I moved in to a 1988 holiday rambler 24' about 5 months ago, to live In full time. And until recently, the furnace was running perfectly and didn't have any issues. within the past couple days, after the startup cycle for the furnace has completed and it's putting out decent heat, about 20 minutes or so in to the cycle, the fan slows way down, and just seems to put itself in to limp mode. After a few minutes of it, I can smell burnt propane fumes. So I turn it off for safety reasons. I do have it connected to approximately 200' extension cord in to a regular house. (No other choice) I do know the heater is a hydroflame. Other than that, I can't find a model #. Any help would be extremely helpful and much appreciated. I will be fixing it myself as I can't afford someone to look at it for me.
1988 holiday rambler hydroflame heater issue
- Thread starter Ohpunk
- Start date
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Rene T
Site Team
200 feet. What size extension cord are you using? I'm no electrician so others will chime in soon. The only thing that I could think of, and I may be way out in left field, is that a extension that long may have a huge voltage loss if it's a small guage wire and this would possibly effect the charging of you converter and then you'd deplete the battery causing the fan to slow down. Does that sound right you experts out there?
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
The heater fan runs on 12v power, so represents only a tiny load on the shore cord extension. Low voltage on the shore connection will have some effect on the converter/charger, but it's not something that would take effect 20 minutes later.
The most likely explanation seems to be the motor/fan bearings/bushings seizing up with heat. However, the furnace is supposed to shut itself down if the fan slows too much (that's what the sail switch does). The fan keeps running, but the gas burner should shut off.
Do check the 12v power to the furnace, both initially and after it runs 10 or so minutes. If you are plugged to shore power, it should stay at 13v or more.
The most likely explanation seems to be the motor/fan bearings/bushings seizing up with heat. However, the furnace is supposed to shut itself down if the fan slows too much (that's what the sail switch does). The fan keeps running, but the gas burner should shut off.
Do check the 12v power to the furnace, both initially and after it runs 10 or so minutes. If you are plugged to shore power, it should stay at 13v or more.
Henry J Fate
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2018
- Posts
- 2,292
Check the voltage to the fan while it is running. If the voltage drops below recommended voltage, the amp draw will increase to offset the low voltage. This will cause the motor to heat up and eventually fall victim to a low voltage condition. It may even run fine for extended periods then fall victim.
Mechanical failure could also be the result of improper voltage as heat at the motor can transfer to bearing surfaces and cause premature failure.
A 200 foot cord is quite large and probably wont provide needed voltage all of the time. Your camper usage and the usage at the campground as a whole will vary the available voltage also.
It sounds like your fan motor assembly is in need of repair or replacement. Before either is done, make sure you have proper power and I would recommend to monitor the power frequently if not always.
Mechanical failure could also be the result of improper voltage as heat at the motor can transfer to bearing surfaces and cause premature failure.
A 200 foot cord is quite large and probably wont provide needed voltage all of the time. Your camper usage and the usage at the campground as a whole will vary the available voltage also.
It sounds like your fan motor assembly is in need of repair or replacement. Before either is done, make sure you have proper power and I would recommend to monitor the power frequently if not always.
