Atwood Hydro Flame 8520, replace or fix?

[lamopar]

I have a 2011 RV with the Atwood heater. It won't continue to run and after opening up I find the burner is falling apart. I don't know if I have a problem with the board or any other parts also. When I am looking at replacement parts it shows the burner is not available but another may fit which I am checking. All in all it appears I can replace most of the replacement parts for ~ $150-$175 with new units running ~ $500. Just wondering if I replace all the valves and burner/igniter and switches do I still have an old furnace and newer unit would heat my RV much better. I hate to put a bunch of new parts in an old furnace when for a few more dollars I could get a much more efficient unit that blows air much better.

So what would you do if money was not a major issue?

Thanks, Wally

[trailrider]

lamopar wrote:
Trailrider I have no idea if a new heater blows better or is more efficient. I just assumed there have been improvements in the newer models that work better. Since we had this problem I started looking for information on new units for pricing and improvements.

Do you have any insight that may help?

The only improvements I have seen quoted by the furnace manufacturers are "less noise." I would recommend you keep the old furnace. The new stuff is just built lighter and cheaper to manufacture every time they update something.

[lamopar]

I replaced the destroyed combustion chamber and the furnace fired right up on the 1st attempt to light and was still running 5 minutes later. I set the heat to 60 degrees and am going to let it run till Saturday to ensure it works fine.

I had a hard time with the screws at the very bottom which are also in the very back. My impact driver magnet was not strong enough to hold them the distance. I used a retrieval magnet tool that small and round and extendable. Placing the head against the head of the magnet then making sure the swivel connection was vertical I was able to start the screws into the holes, then use the driver to tighten them up. This made the job go very quick! A person must make sure the swivel connector is vertical as the magnet is strong enough to swivel the end of the tool upward attracting to the bottom of the furnace as you get to the back area. Just a neat tip for someone.

[lamopar]

Trailrider I have no idea if a new heater blows better or is more efficient. I just assumed there have been improvements in the newer models that work better. Since we had this problem I started looking for information on new units for pricing and improvements.

Do you have any insight that may help?

[trailrider]

lamopar wrote:
I have a 2011 RV with the Atwood heater. It won't continue to run and after opening up I find the burner is falling apart. I don't know if I have a problem with the board or any other parts also. When I am looking at replacement parts it shows the burner is not available but another may fit which I am checking. All in all it appears I can replace most of the replacement parts for ~ $150-$175 with new units running ~ $500. Just wondering if I replace all the valves and burner/igniter and switches do I still have an old furnace and newer unit would heat my RV much better. I hate to put a bunch of new parts in an old furnace when for a few more dollars I could get a much more efficient unit that blows air much better.

So what would you do if money was not a major issue?

Thanks, Wally

Why do you think a new unit is "much more efficient" and "blows air much better?"

[lamopar]

I looked inside the furnace and saw a little bit of rusty material that has flaked off but not much. Most of it looked pretty good. The exhaust pipe came out with no problem although is has one side party folded in covering about 1/4 of the pipe. I am guessing this is set up like this from the factory. I have cleaned all the contacts so far. I did find this burner assembly at a local supply house for $21 so I ask my wife to pick it up. I am thinking if I replace it and if it works fine I will start looking at a new furnace in the future. If it doesn't help I don't think I will continue with replacing parts on the unit. Now to figure out how hard it will be to get a replacement that fits without a lot of modifications.

[enblethen]

Falling apart could be just missing screws. It is not hard to reattach the burner assembly into the furnace using 1/4 inch socket set and extension to get to screws. Have you removed burner assembly and looked into the furnace burner box?
Circuit boards are not bad in price from Dinosaur Electronics. Some problems is with the connector on the circuit boadr. They contacts corrode. You can clean them using white pencil eraser. Then applying electric oxidation compound. (de-ox)
Some failures on board can be seen. Black burnt spots.

[Chris_Bryant]

The biggest non repairable problem I find with those is the exhaust tube gets rusted tight.
While not recommended by Dometic/Atwood/Hydroflame/Terra Labs, you can use a new style burner without issue.

[wa8yxm]

If the burner is falling apart I'd worry about the heat exchanger (The part that seperates the CO in the unit's exhaust from YOU keeping you alive) I'd go ahead and repalce.

[lamopar]

I bought the toy hauler used in 2012 so it was only with someone else for about a year. We have had it the last 6 years. It seems to work ok until this event happened this last weekend out. We camp in the trailer during ski season at the resort on weekends so I can't afford to have a problem allowing the trailer to freeze up and break things.

[enblethen]

I am going the other way. If the unit is solid without any rust, I would be fixing it.
These people in Portland should have the parts and expertise for you.Laurelhurst Distributors
2011 model should not be in that bad of shape. Did you get rig new or used?

[BFL13]

I have an 8531 in the 1991 Class C. (amazing you have an 8520 in your fairly new rig!) IMO get new!

The burner in ours was rusting out so lots of trouble with it. (The screen with the little holes in it was mostly gone so the flame was all over the place, confusing the igniter/temp set.)

No luck getting a burner at first and found out they are very different in different 85xx sizes so be careful there. I eventually found a used 8531 in a garage sale for low price, and swiped the burner out of that. The furnace still acts up a little. Sometimes the fan comes on and no heat, so have to go to the thermostat and switch off, wait, then switch on and now it ignites properly. Most of the time it works right though.

I was on the point of getting a new replacement. I recommend doing that for sure. Do note that the new ones are longer in the back where the ducts go, so you need room back there so it will fit.

[donn0128]

Personally I would go for the new furnace. From my experience with a water heater, once you start down the repair road it never ends.