Suburban heater burner clogged?

[AKSCAMP]

Hi,
Tried firing up the old first model Suburban heater in my 75 Scamp for the first time and the pilot lit right up and stayed going, but the unit would not kick on the burner. Pulled it apart, everything looked in order until I got to the burner on top. I couldn't blow through it. It seems clogged. I tried to seperate it from the plate but it's really on there and I didn't want to risk breaking it. So, does anyone know if I should be able to blow air through from below, or how I might be able to loosen the gunk? Thanks a million.

[Carol H]

There are a number of Suburban manuals in the Documents center located here many of them include cleaning instructions. If you cant find what you need in the manual do a google on suburban furnaces and you will find a number of cleaning tips/suggestions.

[AlanKilian]

My Suburban was just like yours.

The Pilot ran fine and when I turned the gas valve to "ON" the flames came out the big holes at the base of the main burner, not out of the slots in the top.

It turns out that the burner is a two-part assembly screwed together.

You can CAREFULLY use some pliers or vice-grips to unscrew off the part with the slots from the lower part that is bolted to the base tin sheet.

I found a spider nest in there as well as in the main burner orifice.

When I cleaned that all out (along with the wasp nests in the intake and exhaust) the furnace started running fine.

[Darwin Maring]

A very fine wire brush and/or navel jelly to remove the rust. Once the slots are clean and no webs inside the unit it should work.

[AKSCAMP]

Thanks guys! I should have followed up when I fixed it. Yep, took the top burner piece off and sure enough it was clogged with debris. A needle cleaned it right up and it's back in the camper and roaring away. That thing is cool! Never used one before, but it had the Scamp toasty warm in no time. I don't mind if it rains this weekend now

[AlanKilian]

I do still have trouble if the wind is blowing HARD outside.

It blows both the main flame AND the pilot out and then the thing quits as it should.

If I don't turn the gas valve completely to ON, the flame burns lower and is less prone to blowing out, so maybe I've got a little too high a Propane pressure. (I'm using a pressure regulator from a gas grill.)

I'll have to look at it before Fall in MN.

[cpaharley2008]

That thing is cool! Never used one before, but it had the Scamp toasty warm in no time. I don't mind if it rains this weekend now


Boy, it is going to be a cold one this year if he is using heat in Alaska in august!!

[AKSCAMP]

haha, it's a cold one EVERY year. It's ok, it makes you feel alive!

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

[I]
Boy, it is going to be a cold one this year if he is using heat in Alaska in august!!

Actually Jim if he *wasnt* needing it you would need to be *very* worried about global warming

[cpaharley2008]

I hear it is the warming that is causing the real cold winters. Who knows...

[AKSCAMP]

^ It's true. We had the all-time highest snow fall ever recorded last winter! Also this July was the coldest on record in Anchorage. So the cold places are getting colder, and others are getting warmer? :

"June broke or tied 3,215 high-temperature records across the United States. That followed the warmest May on record for the Northern Hemisphere – the 327th consecutive month in which the temperature of the entire globe exceeded the 20th-century average."
Read more: Global Warming's Terrifying New Math | Politics News | Rolling Stone