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Brucester's avatar
Brucester
Explorer
Jan 13, 2014

Milan 25RKS Trailer furnace access

I am attempting to service/repair Atwood 8531 furnace mounted on the floor blow the sink against the back wall of the trailer. It is confined forward by a built in solid cabinet front with removable drawers just above the unit and below the sink but drawer framework remains that won't enable removal of the unit. I am trying to get to the electrode for troubleshooting due to lock-out approximately 5 seconds after ignition. There appears to be no access panel for the combustion area from the top. The only access from the outside is the exhaust vent, when removed you can shine a flashlight through and see a portion of the electrode. I am looking for anyone who has been here and hopefully can tell me how to solve this puzzle.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Jan 15, 2014
    BurbMan wrote:
    Y'know....as a plan B, have you thought about taking the countertop off? Disconnect the water supplies to the sink and the P-trap to the sink. The countertop should just be held on with screws from underneath. With the sink disconnected, you should just be able to lift the countertop off once its unscrewed. No need to remove the sink from the countertop, lift the whole thing off as a unit. It's not that big, it should be fairly easy to remove and re-install. then you don't have to worry about messing with the cabinets.

    You can reach in through the drawer openings to disconnect the furnace, then lift it straight out of the top for removal.


    You still have to remove the Oven to remove the countertop. Removing the water heater is a lot easier to do than the countertop. AND, the odds of cracking the countertop are great. There is not a lot of support on the countertop with the various cutouts (Oven). The ONLY thing holding the furnace in is about 3 mount screws and the LP line. Doug
  • mena661's avatar
    mena661
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    Brucester wrote:
    Thanks to all for the terrific response. I will investigate these options thoroughly and then dedicate a day to diving into what appears to be a significant project. I will post my lessons learned for future RV enthusiasts that come across this issue.
    Thanks much for that!
  • Brucester's avatar
    Brucester
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    Thanks to all for the terrific response. I will investigate these options thoroughly and then dedicate a day to diving into what appears to be a significant project. I will post my lessons learned for future RV enthusiasts that come across this issue.
  • BurbMan's avatar
    BurbMan
    Explorer II
    Jan 15, 2014
    Y'know....as a plan B, have you thought about taking the countertop off? Disconnect the water supplies to the sink and the P-trap to the sink. The countertop should just be held on with screws from underneath. With the sink disconnected, you should just be able to lift the countertop off once its unscrewed. No need to remove the sink from the countertop, lift the whole thing off as a unit. It's not that big, it should be fairly easy to remove and re-install. then you don't have to worry about messing with the cabinets.

    You can reach in through the drawer openings to disconnect the furnace, then lift it straight out of the top for removal.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Jan 15, 2014
    You remove the Water Heater and the Oven. THAT will give you access to slide the furnace curbside and out where the Oven is mounted. Remember, they build these to NOT always have adequate service access. They do NOT do it intentionally, but the end result sometimes is this. IF under warranty, the OEM would have to pay the extra time to remove the obstructions. From what I see, the outside door model could NOT be used in this case. Doug
  • Brucester's avatar
    Brucester
    Explorer
    Jan 15, 2014
    Burbman you have illustrated it well. The water heater is behind the large vent. As you say it looks like some cabinet disassembly or maybe water heater removal to get that rascal out. The panel where the CO2 alarm is is too small to take it out forward. This sure looks like an application where that same furnace model with the outside panel would have been appropriate. Thanks for all your help.
  • BurbMan's avatar
    BurbMan
    Explorer II
    Jan 14, 2014
    Boy this is a tough one. Here you can see the furnace exhaust at the rear of the trailer:



    And the view from the inside:



    What's below the oven? Can you remove that panel and get in there better? Also the drawer supports a lot of times only have 1 screw holding them in, or maybe a staple. You may have to do some gentle dis-assembly and cabinet re-assembly to get to the heater.

    Nice TT by the way!
  • Brucester's avatar
    Brucester
    Explorer
    Jan 14, 2014
    Thanks, you guys have me half way there. My remaining challenge is how to get the furnace out from between the wall behind and the cabinet face in front in addition to the floor below and the drawer support structure and sink above above. Any additional help in this remaining portion of the puzzle will be greatly appreciated.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Jan 13, 2014
    There are 2 versions of the 8531. The common version has the large access door on the outside. The less common just has the outside vent and you MUST pull the complete furnace from the inside to do any work on it. Doug

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