Furnace intake manifold collecting rain water

[rlgold]

We own a 2017 wildwood 27rkss. 3 + times the furnace manifold gets rain water in it from the intake exhaust vent on the side of the camper. The heater fan turns on but wont fire until I get enough water out of the manifold to where the sensors will allow the furnace to fire. When the fan is running you can here gurgling in the manifold heating chamber. After enough water is out the furnace it will light & all is well. The travel trailer is pretty level. Is there a cover or something to cover intake exhaust vents when not in use? I did a search on this forum google & you tube but I have not found people with the same issues. The closest I found was rain getting into travel trailer through the vent cover. Mine is actually going into the furnace. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[KyDan]

Can you post a photo close up of the intake? I gotta wonder if it's on upside down or something.... a photo might help.

[rlgold]

Okay I will post a photo later today after work. Thx!

[SeaDog]

You have an intake for combustion air and an exhaust vent are saying both are filling with water? or just one? I think I would also look and ensure the water is not leaking into the furnace from somewhere else I had not heard of this before.

[TheWolfPaq82]

That's a lot of water if you can hear it inside when blower comes on. I'm with SeaDog that there could be something else at play here.

[rlgold]

I'm pretty sure its rain water. & only seems to happen when we had a major downpour & rain for hours & hours. No issue any other time. There is no supply line or anything else that I can see. But its definitely in top supply air chamber. But I do think the exhaust gets some water in chamber too.. when I get home I will take some pictures.

[rlgold]

Yes I can hear its definitely water in chambers. I take the screws out holding the furnace to the floor, furthest from the vent . & lift up the furnace a little bit then I can see the water coming out of the intake /exhaust vent outside. That is the only way I found to get the water out. More water is in the top intake chamber.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

You have an intake for combustion air and an exhaust vent are saying both are filling with water? or just one? I think I would also look and ensure the water is not leaking into the furnace from somewhere else I had not heard of this before.

It would be difficult for significant amounts of water to enter the firebox from any other spot. The entire firebox is closed. On top of the firebox there's a door with gasket where the gas, igniter, and sensor come through. Water would have to penetrate the plenum and this gasketed door.

The external intake/exhaust vent terminates in two tubes, about 4" long. Two tubes from the firebox slide into these two tubes. Even if water were able to penetrate this deep, most of it would drip off the joint rather than penetrating it.

It's got to be coming in the intake/exhaust vent.

[rlgold]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

It would be difficult for significant amounts of water to enter the firebox from any other spot. The entire firebox is closed. On top of the firebox there's a door with gasket where the gas, igniter, and sensor come through. Water would have to penetrate the plenum and this gasketed door.

The external intake/exhaust vent terminates in two tubes, about 4" long. Two tubes from the firebox slide into these two tubes. Even if water were able to penetrate this deep, most of it would drip off the joint rather than penetrating it.

It's got to be coming in the intake/exhaust vent.

Yes I see all the above in what you said.. But the vent itself is caulked very good. It's coming in the top vent intake about a 1.5 in hole . What I have noticed is the awning fabric terminates directly on the middle of the vent intake exhaust holes from above. & what happens is I get a steady stream of water coming down & finds it's way in the vent tubes I can actually see water forming in the top tube & flowing back. I tried to find some type of cover. I will post a pictures tonight if not tmrw for sure. I hear what everbody is saying but the travel trailer is level maybe to level? The vent is chalked very well & the only times I had an issue has been when needing to use the heater after it rained hard. Now I'm concerned there's always water in it throughout the summers & never thought about that before now. I stood out in the rain the other day & saw water rain water accumulating in top tube. I have sandwich baggies over vent holes now until we turn heat on. Thanks for all the help. Pictures will be posted tmrw.

[Swampy]

Originally Posted by rlgold

Yes I can hear its definitely water in chambers. I take the screws out holding the furnace to the floor, furthest from the vent . & lift up the furnace a little bit then I can see the water coming out of the intake /exhaust vent outside. That is the only way I found to get the water out. More water is in the top intake chamber.

rlgold, Look above the intake/exhaust plate and see if there is anything that would be dripping in a stream down to the port when it rains. I can't see how enough vertical rain (even some windblown) would be enough to cause this. If you see something above the port that is draining down on the port, you could try to build a small deflector with some aluminum foil or pie plate within the port ... it will have to be something non combustible since the port gets very hot when in operation. If you can stop the draining onto the port from up above, that is even better. I have a friend with a Champion TT that the runoff from the A/C dripped directly onto his port and eventually caused the combustion chamber to rust and perforate ... not a good situation for possible CO poisoning. I helped him use some Eternabond tape on the roof to redirect the A/C water runoff. He ended up having to replace the furnace since the CO detectors would go off every time the furnace ignited. Good luck with the repairs .... Swampy

[rlgold]

Originally Posted by Swampy

rlgold, Look above the intake/exhaust plate and see if there is anything that would be dripping in a stream down to the port when it rains. I can't see how enough vertical rain (even some windblown) would be enough to cause this. If you see something above the port that is draining down on the port, you could try to build a small deflector with some aluminum foil or pie plate within the port ... it will have to be something non combustible since the port gets very hot when in operation. If you can stop the draining onto the port from up above, that is even better. I have a friend with a Champion TT that the runoff from the A/C dripped directly onto his port and eventually caused the combustion chamber to rust and perforate ... not a good situation for possible CO poisoning. I helped him use some Eternabond tape on the roof to redirect the A/C water runoff. He ended up having to replace the furnace since the CO detectors would go off every time the furnace ignited. Good luck with the repairs .... Swampy

Yes I believe your reply is what is happening (see my last post) . I will have to put my thinking cap on to figure away to stop this. I have a feeling from what you said my furnace could start rusting & leaking CO Bummer. I am covering tt for winter soon. I will keep a close eye on it in the spring when we take the cover off & turn Heater on. Pictures will be posted tmrw maybe someone will have an idea on stopping the stream of water.

