Infamous Suburb.NT-22 "recall" furnace issues!

fotochop · 11-30-2007, 04:49 PM

Finally got me a trailer..AND a pickup truck...;-) The '69 Safari ain't gonna win no beauty contests but she's roadworthy. I pulled the infamous "recall" Suburban NT-22 furnace out today and sure 'nuff, I'm guessing this is the cracked crossover tube that prompted the recall:

Nice lil' gap there ain't it! The PO included an electric heater in the deal so I'm also guessin' they didn't use the furnace much. So unless a wise guru sage can give me a really compelling reason why I should repair and keep a 40 year old recalled furnace that I can't buy parts for in the trailer (other than the circuit board reason..I'll just live with that one) I'll be replacing the NT-22 with....what..and NT-24? Help me out here. I know about the input vs. output rating change but I'd sure like to hear some real world success stories of folks who did the upgrade and are happy with it.

So when I get this new heater in, should I expect it to come complete with the rubber seal that mates to the trailer wall, or keep the old one?:

Dude on the phone told me "only two wires and a coupla ducts and you're done!" right off the bat, I'm counting FOUR wires, but I guess I can handle that lil' curveball since I pre-labeled them, but wait, the new heater won't have my labels...can't be THAT hard, right?:

So here's the case (including antique mud-dauber nest) I'm sure hoping the new unit won't have me snaking the supply line up over the heat like the old one did. Any "sucess story" folks wanna chime in on duct-matching or plenum-matching issues here?

Ummm..one more thing. The exterior vent cover was held on my 2 little springs. What's the trick to getting this puppy back on, since I can't very well pass the needlenose pliers through the screen?

OK, since you mentioned vents (no, YOU mentioned vents, you're thinking..) where can I get me one'a these here stove vents?

Hey, thanks hard-rockin' AIRSTREAMers! Total Trailer Monsters you are, one and all.

Rick Olivier- New Orleans

Lumatic · 11-30-2007, 06:25 PM

I think you are making the right decision to dump the NT20 and yes the recall was because of the crossover tube. There is a lot of stuff on the forums on replacing it with an NT 3O, especially from PizzaChop (hey are you guys brothers or something?). That's my plan, I have one and hope to put it in as a winter project.

3Ms75Argosy · 11-30-2007, 07:25 PM

My Argy is in storage right now, but I do believe that it was an NT 30 that I used. The cases are the same for all the models, just the btu rating is different (and I think the higher btu one is cheaper - go figure). You have a different ducting than I did - however...
The gas run is actually on the left side of case. My old one was on the right like yours, so I had to run over the case to the left. You won't have too. The new case was a bit shorter in height, so I had to put it up on a 1/2" or so piece of plywood to make it fit the outside vents. Yours looks like it's up on a riser already, so you should be ok. I believe there is a vent cutout on the bottom for ducting like yours, so again, it should be easy.

Rubber - I don't think I reused anything, but keep the old stuff until you're sure...

Wiring was a piece of cake. Two of the wires are for the low voltage themostat. The other two are for the blower motor. + or minus doesn't matter from what I remember - just keep the two sets separate (i.e - those for the themostat and those for the motor).

Should take less than a couple of hours. Have fun! You'll note that the new one is much lighter than the old one. See how much rust you get out of the old iron manifold. I found holes and burnmarks on the case of the old one. We got lucky there!
Marc

samb · 11-30-2007, 09:38 PM

The screen vent cover is a snap to get back on..........if you have the right tool. If you have a coat hanger, hacksaw, and a vice (or at least a pair of channel locks you can make the tool in question. It is merely a piece of wire with a fork on one end and a loop for a handle on the other. the size of wire needs to fit throught the screen. Then poke the wire, fork end first through the screen, through the coils of the spring, and straddle the hook on the far end of the spring. Then simply push the hook into position and release. I can handle these simple things. You know what they say.... "Simple things for simple minds". As for the rest....I hope others will fill you in on all you need to know.
If all else fails, feel free to drop by my place. I will be glad to loan you my "forked stick".
Sam

bmwsid · 01-06-2008, 10:27 PM

I too have a NY22A. It is very rusty. I am looking to see what is the best thing to replace it with. Is the 30 the next step?
Oh, the fan wires- if they are DC, wouldn't the fan run backwards if they are reversed?
Where is the best place to locate a replacment furnace?
sidcranston@yahoo.com
Thanks

overlander63 · 01-07-2008, 06:50 AM

We use a catalytic heater in our Sovereign, and don't even miss the furnace. You could mount one of those, use the hole the NT22 came out of for storage, use less LP, and not run your battery down if you aren't plugged in when using it.
The only real down side is the original furnace had ducts that went to the holding tanks to keep them from freezing.