Atwood furnace not working correctly

[Dheiman]

Please help. We have a 2018 Greyhawk 30X. The heater won’t light. It tries to light, I can hear the flame go on for 1-3 seconds and then it goes off again. We’re camping near Mammoth and it gets pretty cold at night. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Stingray75]

If it’s lighting then shutting down it may be the thermocouple. A you sure it’s lighting ? There’s also a sail switch that detects airflow and will shut down the furnace before ignition. Are you. Sure you have propane flow? Starting a stove burner confirms you have propane.

[Dheiman]

Yes we definitely have propane flow. The stove and the refrigerator are both working just fine. The refrigerator works off either propane or ac and when we unplug it lights right up. I was thinking that the sail switch is working since it does try to light.

[Stingray75]

Thermocouple would be the likely culprit then

[Dheiman]

Could the altitude be affecting it? We’re at about 8,000 ft.

[RogerR]

Since you are not near service you should try a couple of simple steps.

With furnace in the off position!
Open the outside panel and look over the furnace. Look for wasp nests, debris, in or around the burner. After gently cleaning around the pilot light and burner get some computer type canned air blast and dust the exterior. Put the little straw up the pilot light tube and give it a couple of squirts. Watch for dust, spiders or webs, etc. coming out.

Then have someone retry the start sequence and watch. Does the pilot light? If it does but won't stay lit they it could be the thermocouple. It may be possible to bend the thermocouple a fraction of an inch closer to the flame to get it to stay on.

Do some research on the search function above. There are other problems like the electronic board, sail switch ( it detects that the fan is working so the furnace won't overheat), slightly low LP supply pressure, thermostat failure, etc.

Ask around, someone might loan you a little electric heater or know where to buy one nearby if you have AC.

[Dheiman]

Thank you. We’ll try that.