Suburban Furnace Troubles.

Question

Suburban SF30-F furnace. First time I used it, everything worked A-OK. After that, it has been hit or miss. Sometimes it works first time, and every time after. Next time, I have to toggle the thermostat a number of times. I decided to take a look inside of it and found some "materials" inside. One pic is a wasp nest, one is from the fan blades, and other is dog hair that was behind the grill.

The previous owner had a big dog that shed enormous amounts of hair and it was everywhere. The PO didn't do any maintenance that I can determine. He didn't fix anything either. If he couldn't glue it, it stayed broken. But I digress. I have already replaced the thermostat with a digital model. I did not take anything apart on the furnace yet, as I need to get a tool (crows foot wrench) to remove the gas line from the solenoid. I don't feel like taking half the furnace apart to remove it, and I need to get some gaskets and such. I am also going to modify the wire connections, as I have difficulties with one hand and can't install wire nuts easily or at all. I may mount a terminal strip with blade connectors that I can connect with one hand.

sidecarflip · Answer

It's a flare nut wrench btw.  What I have a wife for.  If I cannot do it, I have her do it, well, I ask her nicely.....lol

davidlee64 · Answer

SidecarFlip wrote:It's a flare nut wrench btw.  What I have a wife for.  If I cannot do it, I have her do it, well, I ask her nicely.....lolI have flare nut wrenches, but no room to turn it between the fan housings. Actually, one time I was working on my truck, and had to remove the EGR pipe from the exhaust manifold. I could get a wrench on it, but could not break it loose. I made a crows foot wrench from a cut off wrench, and an extension end welded on it. With another  extension plugged in, I could use a breaker bar over the top of the engine. Worked like a charm. :) I traded the (ex) wife in a few years back. It was a choice of her or my sanity.Edit: I used to live in your area years back. Downriver mostly.

jetcare · Answer

A 5/8" crow's foot is a must for working on the SF30 series furnaces. Getting the gas line properly retightend to the gas valve is just as important as getting it loose.

naturist · Answer

"Foreign matter" especially in the burner tubes afflict water heaters, furnaces, and refrigerators all across the land. From wasp nests to dead stink bugs, to spider webs, one must plan to clean out all those burners at least once a year, and sometimes more often. It's the first place to look whenever a propane appliance has a problem.

davidlee64 · Answer

I am pretty sure I found the cause of the furnace problems. I got what I needed to pull the burner out of the heat exchanger. A new gasket and a new electrode. I made a wrench to remove the gas line from the solenoid. The gas orifice appeared to be about 80% plugged with foreign matter. I cleaned it out, and getting ready to vacuum out the area of the burner of bug carcasses and residue. The electrode was greenish with built up stuff on it. Then I will make some mods to the wires for ease of assembly. Then put it all back together and give it a test run.

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