Luckydog671
Senior Member
Hi all,
Thought I would pass along the solution to my inoperative furnace. I must first give props to campthewestcoast (Les) for suggesting the fix. Thanks, Les!
Secondly, a little background . . . I noticed in May of this year while camping at Great Basin National Park that the furnace would only sporadically work. I kept monitoring it but it seemed to be getting worse. I initially thought it might be the thermostat so I purchased a digital Honeywell thermostat ($3 at a thrift store) to replace the original mechanical unit. That did not fix the problem.
By the time of our California Hi-Lo Club campout in October, the furnace had completely bit the dust. I mentioned this to Les at the campout and he suggested I try replacing the propane regulator. As far as I know, the regulator was original, so was 8 years old. I finally got around to replacing it today and, lo and behold, it fixed the problem! An added bonus is that the cheap thermostat I purchased seems to work too even though it is a dual control unit (Heat and Cool). I just use it in the heat mode only.
Thirdly, a safety warning . . . be sure to do a soap bubble test on any new propane connections! After installing the new pressure regulator, and in my hurry to see if the furnace would work, I simply did a sniff test to check for leaks. Not smelling any propane, I proceeded to the furnace test. After I was satisfied that the furnace and thermostat were working, I decided to do a soap bubble test on the new mechanical connections. My connections were good but the brass connectors that were installed into the regulator body by the manufacturer were leaking. I had noticed a red substance at those connections which I had ASSUMED was a sealant. It apparently was not, so I applied some high-density tape sealant used for gas connections. So, two lessons learned: never trust your sniffer, and never assume the manufacturer sealed the connections properly!
Once again, thanks Les for your suggestion!
Thought I would pass along the solution to my inoperative furnace. I must first give props to campthewestcoast (Les) for suggesting the fix. Thanks, Les!
Secondly, a little background . . . I noticed in May of this year while camping at Great Basin National Park that the furnace would only sporadically work. I kept monitoring it but it seemed to be getting worse. I initially thought it might be the thermostat so I purchased a digital Honeywell thermostat ($3 at a thrift store) to replace the original mechanical unit. That did not fix the problem.
By the time of our California Hi-Lo Club campout in October, the furnace had completely bit the dust. I mentioned this to Les at the campout and he suggested I try replacing the propane regulator. As far as I know, the regulator was original, so was 8 years old. I finally got around to replacing it today and, lo and behold, it fixed the problem! An added bonus is that the cheap thermostat I purchased seems to work too even though it is a dual control unit (Heat and Cool). I just use it in the heat mode only.
Thirdly, a safety warning . . . be sure to do a soap bubble test on any new propane connections! After installing the new pressure regulator, and in my hurry to see if the furnace would work, I simply did a sniff test to check for leaks. Not smelling any propane, I proceeded to the furnace test. After I was satisfied that the furnace and thermostat were working, I decided to do a soap bubble test on the new mechanical connections. My connections were good but the brass connectors that were installed into the regulator body by the manufacturer were leaking. I had noticed a red substance at those connections which I had ASSUMED was a sealant. It apparently was not, so I applied some high-density tape sealant used for gas connections. So, two lessons learned: never trust your sniffer, and never assume the manufacturer sealed the connections properly!
Once again, thanks Les for your suggestion!
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