furnace

NATURE · 06-11-2013, 07:42 PM

Hi all. I just took my new to me 2012 21SS out on her maiden voyage last weekend. It got pretty cold Saturday night so I turned on the furnace and it seemed to work fine till I woke up freezing. The furnace had gone through it's cycle and then shut off like normal but didn't come back on when the temperature dropped. I tried moving the slider up but no go. Then I turned it off and back on and it worked fine again but still wouldn't restart when the temperature dropped. So every couple hours I had to get up and switch the thermostat off and then back on. This seems to me like a thermostat problem(coleman mach), but I will defer to those here that know better. I tried to run a search but the search function seems to cover the whole forum and not just the Roo forum I'm interested in. If this sounds like a thermostat issue does anyone have a new thermostat recommendation?

**bikendan** · 06-11-2013, 07:57 PM

Many of us toss the cheap analog Coleman thermostat and replace it with digital one.
Hunter and Honeywell are the most popular and cost about $25.

grege · 06-12-2013, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NATURE

I tried to run a search but the search function seems to cover the whole forum and not just the Roo forum I'm interested in.

Don't use the search under the banner where you can choose either FRF or Google. You want to use the search once you are in teh forum of choice that is under the area where you can change pages. Hope that makes sense.

And I changed out my thermostat before ever camping in my 21SS.

jamesroadking · 06-12-2013, 04:56 PM

The wall mount thermostat is just a two wire 12 volt temperature operated switch, for troubleshooting you can just twist the two wires together and it should turn on your furnace. You could manually operate your furnace that way if needed.

rockfordroo · 06-12-2013, 06:36 PM

Nature:
My 2012 Roo19 seemed to be acting the same way on our one cool trip last year. We've been out once this year and before we left I installed a Honeywell RTH111 digital thermostat. The thermostat has a heat/off/cool switch on the side (only the heat function is wired up, though.) I had it set to heat and the furnace turned on once, turned off after it warmed up, then didn't turn on again after it cooled off. I cycled the heat/off/cool switch once, and it started up again, and then it seemed to act properly after that. I haven't really had enough experience yet to figure out if something's really going on or not. If it is, I suspect the furnace controls, not the thermostat, since it seems to have done it with both the old mechanical Suburban thermostat and the new digital Honeywell thermostat.

rockfordroo · 06-12-2013, 06:41 PM

Part 2: What doesn't make sense is that the thermostat shuts off the furnace by OPENING the circuit, just as cycling the heat/off/cool switch. (On the Suburban thermostat, the mercury switch opens the circuit.) If the circuit is already open, cycling the heat/off/cool switch shouldn't do anything. If the circuit is closed, then cycling the switch would cycle the signal to the furnace controller. So why would "one" signal not start the furnace but the "second" signal does?

RCCS · 06-12-2013, 09:22 PM

My brother in law had the same problem with the furnace in his popup camper. He insisted that it was the thermostat but I checked it out by connecting the wires together from the existing thermostat and after a while disconnecting them then reconnecting them. Still had the same problem with it not starting up the second time unless we shut the power off to the furnace totally and then turning it back on each time. He went in to town and bought a new thermostat and had me install it at the campsite. He had the same problem with the new one as he had with the old one. I told him his furnace needed a new igniter board so I got him one on Ebay for a good price and installed it. Furnace works great now.

NATURE · 06-13-2013, 05:40 PM

Thanks for all the help campers. Since the general consensus is that the factory thermostats suck, I'll try that first. I found this one Rv Comfort Colman-mach 12-volt Digital Thermostat Black : Amazon.com : Automotive It's more expensive but It's supposed to wire right in and has a ho lo fan switch built in. If that doesn't work, back to the drawing board. I have heard that the temperature swing on factory thermostats is huge so that could be my problem.

**bikendan** · 06-13-2013, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NATURE

Thanks for all the help campers. Since the general consensus is that the factory thermostats suck, I'll try that first. I found this one Rv Comfort Colman-mach 12-volt Digital Thermostat Black : Amazon.com : Automotive It's more expensive but It's supposed to wire right in and has a ho lo fan switch built in. If that doesn't work, back to the drawing board. I have heard that the temperature swing on factory thermostats is huge so that could be my problem.

more expensive is RIGHT!!

i guess if you're willing to spend 3x the amount, for a slightly easier install, then go for it. not heard anything about it, compared to the Hunter/Honeywell ones.

olwalker · 06-14-2013, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikendan

more expensive is RIGHT!!

i guess if you're willing to spend 3x the amount, for a slightly easier install, then go for it. not heard anything about it, compared to the Hunter/Honeywell ones.

Bikendan - is there a particular one that you recommend or will any of them work? Is it a pretty straightforward wiring job? We are interested in upgrading our stock thermostat to a digital one.

**bikendan** · 06-15-2013, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olwalker

Bikendan - is there a particular one that you recommend or will any of them work? Is it a pretty straightforward wiring job? We are interested in upgrading our stock thermostat to a digital one.

the Hunter is by far the most popular and now offer one with a remote.

you can Google "Hunter RV thermostat" and you should get all kinds of info, including a YouTube video.

this is one that many refer to for installing:

Hunter Thermostat

NATURE · 06-20-2013, 10:54 PM

Thanks for all the help everyone. I wimped out and got the one from Amazon I linked to in the earlier post. Install was a snap, the wiring was exactly the same as the original as well as all the controls, and no batteries. The best part is that the furnace is working properly now. If you don't mind spending three times as much, I highly recommend this thermostat.

jbdbsb · 07-02-2013, 01:05 AM

Did "Nature" have the propane on? Because I did that one once and was doing exactly what he did, un til I figured out the propane was off, or it was empty I can't remember.

NATURE · 07-06-2013, 10:05 AM

I don't think it could be a propane issue because the fan won't even come on. Yes, bad news, the furnace still is not working properly. Apparently the thermostat was not the problem though I don't regret the purchase. I'll be looking for a schematic but it will probably end up being a board issue.

hockeytownmom · 07-07-2013, 03:19 PM

Mine does this as well and we'll be purchasing an electric one to stay in the camper.

hockeytownmom · 07-07-2013, 03:43 PM

To add, I put a Honeywell thermostat in my 233s and still have the furnace problem.

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