[SeaDog]

Originally Posted by rlgold

Yes I believe your reply is what is happening (see my last post) . I will have to put my thinking cap on to figure away to stop this. I have a feeling from what you said my furnace could start rusting & leaking CO Bummer. I am covering tt for winter soon. I will keep a close eye on it in the spring when we take the cover off & turn Heater on. Pictures will be posted tmrw maybe someone will have an idea on stopping the stream of water.

The furnace may not be level and leaning to the inside. Something you may consider is to shim the inside end of the furnace up slightly so that any water will flow out the exhaust or intake which ever it is collecting at. this may require pulling the furnace or pulling some panels from inside. Just something to think about.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by rlgold

Yes I see all the above in what you said.. But the vent itself is caulked very good. It's coming in the top vent intake about a 1.5 in hole . What I have noticed is the awning fabric terminates directly on the middle of the vent intake exhaust holes from above. & what happens is I get a steady stream of water coming down & finds it's way in the vent tubes I can actually see water forming in the top tube & flowing back. I tried to find some type of cover. I will post a pictures tonight if not tmrw for sure. I hear what everbody is saying but the travel trailer is level maybe to level? The vent is chalked very well & the only times I had an issue has been when needing to use the heater after it rained hard. Now I'm concerned there's always water in it throughout the summers & never thought about that before now. I stood out in the rain the other day & saw water rain water accumulating in top tube. I have sandwich baggies over vent holes now until we turn heat on. Thanks for all the help. Pictures will be posted tmrw.

There are only two or three ways to fix this:
1) Fix/change the awning so the stream is somewhere else.
2) Build a vent hood to fit around the vent plate. See my crude drawing.
3) Make a practice of un-leveling the trailer so the vent side is always low; water will run out instead of in.

You could have a sheet metal shop make this up, or make it yourself from aluminum flashing from Lowe's, using a duckbill pliers. The flange at the back fits under the furnace vent. Loosen the vent. Apply butyl tape to the back surfaces of the hood. Slide it down over the vent and re-tighten the vent.

You should not restrict the airflow through the vent in any way.

[rlgold]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

There are only two or three ways to fix this:
1) Fix/change the awning so the stream is somewhere else.
2) Build a vent hood to fit around the vent plate. See my crude drawing.
3) Make a practice of un-leveling the trailer so the vent side is always low; water will run out instead of in.

You could have a sheet metal shop make this up, or make it yourself from aluminum flashing from Lowe's, using a duckbill pliers. The flange at the back fits under the furnace vent. Loosen the vent. Apply butyl tape to the back surfaces of the hood. Slide it down over the vent and re-tighten the vent.

You should not restrict the airflow through the vent in any way.

Yes awesome idea for vent cover. I will still take & post some pics tmrw got a little late today.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by rlgold

Yes awesome idea for vent cover. I will still take & post some pics tmrw got a little late today.

You can make this entire thing from a single sheet of aluminum or galvanized sheet steel.

Make one from light cardboard first. You will see that there are places where you need to add tabs, e.g., at the two corners furthest from the RV. Once you have one from cardboard, cut and bend the sheet metal. Use Pop Rivets at the top corners.

[rlgold]

Here are the pictures. Hopefully you can see how the fabric terminates & the rain water will stream off of it between gutter & fabric. Mostly when closed dont seem to have the issue when open even if raining. Down the speaker to the furnace vents. Showed the inside incase u guys see anything wrong with that. It rained for about a day steadily2 days ago & there is water in it. I turned the furnace on & is drying I here the water still in it. I hope u can see the attachments.

[rlgold]

1 more pic

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by rlgold

1 more pic

Maybe one thing to try. When you extend the awning, make sure the OTHER end is lower than the end over the vent.

It won't solve everything since the inboard end of the awning won't be affected, only the outboard end.

I suppose you could un-level the trailer an inch or two, so the OTHER end of the awning is lower than the end over the vent, even at the rain gutter.

[SeaDog]

I would not change the level of the rig. As it appears to me the easiest fix it to move the awning fabric over an inch or two. May take two people to do this.

I also agree wth lowering one end of the awning to get proper runoff and not have the awning holding water.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

I would not change the level of the rig. As it appears to me the easiest fix it to move the awning fabric over an inch or two. May take two people to do this.

I also agree wth lowering one end of the awning to get proper runoff and not have the awning holding water.

Wouldn't you have to move it more than a few inches? A little wind from the wrong direction and you're right back where you were.

You would have to remove the stop screws in the channel at the top and get on the roof and tug it. Then drill two new holes in the channel and replace the stop screws. Then unroll it all the way and move the bottom correspondingly. Then hope the awning always rolls up straight because there's no buffer on one side.