Al
Greetings to all. I have run into a problem with the heater in my 65 Sovereign. Parents are coming for Thanksgiving, planning on staying in the airstream so I was I was checking out the heater since we haven't used it in years. Most of our camping is during the summer months. I think I know what the problem is but would welcome info or suggestions from others.
I discovered that the pilot worked fine, turned on the gas and the burner started. After heating for a few minutes the blower started as it was supposed to. The thermostat seemed to work, and while I worked on some projects inside the trailer, I'm sure the furnace cycled properly a few times, however I noticed the tempature was getting a little warm in the trailer so I tried turning down the thermostat. The furnace kept running so I suspected the thermostat might be faulty. There are only two wires going to the thermostat, so I didn't know if it was supposed to be "open" or "closed" in order to signal the furnace for gas to the burned to be shut off.
I completely disconnected the thermostat, waited, and checked the furnace to see that the burner was still on----then tried shorting the wires that went to the thermostat to make sure that the furnace was getting a "closed" signal----same result---the burner stayed on. I had to literally turn the gas valve off to get the burner to shut down-----I assume a stuck open gas valve? Anybody had that problem?
Any suggestions? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Any other trouble shooting ideas, or recommendations for how to proceed ? I will probably not have time to correct the problem before Thanksgiving but can use a couple ceramic electric heaters. We used them on our last campout, and they worked fine to keep the chill off, but I would like to get the furnace operational for some future fall or early spring weekend trips. Thanks again for any ideas.
I am one of the lucky ones to live here in Tulsa with "Supershine" and Sharon. I'm saving my quarters for more restoration supervised by Sharon on the interior, and and Jim on the experior. I haven't met Sharon personally yet, but have had a couple chances to visit with Jim, see the manufacturing facility, pick his brain, and talk vintage airstreams. You can't meet him and not like him! Like so many others have expressed, keep up the good work Jim, and best wishes on your recovery.
Charlie Gunkel, Carol
proud owners of a '65 Sovereign
PS Happy Thanksgiving to all!