'65 Caravel Hydro Flame valve control unit

[teeraniti]

Hi All,
I recently purchased my first trailer, a 1965 Caravel. The Hydro Flame furnace does not work. I would like to replace the control unit to salvage this heater if I can. I've looked all over online but unable to find it. Does anyone have one that they're willing to part with?
Thank you very much,
Suti

[Stefrobrts]

Congrats on your find! I love my Caravel!

I was unable to salvage my furnace, and ended up replacing it with a new Atwood like the modern Bambi's have. If you can make yours work again, I think it's far better than the new furnaces - a lot quieter! And it doesn't require battery power to run.

Unfortunately I gave away my leftover parts to someone else who was rebuilding their heater. Hopefully someone here will come up with a suggestion for you.

[teeraniti]

Thank you, I would like to keep the original heater if possible.

[C Johnson]

Suti, Are you sure it is the control valve ? I am just curious how you arrived at that conclusion. There are a few other things that can cause the heater not to work.

[teeraniti]

I'm not 100% sure but I checked other parts and everything looked ok to me. The thermocouple works but the metal valve inside looks scratch and turning the valve is difficult. Is there anyway I can rebuild it?
Thanks.

[C Johnson]

Hi teeraniti, I have a Hydroflame in my Caravel as well. I am pretty happy with it. It works quite well. Even when it is below freezing out, it will keep the trailer at about 68 deg. More if I turn it up higher.

I understand why you would like to keep it.

I have not had to touch my valve, that thankfully works fine.

Some things you might want to check out if you are handy.

Do you have propane coming in to the heater from the supply line ? If not there may be a kink in the line.

The main burner orifice could be clogged. It can be cleaned

Your thermocouple could be bad. No way to tell if you can't get the pilot to light. You can get a new thermocouple. The generic ones will work fine, just make sure the bulb on the end is long enough to reach the pilot flame. Take your old one with you when you go to buy one.

You pilot light orifice could also be clogged. It can be cleaned too.

The valve should be easy to turn. Remember you have to push it in then turn. If it is hard to turn, the valve may have gotten some moisture in it and corroded. In that case you will have to locate a new one. You can't rebuild these valves to my knowledge.
I am not sure if you can still get new valves. There may be other propane appliances that use the same valve. My suggestion is that you find a RV appliance shop. We have one in Portland. That is all they do. The name is Laurelhurst Heating and Cooling. I don't have the number handy. A propane appliance shop will work too. It doesn't have to be an RV shop. Propane appliances pretty much all work the same. One thing you can try is take the knob off and spray some penetrating lubricant down the shaft and let it sit a while. That may loosen things up.

Or you could find a RV repairman that is willing to work on it for you.

I hope this helps some.

I do have an extra valve but I believe it is in the same condition as yours. I'll have to check.

Just another thought here, Google Singletons RV Salvage. They may have what you need. Take a picture of it and email it to them with an explanation of what you need.

There are a couple other RV Salvage places around but the names escape me right now.

[teeraniti]

I will try to re-grease the valve. I cleaned the pilot and I have gas coming out. I also have a new thermocouple. My only concern now is gas leak. The valve is a little scratched. And I unknowingly opened the filter cap that has a thing gasket on it. Now I might have to replace the gasket as well if I can find one.
I talked to a vintage stove shop and they can find a replacement valve for me for about $190 but that's my last option.

[Jeepers!]

I have the same furnace. I managed to put a new pilot and thermocouple in it, the valving all seems smooth and o.k. BUT…
I can light the pilot, and have the main flame come on and heat for a while, but then there is a click and the main flame AND the pilot goes out, it completely shuts off, won't run for more than 20 minutes or so. It appears to be working fine, cycling on and off, then CLICK. I wonder if there is some sort of regulator issue. This Caravel came with some household looking LP regulator instead of the kind I'm used to seeing. Could this be the culprit?