Cheap heat Add-On Atwood Disclaimer

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Yes, well, Atwood is pretty anal about any add-on to their products, whether furnace or water heater or anything else.  Of course they aren't responsible for any liabilities caused by the add-ons - that goes without saying. But are there any problems likely? Who knows? Only time will tell.

The Magnuson-Moss Act specifically prohibits a manufacturer from making any blanket warranty withdrawal simply because an aftermarket add-on is in use. It requires that the manufacturer have engineering "proof" to support any claim that the add-on caused a malfunction. Of course, their in-house engineers will quite likely conclude that the add-on did indeed cause any new problem rather than some failing in their own design, but at least it assures there will be a set of written arguments to debate rather than plain old BS.
 
I like the product concept, but do wonder about the safety aspects, especially the possible CO problem. I also wonder about the fire safety issues.
 
Let me translate this into slightly different language.

Attwood assumes no (Was it responsibility or liability?) for  Products we do not make.

And I might add, neither does Ford, or Chevy or Fridegare or GE or Sony or Pioneer,    I mean why should they?

Workhorse is an exception in that they do assume responsibility for at least one problem not of their making (The famous burned spark plug wire issue, that's the fault of the coach builder, not workhorse, but Workhorse fixes it).

Second,  Part.. Messing with the configuration may affect operation of the high limit switch.. Yes, it might, and it might not if done properly.  And you can test it to make sure it's working.

This is all standard boiler plate language that nearly every company on earth has somewhere,, I mean they slightly modify the boiler plate to fit the specific product but there is nothing surprising or unusual about it. 

And of course always remeber the most important line in any warranty statement "You may have other rights which vary from state to state".
 
I am not concerned with the liability as much as the warning. And I'm not so concerned with the sail switch as with the potential to cause a fire or CO poisoning. I doubt this add on has been tested and certified by UL or CSA in combination with the furnace. We have seen how concerned people have been with the recalls on Norcold refrigerators. I am just wondering if concern is needed here. I would hate to see someone die in a fire or from CO poisoning. I wonder what the RV insurance companies think.
 
You are surely right about the lack of UL/CSA certification. Having those is good, but not having them merely leaves an open question. The testing is far too expensive for small companies with niche products like this, so the lack of testing should not imply that the product is bad. You simply do not know one way or the other.

Insurance companies think you should stay home in bed, so their input on most any question like this is so conservative as to be useless (IMO).

That said, you are right to be concerned, at least to the point of reviewing the product design and installation procedures thoroughly before purchasing. I think the chances of the sort of problems that Atwood cites are slim, but when the effect of a mistake is likely to involve total loss to the RV and possibly death to the occupants, "slim" may be small comfort.

I don't like the product anyway, so I'm not worrying. If you have a 30A rig, you can't get enough electric power to make the Cheap Heat very useful anyway. Propane is the way to go in that situation. If you have 50A, you can do as well with portable electric heater(s), though you may have to install some outlets dedicated to them.
 
I looked at the CheapHeat but didn't get it:
1) In my rig there isn't enough clearance.
2) Even if there were enough room, my furnace is at the opposite corner of the rig from the electrical panel, so running the wire would have been a problem
3) It's expensive at $495 for the CheapHeat alone

I ended up installing a King Electric pic-a-watt wall heater:

http://www.king-electric.com/prodtemp.asp?prodID=HEAT_PAW

I have one that is 120 volts and have it set up for 1500 watts, so I can run it on any service down to 15 amps.  They make them in 240 volt versions also, and regardless of voltage, you can set them up for varying wattages.

Because it's permanently installed in a location away from drapes, upholstery, and so on, I believe I have a much safer setup than I would with a portable heater.  No worries about it tipping over or being moved by dogs, kids, etc.  I think I paid around $150 for it.

It has worked out well.

Gary RV Roamer said:
Insurance companies think you should stay home in bed, so their input on most any question like this is so conservative as to be useless (IMO).

You should get a medal or something for that.
 

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