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  1. #1
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    How to light furnace in tent trailer?

    Anyone know how to light the furnace in a tent trailer?

    Tried using it in our trailer this weekend for the first time. 1995 Cobra (now Forest River). It's got a thermostat and fan; fan is powered by the 12V battery, and the fan turns on fine. I can barely read a label through the grill on the furnace that says something about flame/ heat source. So I'm pretty sure it's a propane furnace, not an electric furnace.

    I can't find anywhere to light a pilot light for this thing. I let the fan run for awhile, in the hopes it had an automatic pilot that would turn on eventually -- nope. There's no panel to open, no button to push...

    The only thing I can think of is there is an outside panel for the 3-way fridge (which we did not have on), which has propane connections and a pilot light for it. Is it the same pilot for the fridge as for the furnace?
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
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    My propane furnace in my 4 Wheel pop up camper has an electric ingnition.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2002
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    Beautiful BC
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    2,970
    A 1995 furnace will probably have electronic ignition. So when the furnace is trying to run you'll hear a tick-tick-tick of the piezio-electric ignitor.

    Carbon/soot can fall down the chimney and short the ignitor -- clean the assembly.

    There's a vane switch safety (they furnace won't ignite unless the fan is running) -- the airflow pushes the switch and turns it on. If it's sticking or failed then the furnace won't start.

    Knowing the make and model of the furnace would help. There's a data sheet on the inside of a cupboard door that lists all the propane appliances.

    The fridge and furnace are completely and if you know nothing about propane then you might want a professional.

    Is there propane in the tanks? At the beginning of the season I have to fill the pipes with propane -- I turn on the cooktop and bleed the air until the burner lights.
    If you have a problem & think that someone else is going to solve it for you then you have two problems.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snow Dog View Post
    A 1995 furnace will probably have electronic ignition. So when the furnace is trying to run you'll hear a tick-tick-tick of the piezio-electric ignitor.

    Carbon/soot can fall down the chimney and short the ignitor -- clean the assembly.

    There's a vane switch safety (they furnace won't ignite unless the fan is running) -- the airflow pushes the switch and turns it on. If it's sticking or failed then the furnace won't start.

    Knowing the make and model of the furnace would help. There's a data sheet on the inside of a cupboard door that lists all the propane appliances.

    The fridge and furnace are completely and if you know nothing about propane then you might want a professional.

    Is there propane in the tanks? At the beginning of the season I have to fill the pipes with propane -- I turn on the cooktop and bleed the air until the burner lights.
    1) Couldn't hear a tick-tick-tick of a piezo ignitor (like on a BBQ grill), but the fan is pretty noisy, so it might have been covering the tick sound. If there is a piezo ignitor, it's automatic; I couldn't find a pushbutton ignitor anywhere near the furnace. (There is a pushbutton ignitor for the fridge system, but I think that the fridge propane line (& electric wiring) are completely separate from the furnace system.)

    2) I'm going to pull the grill off the front and clean out the furnace, and will figure out what brand & model this furnace is. I'll look around for a data sheet listing the equipment too.

    3) There is propane in the tank. Bleeding the air out is a possible explanation -- found it on google too, as a likely cause of the furnace not igniting. I'll try lighting the stove first, then firing up the furnace.

    Thanks for the tips. This is not as intuitive as it would seem...
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by El Chupacabra View Post
    3) There is propane in the tank. Bleeding the air out is a possible explanation -- found it on google too, as a likely cause of the furnace not igniting. I'll try lighting the stove first, then firing up the furnace.
    This was it. Air in the lines; the propane never got to the furnace. I bled the lines by lighting the stove first, then the furnace fired right up.

    The ignitor is automatic, but it's a lot quieter on the furnace than it is on my BBQ. I also pulled the grill off the front of the furnace to clean it out, but it looks like it has hardly been used -- only a bit of dust, no soot.

    Works great now that I know how to turn it on...
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

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