hi all,I have a old , from a 79 cawmper, a suburban 1600 btu . if I can read it correctly model nt l6 mec . I cannot find any information on this or diagrams. I opened up the hole where you light the pilot and it was filled with insulation from a mouse nest. so I assume the mouse can get thru the outside exhaust and into it easily. my question is, can I just put an air hose into the hole and blow all that out the exhaust, seems easier than taking the whole thing out. thanks you . attached is the best pic i could get of the plate. this is link to pic. https://ibb.co/g5fHcGthanks for the replies! I cant find any info on the old unit which barely has been used

you are better off replacing it than trying to repair it. That old it more than likely is rotted and will leak

blackturbo wrote:I have a old , from a 79 cawmper, a suburban 1600 btu . if I can read it correctly model nt l6 mec .It would be a 16,000 BTU furnace and I agree - replace it, a furnace this old isn't worth trying to repair.

https://ibb.co/g5fHcGYes, I would try that to get the stuff away from the pilot "flower" and see if you can light the pilot. If you can get the pilot to stay on long enough, turn the knob to "on" and maybe the main burner will light and burn up all the nesting material too. Be sure to let that little round door cover the hole after you get the pilot lit or it will go out again. You can hear when the main burner comes on after you turn the knob to "on" from "pilot"One trick to get the pilot to stay on is to also put your flame to the thermocouple sticking out beside the flower. The pilot flame is supposed to get over onto that thermocouple and heat it up but might not if the pilot flame isn't quite right. Your lighter's flame on it will "fool it" so it works.We recently had a 1981 camper with one of those old furnaces and had some trouble at first getting it to work--had to take it apart and soak the gas lines in mineral spirits. That made the difference.

You will have to take the furnace out and disassemble it to get all the rodent trash out. Odds are you have the cast iron burner assbly. Those burners have half moon slits for the burner flame. after 40 years, that burner will need to be pulled and the slots cleaned out due to rust and debris. You use a standard hack saw blade to clean out those slits and then use compressed air to clean out the burner and furnace housing. Doug

suburban 1600 btu furnace | Good Sam Community

BFL13
Explorer II
Dec 29, 2017
https://ibb.co/g5fHcG

Yes, I would try that to get the stuff away from the pilot "flower" and see if you can light the pilot. If you can get the pilot to stay on long enough, turn the knob to "on" and maybe the main burner will light and burn up all the nesting material too. Be sure to let that little round door cover the hole after you get the pilot lit or it will go out again. You can hear when the main burner comes on after you turn the knob to "on" from "pilot"

One trick to get the pilot to stay on is to also put your flame to the thermocouple sticking out beside the flower. The pilot flame is supposed to get over onto that thermocouple and heat it up but might not if the pilot flame isn't quite right. Your lighter's flame on it will "fool it" so it works.

We recently had a 1981 camper with one of those old furnaces and had some trouble at first getting it to work--had to take it apart and soak the gas lines in mineral spirits. That made the difference.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Dec 29, 2017
blackturbo wrote:
I have a old , from a 79 cawmper, a suburban 1600 btu . if I can read it correctly model nt l6 mec .

It would be a 16,000 BTU furnace and I agree - replace it, a furnace this old isn't worth trying to repair.
newman_fulltime
Explorer II
Dec 29, 2017
you are better off replacing it than trying to repair it.
That old it more than likely is rotted and will leak

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