Forum Discussion

maritimemedic's avatar
maritimemedic
Explorer
Mar 20, 2016

normal to see yellow flame inside the furnace exhaust vent?

Hey folks

First time RV owner here, I have a 2015 Durango 296BHS.

I'm actually staying in it for a while right now, and I live in the cold north of Canada. Labrador actually. It's -25 Celsius here. I am going through about 60 lbs of propane in a 7 to 8 day period. Which I'm fine with.

I was outside tonight, very dark and cold outside and I noticed my furnace vent was glowing orange / yellow. There was the obvious smell coming from it while burning propane, but looking inside the vents I could see a yellow flame. Is this normal? I know nothing about gas furnaces. Should I be able to look inside the exhaust vent and see a yellow flame? I always thought propane burnt blue. The oven and stove top are working fine with blue flame, and the furnace is giving off great heat with no odd smells inside, I just wondered if this was normal.

I took a quick video...sorry it's so short and dark. This is on the passenger side of the 5th wheel, this is the furnace exhaust vent I believe.

https://youtu.be/5P673SortQU

***Link Removed***
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Mar 21, 2016
    Martimemedic you may have a good point there.. There are a couple different products that often get sold as Propane.. one is, of course Propane.

    But especially in the south. Many times BUTANE gets substituted.. now, if you are filling the BBQ tank, you really do not notice the difference, since you almost never use a BBQ below freezing, and the major difference is that Butane burns a bit hotter (not much, just a tiny bit) so you may actually use less gas..

    Of course Butane is way way cheeper than propane so by sellling Butane at propane prices the dealer is making a big profit.

    But,,,, For RVers who often DO run the furnace when it's sub zero (C) (that is below freezing) it makes a BIG difference,,, Cause Butane won't vaporize when it is that cold.

    And of course it is false advertising, so it's criminal.

    But.. The point is this: I'd bet the air/fuel ratio is slightly different for Butane as well. So adjusting the furnace,, on one fuel, then getting a load of the other, can cause a "Bad mix" yellow flame.
  • maritimemedic's avatar
    maritimemedic
    Explorer
    Mar 20, 2016
    I think, it may be wet or dirty propane.

    This only occurred after I had this tank refilled at Home Hardware, and the kid that was filling the tank was very untrained, I wasn't there when he filled it but he was reading instructions for tank filling. I don't know if perhaps somehow moisture got into the tank, or if maybe he didn't purge the tank first or maybe he over filled. He even slammed it into the wall a few times trying to knock ice off of the underside of the tank and put a small dent in the tank.

    An old friend mentioned that he has a propane at his cabin and he has had yellow flames with dirty propane before, but I don't know if that's legitimate or not. I am thinking about letting this tank burn off and then filling it at a different location to see if it reoccurs.

    Thoughts?
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Mar 20, 2016
    There are two causes of yellow flame, and they are the same.

    One is an improper air/fuel mix .. The other is impurities in the flame path, These can burn (And since there is not enough air for them you get yellow).

    Now the first, is adjustable, and the second should clear itself in a matter of minutes.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Mar 20, 2016
    I have shot out some strange looking flames usually when it first fire up...

    We are not much of a propane furnace fan in our setup... We all get run out big time by the too much heat generated in our small OFF-ROAD POPUP coming from the propane furnace - way too much heat for the OFF-ROAD POPUP. When its really cold outside however sure feels great haha...

    I guess you always want to see blue flames associated with burning propane...

    My outside window flaps for the OFF-ROAD POPUP are just a few inches above the outside furnace vent and after seeing big flames come shooting out there a few times sure has got my attention haha...

    The two PROPANE FURNACE VENTS are to the front of the wheel-well next to the bottom Fridge panel...

    I have to watch my hanging window flaps and should secured up high around the furnace vent...

    Roy Ken
  • naturist's avatar
    naturist
    Nomad
    Mar 20, 2016
    What he said.

    This could be caused by the air intake being clogged with wasp nests or spider webs, but it will cause rapid buildup of carbon/soot further clogging things up and it will pump out dangerous carbon monoxide like crazy, and can kill you and/or the poor folks in the tent next to your rig as you sleep. Do not use this furnace until it has been repaired by a competent technician.
  • romore's avatar
    romore
    Explorer II
    Mar 20, 2016
    No, it is not normal you are getting incomplete combustion which is very hazardous to your health. Have that furnace serviced by a competent technician, in the meantime have lots of ventilation even if it means being a bit chilly.

About RV Newbies

4,026 PostsLatest Activity: Jun 15, 2017