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Old 09-16-2014, 02:10 PM   #1
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Help: Gas won't kick in when Furnace starts

Hey all,
Of course I'm out camping on my own for the first time in the new trailer and I'm having problems with the furnace. The fan kicks on but then instead of the whoosh I usually hear when the gas kicks in I just hear this click, click, and then the fan kicks off.

I read on another forum post to open the furnace access panel - I did that and turned the furnace off, then hit reset but still the gas won't kick in. Any ideas? I know my husband did something to fix this on our Colorado camping trip but he can't remember what he did.

It rained last night - not sure if that has anything to do with this or not but I feel like it was working before the rain.

Appreciate any help you can offer.
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Old 09-16-2014, 02:39 PM   #2
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I assume you checked the obvious, opened the propane tank valves. Checked there's propane. Easy way is if your stove burners light.
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Old 09-16-2014, 02:42 PM   #3
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Hi LoisLane,

A voice from the past - nvestysly here.

Do you have gas at other appliances? For instance, check the water heater, refrigerator and stove. If your trailer has the automatic regulator that switches from one propane tank to another (I think most trailers have this feature) be sure your tank has propane. If the indicator on top of the regulator is red that means the regulator has switched to the other tank. Make sure the second tank is on and has propane.

Sometimes if I've disconnected the propane tanks to refill them I then have to bleed the air from the lines before the appliances will work. For me, the easiest method to bleed the air is to light the stove manually to make sure gas is present in the line. Then I go back to the water heater (for me the furthest point of propane use in my trailer) and try to start it. Similar to your click, click.. when my line has air I have to manually turn the water heat switch on and off several times till I hear the click-woosh that it ignited. At that point the air is out of the lines and the refrigerator and furnace should also work.
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Old 09-16-2014, 03:25 PM   #4
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Also most furnaces have a shutoff valve under the trailer where the LP line goes through the shell and floor to the furnace. The valve is open (on) when the handle is lined up with the copper tubing, off when it is across the copper tubing.
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Old 09-16-2014, 04:15 PM   #5
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Other appliances do work I did check that - I don't see this shut off valve that you're talking about @ventport I
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do have a grill attached to the LPG outport do you think that has something to do with it?


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Old 09-16-2014, 06:36 PM   #6
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Check list for this problem:

1) Make sure you have LP in your tanks, and the valves are on.

2) Make sure all of your other LP appliances work, stove, refer, water heater.

3) Could be loose electric connections in the furnace wiring.

4) If not that, take it to a service center, have them check out the sail switch, the circuit board, and the thermostat...

For whatever it's worth, I had a similar problem last winter, and the circuit board on the furnace was defective....

Good luck

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Old 11-16-2014, 07:11 PM   #7
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Hey guys - finally got some resolution on this so though I'd report back. I took it into the dealer and they said they "burped" the propane line and then it worked. Not sure how they did that. I did the reset that. Maybe that's what Lucius described. Anyway just wanted to provide the solution from the dealer.

Lois
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Old 01-23-2015, 07:25 AM   #8
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We're having this issue right now. Fan turns on, blows for about 30 seconds, never heats up, then it shuts off. We have tried everything above. Do have an appointment with a service department in February. But curious, how does one "burp" the propane line? Thanks.
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Old 01-23-2015, 08:12 AM   #9
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I'm sort of guessing about "burping" - but propane does carry moisture. I have a relationship with several propane dealers who sell and service propane for homes. Sometimes the line from the tank to the appliances (often several hundred feet long) will get so full of moisture that the propane literally bubbles through the line. This can be HEARD near the furnace... but this is also a warning that the line needs to have it drained immediately before the moisture completely stops the flow of the gas.

Bled... burped. Same thing? As far as I know from the techs (and DO NOT take this as gospel!) they just unhook the line at a low point, drain the moisture, hook up and re-seal the line, then turn the propane on and light a burner to get all of the air out of the line.

In a home system this problem seems to show up a couple of years after installation and fairly heavy use. In a very new Airstream?

A far more common problem is low propane pressure - the furnace is a propane HOG and if you're down to half a tank, and it's really cold the LPG may not be able to produce enough gas to get the furnace to fire. And of course your regulator may crapping out too. When it comes to propane or electric... I get a good service guy. Don't need to experiment around and blow up my home or fry my fanny.

Paula
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Old 05-05-2015, 02:27 PM   #10
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Gas lines fill with Air and do NOT light.

I had same problem. Then I lit the stove tops , took many seconds for the air to come out and finally get Gas. Guess this made for a shorter time for gas to get to the heater and it Wooshed on. So from now on I will "purge" the air out by turning on the stove first. I have not done the Refer or hot water but anticipate them being the same, maybe longer for the water heater as it is way in the back.
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Old 05-10-2015, 09:00 AM   #11
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We have had a similar problem. The fan comes on and it tries to light, but fails and after about three tries, turns off. The gas was on... the water heater turned on when we ran hot water. We tried the furnace the next day and it worked. So it seems to be an intermittent problem.
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Old 05-12-2015, 04:02 PM   #12
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My water heater is on the Curb side. Range and heater on traffic side. I will try the purgeing the Range to get most of the air out of the range/ heater line. I turn on the range and it takes a full 20 seconds on hi to get propane to start.
Thanks for response.
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