DuoTherm Heater Repair

[Tioga Sportsman]

I am finding it very frustrating to go to RV parts house and not be able to get parts. So what I have learned by having a "Classic RV" is that you have to improvise a little. And what I mean is using all the available resources that are out there to make even minor repairs.

I live in Northern Oregon and have still had a few cold nights, well I tried to fire off the furnace with no luck and have had to freeze my buns off (luckily I had extra blankets and sleeping bags). I could have fired off the stove, but I did not want to wind up on the headlines "Man Dies of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in RV".

Well here's the deal, I took my furnace apart and the first thing I found was an aluminum tube that supplied propane to the burner gooped up with silicon to cover a hole that had been gouged in it (probably from a previous repair attempt) not good.

I finally get to the thermocouple and test it to find that it did go bad.

About the only thing I could get a hold of at the RV parts house was a generic thermocouple to replace the bad one.

There was silicon all over the cover and cover plates, what I did was get a sponge that had scotchbrite on one side to clean it all up.

Then I went to the local auto parts and bought some high heat gasket material to fabricate my own gaskets

and a tube of high temp sealant (copper gasket).

From there I went to the local hardware store and bought some flexible copper tubing to replace the gouged aluminum

along with the brass fittings (minor modifications) to make the necessary connections.

Well I got everything back together and fired her off,

and boy was I glad too. That very night it got pretty darn cold and I slept as comfy as a bug in rug.

Point is, you don't have to go to RV parts house for every single item you may need to make repairs.

Still Learning,

Tioga Sportman

[Tioga Sportsman]

Thanks Pat, I get a lot of great help from my fellow RVer's. I'm still a little green but am learning a lot. Hopefully in the near future I can start to post my Classic RV restoration. By the way, I think you are doing a fantastic job with the RV community by lending your expertise. Keep up the Good Work!

[Remodeling Mad Scientist]

I might be hittin you up soon, gettin ready to take apart my Duo Therm from my '76 Prowler, and I don't know a darn thing about propane heaters! I'll take pics when I get started

[Tioga Sportsman]

Take your time and make sure you lay out the parts as you remove them.

[Remodeling Mad Scientist]

Good point, I'll do that

[Remodeling Mad Scientist]

Well Tioga Capitan, I ended up just removing the heater altogether, as I couldn't figure out the electronics for it. I'm Actually thinking about just ditching it altogether, probable just sell it for $10-20, you're welcome to it if you need one for parts. I'm gonna post it soon, if you want it, just hit me up.

[Tioga Sportsman]

I actually found it was cheaper to run an electric heater than having to keep filling up my propane bottles. I just use the furnace now when temps get down into the single digits. Good luck on the removal and be careful.

Tioga

[Remodeling Mad Scientist]

Good to know, I was wondering how the efficiency would compare between propane and electricity. Yeah it was a royal pain in the keister to get out, but it's good, thanks.

RMS