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ALANSD · 01-15-2005, 01:37 PM

Following directions from another thread I was able to get my furnace out ok. Barely squeezed it thru the cabinet opening under my drawers. The inside portion of it would not come out, I had to pull out the whole box.
Now with it on the workbench....I still can't get the guts out. The gas line is bent to the rear and will not slip thru the hole. Do I unscrew this fitting? It sure is tight, and I don't want to snap it off. Or does it come off at the straight pipe before entring the burn chamber? Please advise.

zamboni · 01-15-2005, 02:30 PM

I had to remove the 90 elbow fitting to get out of the furnace housing and past the tambor door under the sink.

sfixx · 01-15-2005, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALANSD

Do I unscrew this fitting? It sure is tight, and I don't want to snap it off. Or does it come off at the straight pipe before entring the burn chamber? Please advise.

Yes, back it out. An open end wrench will fit it. Try to support the gas valve while wrenching on it though. I removed and replaced that fitting many times while working on mine then finally decided to bench check it without the cover on. I hooked it up to a battery and a propane bottle using a grill regulator. Also, the cover may be stubborn to get off due to a tight fit but just make sure the wires and piping are well out of the way. I C-clamped the cover to my work bench and pulled from the other side.

Good luck,

Steve

ALANSD · 01-15-2005, 04:15 PM

thanks, I will try to do that , tommorow. Hopefully a good cleaning will suffice.

Lee Pace · 01-15-2005, 05:37 PM

Allan,

While you have it out, use a compressor and blow all the soot out. This will keep the flue passage clear. Make sure you seal the exhaust to the outside, so you won't get carbon monoxicide in the trailer when you are putting it back in.

Don Pace
69 Overlander
WBCCI 7287

bryanl · 01-15-2005, 06:47 PM

What some super ace HVAC people (this is satire, BTW) did on a furnace I saw was to cut a slot on the case so they did not have to remove the elbow from the manifold. As you can see from your pic, there isn't much metal to cut through.

Other than that, there are only one or two screws that go through the bottom of the case to hold the furnace in the case. Those whizbang HVAC techs didn't bother with those either.

They sure made getting the furnace out of the case easy which made replacing a motor fairly simple.

The initial stimulant, I guess, was a new furnace in a 78 sovereign in about 99. The SP model has the vents a couple of inches higher than the original M furnace so you can guess what those guys did. A bit of force and a lot of tape and voila - it fits!

At any rate, you can tell I am not too impressed with the work done on that furnace. But it sure made it nice for pulling the thing out several times trying to figure out that the new motor was bad. I hope this latest motor is good and stays that way for a while, Then I can replace the weatherstripping that was ripped off the underside of the furnace and rebend things to be more in line and do some creative ducting to get proper airflow.

overlander63 · 01-15-2005, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALANSD

thanks, I will try to do that , tommorow. Hopefully a good cleaning will suffice.

Alan, if you don't want to brave the elbow, why not take a pair of tin snips and cut a notch for the elbow to come out through? When it is time to put it back together, you can use some furnace tape to cover the cut. While I don't necessarily advocate doing this, it may be better than damaging the propane plumbing. Just an idea, if all else fails.
Terry

loudruff · 01-15-2005, 10:29 PM

We took the furnace out of our Argosy '78 Minuet a few months ago. The brass fitting came apart rather easily. Give it a try before you cut the case. The best tip that I can offer is that I found that after removing the furnace, I placed a board across 2 sawhorses outside by the exhaust and air supply vent. The 12 v. supply wire and thermostat plug connector was just long enough to reach outside the trailer thru the vent to run the furnace outside the trailer where I could work on it. Also, it was within easy reach of the propane supply valve so with a 3 ft. piece of copper pipe, and a flaring tool, I was able to operate the furnace outside of its case just as if it were in its place inside the trailer. Good luck.
Larry

ALANSD · 01-16-2005, 09:00 AM

I got the brass elbow off, took a lot of pressure to get it to turn, but I supported the inside tube with a block of wood and it unscrewed. Now I find I still can't move the insides out of the case, but I did not see "Other than that, there are only one or two screws that go through the bottom of the case to hold the furnace in the case." those
screws either, a little frustrated, but I am back to the workbench to see if I can find the two screws. Its funny they are not mentioned in the manual. It sounds like once the gas line is off, and the wires unplugged it would just slide right out.

ALANSD · 01-16-2005, 09:47 AM

There are no screws underneath the case on this unit. I can some movement in the insides, but they still won't come out. Tried pushing from the back, pulling from the front, lifting it slightly with a small metal bar, not budging yet. Arghhhh!
Any other way to effect a decent cleaning or does it have to come out..(I think I already know the answer to that one)

overlander63 · 01-16-2005, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALANSD

Tried pushing from the back, pulling from the front, lifting it slightly with a small metal bar, not budging yet. Arghhhh!
Any other way to effect a decent cleaning or does it have to come out..(I think I already know the answer to that one)

I am afraid you do know the answer. You could perform the redneck removal method: If it doesn't move, force it, if it breaks it needed replacing anyway.

Sometimes rust will cause a part to just sit there looking at you when it should slip right out. Maybe tapping on it with a plastic mallet will help loosen it, I just wouldn't want you to destroy the unit only to find there was a partly rusted away screw holding it together.
Terry

loudruff · 01-16-2005, 11:14 AM

I agree with the Argosy20. It's just a matter of getting it to move. The only screws that I found were just inside the front edge. Two of the them hold the furnace in place and were wood screws. The third screw was in the center right between the two mounting screws and it was a sheet metal screw.

ALANSD · 01-16-2005, 11:57 AM

gotcha...I will get my big metal pry bar out and see if I can move the thing. Its 4 feet long and will move most things with some leverage applied.

sfixx · 01-16-2005, 12:00 PM

I'm curious...What year is your MH and what model is the furnace?

Steve

ALANSD · 01-16-2005, 01:55 PM

The MH is an 82 the model on the furnace says NT30M. I checked PPl Parts they have it listed, and the burner log # 10609 is used for all the NT models.

I pulled the log out, sucked a ton of rust and sooty particles out of the chambers, cleaned all. I also cleaned all the electric contacts. But the log itself had some of the openings rusted together. I was able to clean and open up most, but two of them now are bigger than they were as the divider in the middle rusted off. Will this log be useable again? Or are these holes too big, and it would need to be replaced?

The thing with the furnace is it only gets used once or twice a year at most as I have a roof a/c heat strip that is pretty effective..and live in GA which rarley gets really cold for long. Thanks again.

ALANSD · 01-16-2005, 01:57 PM

also what does the long screw on the log ( see top of log in photo) do?

john hd · 01-16-2005, 02:37 PM

that long screw should be the air shutter control

john

ALANSD · 01-16-2005, 04:38 PM

It seemed to far in to be the adjustment screw....any ideas on the log? Is it usable, or do I need a new one?

74Argosy24MH · 01-16-2005, 05:59 PM

Get a new one. You are going to get 2 (maybe 1) big flames and nothing out of the rest. If it is falling apart that bad it won't take much heat to destroy it anyway.

John

ALANSD · 02-03-2005, 07:33 AM

PPl sent me the new burner, a stainless steel model, the wrong one for my NT30 M furnace.
They are not sure the cast iron one is made anymore, looking into that. Mine is solid other than those few slits that broke, so I looking into cleaning it up, getting the slits welded shut and using it. Now that I have the furnace nice and clean, and the fan motor clean and lubed, I would like to try and use the thing as it is.