Issues with the furnace camping at a wide range of altitudes and temperatures

[Scott'n'Wendy]

The furnace will be close to not working at 10k feet because of thinner air. The air inlet to the burner needs to be restricted a bit at altitude. Probably why your RV tech had no issue having it run properly at a lower elevation with the same tanks.

 

[Dale B]

The furnace will be close to not working at 10k feet because of thinner air. The air inlet to the burner needs to be restricted a bit at altitude. Probably why your RV tech had no issue having it run properly at a lower elevation with the same tanks.

I was thinking re calibration for altitude such as a re jet kit. A normal BBQ would be a problem @ 10k', huge difference in air pressure as in lack of.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I was thinking re calibration for altitude such as a re jet kit. A normal BBQ would be a problem @ 10k', huge difference in air pressure as in lack of.

Well, that would be the way to go for sure if you were staying at altitude. But you would be kind of pooched almost everywhere else in the country where you are down closer to sea level.
My previous trailer, a 2006 had an adjustable air inlet by the ignitor. It could be adjusted to a nice blue flame. Not sure if the adjustability is there on newer fridges. I have yet to look on our new GD.

 

[jkwilson]

Doing a little searching and it seems piezo igniters in general experience problems at high altitude and butane lighters with flints are sold for high altitude use. Seems likely it’s oxygen levels. No authoritative sources though.

 

[John_Seckman]

Furnace Failure At High Altitude

Hi all
First post for me and this is the first RV for my wife and I. We just bought a Imagine 3100RD. We are moving into our RV to live full time. The RV is going to go back and forth between 10,000 ft and 6000 ft based on where our house is and where I work. We decided to test out the RV right away on our property which is at 10k ft and the furnace stopped staying lit after two days. I drove it back down to the dealership which is at 6k ft and they had no issue getting the furnace to perform properly. I was told by the tech at the dealership and our residential heating technician who also owns an RV that the furnace is likely not getting the correct pressure at this altitude. Has anybody else experienced this and if so does anybody have any ideas on how to compensate for the extreme altitude changes? Thanks in advance.

I have been dealing with this for years and have found no solution. I live at 7,800 feet elevation and the furnace will not light. Take it to the dealer in Denver at 5,280 feet elevation and it works perfectly. We have traveled over 30K miles and anytime you get too about 7,000 feet elevation, the furnace failed. I have taken it to three (3) dealer, dealers and all say there is nothing they can do about it.
As you know, at higher elevation it is colder and that is where you really need the furnace to work. Hope you find an answer and if you do, please let me know. I have a 2017 Image, 3200RB.

 

[imrvman]

I have had many problems with the furnace not lighting but not at altitude. Temperature and pressure in the tank are related and at high altitude I believe the pressure in the tank would also decrease. My experiences all comes from camping in severe winter temperatures in Whistler. With smaller tanks and particularly when they get low on gas they will freeze up and not have enough pressure to run the furnace. When gas is being used the venturi effect also cools the tank by quite a bit thereby decreasing inside pressure. Typically in Whistler most folks go with 100 lb tanks as the surface area to volume ratio is less, so easier to keep up pressure. Never had the lighting problem since using large volume tanks. With 30 lb tanks which are getting low on gas I’ve had the furnace quit near freezing temperature. Heating the tank should solve the problem. Testing with a full warm tank should confirm the problem.

Always bad news when your furnace doesn’t light in winter. Good luck.

 

[Aaron35s]

Try an electric blanket on the tanks! Or use heat trace tape if you have electric hook ups. Propane loses its pressure the colder it gets outside.

 

[mountainrv]

I have been dealing with this for years and have found no solution. I live at 7,800 feet elevation and the furnace will not light. Take it to the dealer in Denver at 5,280 feet elevation and it works perfectly. We have traveled over 30K miles and anytime you get too about 7,000 feet elevation, the furnace failed. I have taken it to three (3) dealer, dealers and all say there is nothing they can do about it.
As you know, at higher elevation it is colder and that is where you really need the furnace to work. Hope you find an answer and if you do, please let me know. I have a 2017 Image, 3200RB.

Sorry, just saw your post. So far I have had success with filling my propane tanks at my local propane fill station. My plumber/hvac tech says he has a similar issue with his RV at altitude/cold weather. When the tanks are full my furnace will fire on the first or second click. Once the tanks are down to about 2/3-1/2 a tank it takes a few more tries but will eventually light. It also seems to have more to do with temperature than altitude. So far my solution has been to keep the tanks full (I keep three 30lb tanks) and swap in the third tank once the other two are at about half or a little lower. I'm still experimenting with it and may buy an electric propane tank heater.

 

[mountainrv]

I have been dealing with this for years and have found no solution. I live at 7,800 feet elevation and the furnace will not light. Take it to the dealer in Denver at 5,280 feet elevation and it works perfectly. We have traveled over 30K miles and anytime you get too about 7,000 feet elevation, the furnace failed. I have taken it to three (3) dealer, dealers and all say there is nothing they can do about it.
As you know, at higher elevation it is colder and that is where you really need the furnace to work. Hope you find an answer and if you do, please let me know. I have a 2017 Image, 3200RB.

Update. Bought a manometer. Set the propane regulator to around 12 in/h20 per the dealers recommendation which came from Dometic. No high altitude kit for this furnace according to Dometic. However, at that setting the furnace has been working like a charm. I also bought two electric propane tank heating pads made by warmguard. I have them covered by an old sleeping bag and protected from the elements with a tarp. I left the bottom open to allow any vented propane to be able to escape. With those propane heating blankets I can actually use the whole bottle of propane. Hope this helps anybody else having similar issues.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

[MENTION=45889]mountainrv[/MENTION]

You set the reg to 12" of water, did it have to be adjusted very much to get that? I don't know what GD would normally set them for. For all I know they may install out of the box without checking.

 

[Gfbaab]

Nice, please post back your experience

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

We have a 310 gk and have towed from Houston to 11,000 ft in Colorado and never had a problem. Hopefully they found your problem.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

The furnace will be close to not working at 10k feet because of thinner air. The air inlet to the burner needs to be restricted a bit at altitude. Probably why your RV tech had no issue having it run properly at a lower elevation with the same tanks.

edit - unrestricted a bit.
I was rereading this thread and see I put restricted instead of unrestricted and I couldn't find an edit option so I'm reposting