HVAC Duct Problem. Picture Included.

[TucsonJim]

On our shake down cruise, I noticed that there was no heat at the bedroom or cargo hold area. The temperature in these areas was ambient temperature of the rooms they were in. I removed the screws to the panel in the cargo area and found that the duct is held on by tape. I'm sure there is a reason there are no fasteners such as not wanting to make a place where dust can catch. Since there are no fasteners of any type which leads me to believe that this may be a defect waiting to happen on other units. Gravity, vibration, temperature and time may give rise to this duct being a problem area.

So I'm sure repairs will need to be: 1. Remove the existing tape. 2. Clean any old adhesive residue 3. Reapply high temperature duct foil tape as originally installed.

Please see another post regarding a concern I have in the electrical section.

[TucsonJim]

Sorry - Can't get the image to rotate to the correct orientation. The duct is hanging below the main duct.

[CentralMichBo]

Jim - I got into the belly today to try and fix the water heater valve problem and low and behold - I have the same picture as yours. What a nightmare to get to and tape back up! I have to take the trailer back to the dealer tomorrow and I'm going to point it out to them - they may want to fix differently than I did. I also have a black tank flush line that appears to be kinked - they may have to do something with that.

Jim

[TucsonJim]

Jim,

I brought this to the attention of Micah Staley (Reflection GM). He was going to see if they can come up with a solution other than tape. You're right, you have to be a little bit of a contortionist to get to it, but I managed.

for the rest of you, you can check this without having to disassemble the basement panel. Turn on the furnace and put a thermometer in the bedroom heat register. I used an instant read cooking thermometer. If you feel warm air in the bathroom register, but the bedroom register is reading room temperature, the tape has likely failed.

I used very heavy duty metal duct tape to make the repair. I was thinking about putting some screws into the duct, but didn't want to make a trap for dust bunnies.

Now that there have been two of these instances, GD needs to go back to the drawing board.

[TucsonJim]

Jim, One other thing you may want to check if you still have access is the fittings to the water pump. On my pump, both sides had a few drops of water that had leaked into the basement. The fittings were pretty loose, so I tightened them and ran the pump with no more leaks noted.

Jim

[CentralMichBo]

Thanks for the info Jim - I do have the panels off because the dealer tech is going to have to replace the Anderson Kankleak unit I think. I did notice a small puddle of water on the floor but I don't remember it being by the pump - it was closer to the Anderson valves. I'm going to have the tech tighten things up. My water heater problem might be at the water heater valves/fittings. I tried tapping on the valves to try and get things to work but no luck - you should try getting to the back of the water heater. I'm 5'10" and about 210 so it was a fun crawl - then I didn't want to crush the heater duct so I could only go so far. I was in the belly of my old Avalanche a few times and Grand Design is still a lot better constructed. Even with a few problems, I am still impressed with Grand Design way!!!!

Jim

Jim

[JWPeters]

The bedroom heat duct also came loose in our Reflection - on the way home from the dealer after purchase. It was completely detached from the floor duct. I re-taped the connection (after removal of old tape and adhesive) with good quality metal foil duct tape but I am not sure it will survive travel. I am reluctant to use any kind of mechanical fastener since the duct material is very thin and soft. If it continues to come loose I will have to come up with a solution, still thinking about what that might be.

[TucsonJim]

I sent a note to Micah this morning letting him know there is an issue with multiple failures. He replied that he's working to get a proper solution. If I hear anything back on a fix, I'll post it here if he doesn't.