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  1. #11
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Castle Rock, CO
    Posts
    17
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    Russ,

    Yes, our Reflection 31MB is new. Purchased in June 2019. It is somewhat promising to hear someone else has experienced similar symptoms and most importantly that they have gone away with time.

    Per my latest post I’ve been running the furnace in my garage (exhaust vented outside) for about 6hrs today (not all at once or the over temp switch kicks in). I’ve tried a couple scenarios with the two different types of vents with no definitive answer. I can’t seal my garage up the way the RV is so again hard to draw a lot of conclusions. My plan of action at this point is to not change anything about the system. I am going to run the furnace a couple more times over the next few days and then instal it back in the RV. Then pretty much do the same thing with running the furnace some more to hopefully long enough run time that whatever is causing the symptoms is burned off somehow.

    I have aired it out, but will add that to the systematic process of trying to break in system and air the RV out even more.

    I’ll report back in about 10-14 days.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Harrison
    2020 Reflection 31MB Fifth Wheel
    2016 RAM 3500 6.7L AISIN 3.41 DRW Auto Level Air, 60g Aux Tank

  2. #12
    New Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Posts
    4
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    We purchased our Imagine 3170BH in May - didn’t use it until June. We were in it two weeks and my husband kept sneezing, coughing and finally had a severe asthma attack. During the attack he was better able to breath with a carbon filter mask on in the trailer (and then I took him to ER).

    We thought we would have to sell the trailer. Grand Design could not offer much help, nor our dealer other than to explain how “back in the day” they used to run the furnace full throttle for a couple days prior to the trailer going to it’s new home to burn off off gasses. They were supposed to do that for us over the long weekend in July and didn’t.

    Anyway! We brought it home and left it idle for two weeks during a heat spell. It reached about 99 F on average. We then added two Filter Queen air filters, one at either end of the trailer.

    Now it seems ok. I make sure to open the windows as often as possible and have a 36” floor fan for more circulation.

  3. #13
    Site Sponsor
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Northfield MN
    Posts
    106
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    When we first got our 2018 Imagine (in June 2017), the furnace smelled horrible. Over the next few weeks, I took every chance I could to run the furnace with all the windows and vents open. It took a long time, but eventually the smell dissipated and then disappeared altogether. I assumed it was some kind of excess grease, etc. left over from the manufacturing process that needed to be "burned off". I don't really know how long we had to run it before the smell disappeared, but I'm guess it was somewhere around 15-20 hours.
    2018 Imagine 2600RB
    2019 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 LT Crew Cab, Vortec 6L V8, 4.10 Rear Axle
    Equal-i-zer 1,200/12,000# Hitch

  4. #14
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Castle Rock, CO
    Posts
    17
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    Original Poster here -

    Here is an update 9 months and about 10 trips (30 nights) since the posts from August 2019.

    I ran the furnace hard and long once installed back in the trailer last summer with the windows closed and open (alternating). For the most part the original symptoms reported back then seem to definitely be associated with some sort of burnout period that has gotten better over time as others have reported. We just boondocked for 3 nights with nighttime temps in the 30's here in the Colorado mountains so the furnace pretty much ran from 7pm to 8-9am each night and I definitely never felt sick. Though one night my wife and I both had trouble sleeping and we questioned if it had anything to do with the furnace/propane (nothing definitive).

    Conclusions
    - First I will acknowledge what affects one person might have no impact on another, which could be the case for myself and some others who experienced similar symptoms while others had none.
    - Burnout period seemed to be the ultimate solution.
    - I do feel there may have been some higher concentration of chemicals or something of the sorts in our situation that took longer to burn off or at a higher concentration. I pretty much went through the entire system including ducts cleaning and scrubbing metal surfaces and ducts with water (not chemicals) to aid in the acceleration of burnoff.
    - If you find yourself with similar symptoms just run the furnace hard for hours, days and off/on for weeks. This seems that it will work for most.
    - I personally have invested heavily in major electrical upgrades (lithium battery bank, inverter/chargers, solar, etc) of which all allow me to consume more AC powered devices while off-grid. This allows us to run the electric fireplace for a couple of hours at night and in the AM to keep things warm and thus reducing some of the furnace usage. If we are plugged into a 30/50a shore power we will use the electric fireplace almost exclusively just to avoid any potential physical reactions to the furnace/propane.

    I hope this thread is helpful to others over the years.

    Harrison
    Harrison
    2020 Reflection 31MB Fifth Wheel
    2016 RAM 3500 6.7L AISIN 3.41 DRW Auto Level Air, 60g Aux Tank

  5. #15
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    San Luis Obispo CA
    Posts
    38
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    My 2018 303 took at least a year for the furnace to burn clean. And I did a lot of full blast all day burns when it was new.
    2018 303RLS (Window in closet slide, full size pantry, 16" rims, small fridge)
    2017 RAM 2500HD CrewCab Short Bed 4x4 w/Cummins
    B&W Companion Manual Slider for RAM puck system.

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