM

Just thinking out loud..... Not sure on your units, but have been told (have not taken weather covering off to see for my self) that the duct work under the floors of some units have holes in the piping to keep the under side 'heated'. Could too much air flow be wicked away in the duct work area and by the time the 'heat' force gets to the far ducts, there is just no force left.....

Not sure, just thinking out loud.

rburns4147 · 03-18-2014, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtracing

I have similar issue. I just spent 3 hrs at rockwood/flagstaff today about the heating issue. I have little to no airflow in any vents. Even checked one on the line. We spent one night in it with temps around 40 and froze. Didn't have a fireplace. Dealer had for 3 months this winter and even put in new furnace. Check all duct work. No probs found. I believe that the furnace is insufficient for these size campers. I have a 8528bhws. Furnace manufacture coming Tuesday to see what can be done. Flagstaff has been very helpful but I would just like to figure out the problem soon. Ready to go camping in a week. Will update you when I find out what they say.

I would be interested to see how this comes out. Can you post the results later or allow me to contact you?

Witch Doctor · 03-18-2014, 08:09 AM

It all has to do with size of the duct work and the distance from the FAU and where they took the run off the plenum. The ones at the end will get more air then the ones off the sides plenums are designed to bounce and mix the heat. Your heat exchanger will have hot and cooler spots in them that's why it needs to mix The biggest duct is 4" and only can get 90 cfms out of it at a 1/2" static pressure. I have seen them run 3 outlets off of 1- 4'' duct. So how much air do you think you are going to get off that at the end of the run. If your getting to much air and heat you need to put a damper at the plenum not the registers to force more air back to the others closing outlets is not the answer. You will get a lot more installing dampers. but closing will help. To check cover the floor register and see if it helps at all. More then likely you will just make that area cold. also with every twist or turn you will lose even more CFM.

cadman99 · 03-18-2014, 10:08 AM

The metal can (plenum) below the heater was poorly installed and had dropped about 2" below the floor on mine. Most of the hot air was blowing underneath the trailer. I pulled the can up and fastened securely and used aluminum duct tape around the edges. Huge difference in air flow out the vents.

BamaBob · 03-18-2014, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKnight

My unit has that fireplace, I've only used it one night but I had a very similar experience. Glad to hear it wasn't just a set of just right conditions. It doesn't seem to put out an extreme amount of heat but it did a great job of keeping the living area warm overnight. I thought it was just my imagination.

Do you have a ceiling fan? If so, turn it on and you will be amazed and the warm air circulation!

And yep, if you turn the fireplace on "high" it can darn near run you out of the rig LOL

SKnight · 03-18-2014, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

Do you have a ceiling fan? If so, turn it on and you will be amazed and the warm air circulation!

And yep, if you turn the fireplace on "high" it can darn near run you out of the rig LOL

I do have the ceiling fan, but we had the big baby 90lb great dane with us. She FREAKS out over ceiling fans, I wanted to try that but didn't want to deal with the dog.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the furnace didn't come on once over the course of the night. It never did from the time we got up and we were around for a good hour before leaving.

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