not a lot of air flow to heater vent port unless I.....

[jesp]

I just got this Roadtreck 1995 Chevy 190 Versatile and testing all the systems. The propane heater works, but not barely any air comes out of the one vent port it has. So most of the hot air comes out near the metal grating directly at the sight of the propane furnace. When I say most of the hot air, it seems like 95%. meaning if I put my hand in front of the round vent, i barely feel any air movement, but if I put my hand in front of the metal grill of the heater case i really feel air. So I know the fan is running, and i saw on you tube these heaters do not turn on without the fan running to begin with. To turn mine on all i did was turn the thermostat on and set temp to highest temp-- 90 degrees. I do feel the air and hear the fan, so the heater is working. I searched for tears and rips in the hose that goes from the furnace to the vent port, and taped them with aluminum tape. there was only a few small tears. but still not a lot of heat through that vent.

now one solution i came up with is to cover half of the metal gratings that forces more air to have to go through the vent hose to the round vent port. but maybe that hurts the furnace and will cause issues in the future? anyone know more ways to direct air with these furnaces? maybe I should clean the fan. I have lithium batteries and solar so I know i have 13.5 volts of power and it is not a battery power issue.

Any advice appreciated

[mkguitar]

Nice pic in the other post, Welcome to the Forums


the R/T shares some of the systems with other makes, that furnace is used in many Rv's so I'm sure you'll get some good advice.

I'm sure someone will be along soon

I'm in Phoenix- I know mine works, because I've tried it.
It sounds like a jet taking off.

We have used a small 375/750w vornado space heater on shore power

Make sure the vents are not plugged, wasps and other bugs can find those vents very attractive


Mike

[jesp]

Thanks MK,

Although i knew a fan was running, and according to most videos these furnaces say they have protection so they do not light without a fan motor working, mine in no way sounds like a jet taking off. it is very quiet operation from lighting to shutting down. Just a click and barely hear a fan going. Maybe there is something wrong with the fan speed. i will clean out the ports and maybe open up the thing to look at the fan in operation.

[hbn7hj]

I’m surprised there is a heater vent in addition to the heater face. Mine does not have that and no one I have seen has that. The fan is normally disturbingly loud.

[Ron J. Moore]

Welcome aboard. I have had two RT’s, 190 & 210, the only heat from the furnace came from the furnace front…….think it was designed to deprive us of sleep with the noise it delivers!

[jesp]

I just now took the wood cover off I did not take off the metal housing of the furnace because I could see it running through the grating and most all aspects of it seem like it is running well.. the fan turning fine and it blows quite a lot of air but the design leads more for the air just to be pushed straightforward out front grating and not to go 90° to a hole to the duct. What's interesting is that unlike the furnaces I see on the internet this one has more of a vertical fan like a regular box fan style and not a hamster wheel style. So it's not like how a lot of the blower motors in cars are designed it's more like a traditional fan. It's also not super large maybe it's got 4 inch fan blades and maybe it's about 8.5 -9 in Max diameter. Maybe that's why mine is more quiet? But it's right next to the back door so that's the way back of the van and I see why they would make a vent port even if it's only a few feet forward to try to push air forward.

So since a few people report they didn't even have a hose or another outlet in their roadtrecks. Maybe you'll have newer rigs with a different design and maybe this was just a one-year experiment they did.

So I'm assuming my fan and everything's functioning normally and I put a few pieces of aluminum tape over the metal grading and now more air flows through the fan. I also covered the duct hose in aluminum tape to protect it from rips

I'm happy I got some heat source. In my other older Chevy van which is my previous van life thing, I installed a diesel heater which was great at heating but it didn't have a thermostat and it would have to stay running all the time so it would sometimes make the rig way too hot. It also had a noisy clicking sound so this is an upgrade lol. Oh, and by the way that's my 300 amp hour lithium phosphate battery in the pic.

[hbn7hj]

Find the model number of furnace and post it.

[hbn7hj]

Found this in an installation manual.

12. NOTE: OPTIONAL DISCHARGE DUCT ADAPTER -The cabinet has a 4"diameter knockout on the left side of cabinet. (See Figure 6A.) A 4" diameter connector can be attached to this location to provide a warm air discharge duct.(Not to exceed 10" in length.)

[tbroad]

That little Vornado 375/750 heater sure is great to take off the chill (assuming one has shore power). Glad someone else has discovered it.

[mkguitar]

Originally Posted by tbroad

That little Vornado 375/750 heater sure is great to take off the chill

usually position on the counter top facing forward, a gentle waft of warm air at 375w works well


dogs are also good, keeps my legs warm



Mike