Heater turns on by itself

gilly · 10-02-2021, 09:50 AM

The propane heater in my 2000 PleasureWay Lexor will turn on by itself occasionally when it drops in the low 30’s. I wouldn’t mind it except it’s very loud, wakes me up and takes about 10 mins to quiet down. I’m concerned it will wake up my fellow campers especially the tenters.

I’ve double checked that it was not accidentally turned on. Has anyone experienced this and what was the solution.
Also I’ve never had any maintenance done on it in the 10 years we’ve owned, what kind of maintenance should I do? Thanks

rogerstg · 10-02-2021, 12:15 PM

Try turning it off, but move the temp selector up to high to see if the heat kicks on. If it does, it's likely the thermostat.

gilly · 10-02-2021, 01:57 PM

Thanks I’ll try that

gilly · 10-02-2021, 02:27 PM

Thanks I did as suggested and the fan did come on. I’ll replace the thermostat.
Does anyone know if non-digital thermostats are still available because won’t a digital one draw power from my batteries all the time?

SteveJ · 10-02-2021, 03:10 PM

If you have a thermostat that controls both heating and cooling the following digital stat was purchased by us last October. It could also be used for heat only. $29. We are currently using it for heat only as our new Air Command A/C unit has it's own thermostat. The Air Command stat has a huge temperature swing for the furnace but keeps the cooling range nice and tight.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It runs on self contained batteries(I think AAA, two of them) which to this point I've replaced once, maybe(?).

The stat is configurable for temp swing, has nice big numbers that old people like me can see and is pretty drama free for installing.

gilly · 10-02-2021, 03:41 PM

We will only need thermostat for heat as our AC is separate and doesn’t work anymore any way.
Did you R&R your old AC with new one? If so what rig & AC do you have? I’d love to replace our AC with a smaller quieter more efficient unit. We’ve never used it in our 10 years which is why it died but now that we are retired and traveling more need a way to cool rig in heat.

CanuckRV · 10-02-2021, 07:39 PM

Analog tstats are still available but will cost more than a basic digital, you can get tstats that use a couple of AA batteries and not not draw your house battery down if fact that is the type to get since there is no power in the wires to the furnace.

Bud · 10-02-2021, 09:18 PM

I've posted in the past that my Roadtrek 05/04 190 thermostat was 'fixed' by spraying carb cleaner (no spray electrical spray stuff available) into the slide that controls the temperature and turning off/on. Then sliding the control over and over to remove the corrosion from humidity. Roadtrek on the phone suggested it about 10 years ago. IT WORKED! Had to do so again about 5 years ago. Still have a replacement for the thermostat, never used.

ymmv

Bud

SteveJ · 10-02-2021, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilly

We will only need thermostat for heat as our AC is separate and doesn’t work anymore any way.
Did you R&R your old AC with new one? If so what rig & AC do you have? I’d love to replace our AC with a smaller quieter more efficient unit. We’ve never used it in our 10 years which is why it died but now that we are retired and traveling more need a way to cool rig in heat.

The A/C unit installed was a Dometic Atwood Air Command standard roof top unit, 13,500 BTU. Much quieter than our old DuoTherm/Dometic Penguin. It also uses less electricity. Comes with it's own thermostat, no extra control box to obtain.

The rig that this was installed on was a Safari Trek. It is a few inches higher than the Penquin.

gilly · 10-04-2021, 02:44 PM

Thanks SteveJ for AC info and thanks Bud I’ll try that before replacing tstat

rogerstg · 10-05-2021, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerstg

Try turning it off, but move the temp selector up to high to see if the heat kicks on. If it does, it's likely the thermostat.

I tried my own advice and the heater went on!

I took the thermostat apart and found that I simply had not moved the off switch far enough over. It took more force than I anticipated (this RV is new to me in May 2021).

Dirty contacts generally prevent things from turning on. In our cases, the problem is contacts not disconnecting. Perhaps you should take off the cover and see that the contact separates with turned off.

hbn7hj · 10-06-2021, 07:13 AM

I’m a little late to this game but the only thing that can turn on an “off” furnace is the overtemp sensor. This is a bimetallic temperature switch. At 30F ambient it is apparently no longer working properly. Replace it.

It has nothing to do with the thermostat.

SteveJ · 10-06-2021, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerstg

I tried my own advice and the heater went on!

I took the thermostat apart and found that I simply had not moved the off switch far enough over. It took more force than I anticipated (this RV is new to me in May 2021).

Dirty contacts generally prevent things from turning on. In our cases, the problem is contacts not disconnecting. Perhaps you should take off the cover and see that the contact separates with turned off.

The original t-stat in our 2000 200 had a very recalcitrant on/off switch. We solved it by replacing it with a very frugal digital stat.

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