First time out and need help!

[fkiehner]

Good day everyone. Just got a NTM 2018 Riskwood Freedom 2280and went out last night to a local state park her in Pa. (Of course we had to have a noreaster rain event come thru.) Even with the rain we had a good time but the rain did show us a big issue.
We appear to have a water leak coming in one of the corners of the roof vent. Going to rip the sealant out and put new on this week and will see if that fixes that issue. (Any advice is appreciated.)
The other issue was with the furnace. It lit last night and made too much heat (good thing!). It turned it off with the thermostat and this morning went to fire it up and the flame would not stay lit. Cycled 3 times and then the fan shut off. Checked the sail switch and it appears to be functioning correctly. Repeated this process 4 more times and had the same result.
Any suggestions on this one?
Thanks,
Frank Kiehner
(I called Camping World in Hanover PA where I bought the camper and they were 0 help. I figured that would be the case. They seem to want the sale, but after that.....)

[tlspencer]

Might be a way too obvious question but is the propane tank empty?

[tlspencer]

And yes. Camping World sucks.

[fkiehner]

Stove, water heater and grill all worked. I am going to weigh the tank Sunday to make sure. I was assured by the salesman that it was filled. But.

[rsdata]

I recall reading here that a small adjustment to the sensor that sits in the flame usually helps that... in other words the flame out sensor needs to be bent a bit closer to the flame that keeps it heated and keeping the gas flowing...

[B and B]

Could also be a hi temp cutout has opened. Restrictions in airflow are usually a place to start. REemoving 12 volts, and AC power to remove convertor power too. This might reset the heater.

[fkiehner]

Come to think of it, when I did the walk through a week ago, I believe that the fridge was on and using propane so it very well could almost be empty. Will find out in the morning.

[fkiehner]

There was also a little probe that I can see through the observation window the when the tip of it gets red, the flame goes out.

[cariboo camper]

Originally Posted by fkiehner

Come to think of it, when I did the walk through a week ago, I believe that the fridge was on and using propane so it very well could almost be empty. Will find out in the morning.

Pour hot water down the side of propane tank then run hand down side to feel where propane level is. It will feel cool to the touch.

[fkiehner]

I weighed the tank and the scale shows 3/4 full so that isn't the problem. I set up the trailer today and the furnace is doing the same thing.

[BarabooBob]

If the battery is low your fan may not be spinning fast enough to satisfy the sail switch. My daughter had that problem with her camper. My old Escaper also had the same issue when the battery was not fully charged.

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by fkiehner

I weighed the tank and the scale shows 3/4 full so that isn't the problem. I set up the trailer today and the furnace is doing the same thing.

All you need to do is suggested by cariboo camper in post #9. It's quicker, don't need a scale handy and less work to do. There is no need to remove the LP tank and weigh it.

[kittlecat]

As far as your leak from a corner of the roof vent, I had the same thing happen with a FR PUP I previously owned. I ended up having to replace the roof vent as well as the exterior seal. It was an easy job, all things considered, and we were able to back the PUP into a pole barn so it stayed dry while being worked on. The biggest problem I had was the PUP had a very thin membrane on the roof and we got a little too overzealous and tore a small area of the membrane when trying to remove the old roof vent. I was able to successfully patch the torn area using Eternabond and never had another problem with the roof leaking or the vent.

[dbledan]

Had the issue on mine where the furnace and water heater would sputter when they ran at the same time. I swapped the regulator and solved that but the new regulator would not switch over. Stove and fridge never saw an issue. I swapped the pigtail to the other tank and it worked so I changed that one bad pigtail. Now I carry a spare pigtail since that was the second one in 2 years.

[wabakami]

Originally Posted by fkiehner

There was also a little probe that I can see through the observation window the when the tip of it gets red, the flame goes out.

That's the thermocouple, it sits in the flame and will glow red. It produces milivoltage from the heat to keep the safety open thus allowing gas to flow and burn in the furnace. It could have failed, if the pilot stays lit but goes out when you release the pilot button then chances are it has failed. But being a new trailer I would expect it to be fine.


They do fail regularly, I keep several on the shelf, here at the resort I change 3 or 4 every year on all our propane kitchen appliances and water heaters.


I more suspect your hi-limit failed you mentioned that the sail switch is working OK.
You did say it was very hot too.


Geoff
.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by fkiehner

It lit last night and made too much heat (good thing!). It turned it off with the thermostat and this morning went to fire it up and the flame would not stay lit. Cycled 3 times and then the fan shut off. Checked the sail switch and it appears to be functioning correctly. Repeated this process 4 more times and had the same result.
Any suggestions on this one?

Your description of it getting too hot, then not working and going into lockout after you shut it off manually at the thermostat makes me think it is a bad control board.

Bruce

[campfire joe]

Originally Posted by BarabooBob

If the battery is low your fan may not be spinning fast enough to satisfy the sail switch. My daughter had that problem with her camper. My old Escaper also had the same issue when the battery was not fully charged.

That was my problem on my last trip of the year. My battery is getting old and i don't think i got it charged back up enough with my Gen. during the limited time i had it hooked. Heater went out on the last night also camper lights weren't very bright. Time to get a new battery for next year.

[fkiehner]

Took to the Camping World that I bought it from and they are ordering a control board that they say is bad. It is covered under the 30 day warranty for the used TT. Just waiting for the part to come in so I can make a 2nd trip to Hanover to get it installed.
Thanks all for your responses. Learned some good things from your input.
Frank K

[SecretSquirrel]

Originally Posted by fkiehner

There was also a little probe that I can see through the observation window the when the tip of it gets red, the flame goes out.

That thing is called a thermocouple. Its job is to turn off the gas to the furnace if it's NOT glowing red. It's a safety device. Turns off the gas if the flame were to blow out. The do go bad and are easy to replace (if you can access it easily that is).

[nomad297]

Thanks

Bruce