Furnace question

[Rarebird]

Hi all, for Mother's Day my husband said he would try to fix the furnace in our 1976 trillium 4500. It appears to be the original Duo Therm. He couldn't, so now I am asking for help. So....the pilot light doesn't stay lit. There is a tiny flame, or none at all. When we unhooked the gas line from the pilot, the gas came through strong. We tried to put a pipe cleaner through, but it seems that there is something hard in the middle between the gas line and possibly near where the gasket is that holds the plate that holds the pilot light and sensor. Does this make sense? It is difficult to explain without the correct vocabulary.
But I KNOW you folks like a challenge.
What can we do to get our furnace running again?
Many thanks, Marjie


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[Darwin Maring]

When it comes to GAS, you need to have a Professional fix it.
GAS is nothing to mess with. Dangerious. Take it to a camper center that has trained personnel.

[Rarebird]

Thank you so much for your quick reply, and concern. While my post may have sounded naive, we really do have many, many years of houseboat/trailer/propane experience. I am trying to save time and money by doing this work ourselves. If possible. I promise to be careful.


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[Darwin Maring]

You may need a new Thermocouple. They sell universal Thermocouples at places like Lowes and Home Depot as well as camping centers.

That is what keep the pilot lit. You can try to position the pilot flame on to the thermocouple to see if that works.

In the past, I have used a propane torch to heat the thermocouple to see if the pilot would stay lit before installing a new thermocouple.

The actual gas orfice is so small that nothing can be pushed through.

If you decide to purchase a new thermocouple, take the old one with you so you will know how long of a one you will need.

[Darwin Maring]

What have you found out about the furnace?

[Dudley]

sounds like the pilot jet is plugged, some manuals say to remove and soak in alcohol. What I did on my old Ventura was run a single strand of wire through the jet hole. Do not use a pin or anything that will open the hole wider.

[stevebaz]

With 40 years under its belt, maybe a change to a more modern unit is in order I put an Attwood II in my 1986 Scamp and for us it was one of the best things we did. Heat is very Important to us. When was the last time the propane regulator has been replaced? I found a tar like sludge in my propane line and flushed that out and then replaced the regulator. Do it all right and you wont have to fool with it for 10 years if you can keep the spiders and mud daubers out of the system.

[Rarebird]

Hello all, and thank you for your insights. So this is what we have done so far:

Moved the thermocouple thingy closer to the pilot, and also filed some gook off of it.
Removed the gas input hose and cleaned the parts as well as we could. We didn't take it completely apart, as we don't have gasket material to put it back together. There is very good gas flowing through the lines.

Not much has helped. The pilot lights with a very small flickering flame. Sometimes it stays lit, but usually not. When it is lit, and I turn it to "on" it blows out.

We probably should get a new furnace, but we hardly ever use it, so I can not justify it if not 100% necessary. Which it might be . The regulator was replaced last year. The stove works great.

Thanks again, Marjie




Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV