X17A furnace procedures

[tth3180]

First time travel trailer owner here and have to say the "manuals" and other paper instructions that came with the trailer are not easy to follow, particularly concerning the furnace. I had it working, turned the thermostat way down, then turned off the propane. Last night it got real cold so I decided to turn the heat back on. I turned the propane on then the thermostat up. Nothing but cold air for a few minutes then it shut off and didn't cycle back on. I read in the manual later to make sure to turn the propane valve on slowly. I may have turned it on too fast. Does anyone have easy on & off furnace procedures? Thanks in advance!!!

[Jagiven]

The key is to purge the gas line before starting up the furnace. Most people light the stove and let it run for a moment to burp any air pockets. All you have to do then is to flip the switch on the thermostat and set your temperature. If there is any air in the branch line to the furnace it may cycle a few times before it will lite. Just note, if the dealer did not light the furnace and run it for a minimum of 30 minutes it will stink, as it burns off any manufacturing oils.

It will blow cool to cold air at first as the blower starts up then lights, confirms that it lights and once the heat exchanger warms it then starts to push warm air. The unit will also cycle a fair amount as to keep the heat exchanger from overheating.

[RedHorse1]

Opening the propane valve slowly is important as there is a check valve in the connector to the tank that will close if there is a high flow through the connector (like a broken line downstream, or opening the valve quickly). Learned this the hard way. Like JAG says, lighting the stove will help purge any air out of the line. I have to do that before the fridge will use gas. Once we're set up in the CG I will leave the gas on which keeps the pilot burning on the water heater (the bride likes to wash her face in WARM water in the morning and makes breakfast easier to get going).
I'm sure you will have more questions (I sure did and do) and you'll find a wealth of experience and knowledge on this forum.

[tth3180]

Thanks for the quick replies, and I believe opening the propane valve is indeed my problem.

[tth3180]

meant to say opening propane valve too quickly

[RedHorse1]

Oh yeah, JAG is bang on about running the furnace the first time. Ours caused the smoke alarm to squeal for the bulk of the first 30 min. We use an electric space heater to keep the TT warm and I have yet to use the furnace in anger. We're comfy down to the high 20's without it.