sf3291
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Re: Probably Going To The Dark Side
996Pilot wrote: Of course the Outfitter Apex 8 is functioning just perfectly right now with the new all electric Danfoss compressor refrigerator, the upgraded solar to 260W, the new electric dump valves, new converter, etc. It's always that way. Just when you get something up and going perfectly, BAM - let's make a change! I've seen one other outfitter in the SD area...actually within a couple miles of me. Wonder if that is you? I'm technically La Mesa and the other one is about 1 mile east of me. Anyway, if you have any insight as to how /who replaced your electric dump valves...I'd be interested. I have a 2007 (N/S cabover though) and it seems like my electric dump valves are getting long in the tooth based on the noises they make when I operate them these days....390Views0likes0CommentsRe: Supporting a pop up roof - examples or methods?
whazoo wrote: No pictures but I've removed the lift arms several time using 1x4 or 6 I forget, cut to 24in and set between the ceiling and side walls on the outside of the upper horizontal torsion bars, no problemo easy peasy simple dimple. Just don't lower the lid too far or you'll rip out the roof brackets. Talked to Bob this morning and his suggested method was just as you say. Thanks. I think I've had my apex about the same amount of time you have - with pretty comparable use it appears. Guess I'm lucky then this is the first time I'm having to do this.599Views0likes0CommentsSupporting a pop up roof - examples or methods?
Long story short: I managed to bend one of the arms used to raise/lower the roof on my Outfitter and need to support the roof while I remove the arm and either try to bend it back or replace it. Anyone have pictures or a descriptive method on how to do this? I've read plenty of posts on this and other forums where folks have done this, but never saw pictures or a good description on how to go about doing it. Outfitter is normally closed on Mondays, so I'll try giving them a call later on in the week to see if they can describe how they normally accomplish this.2.5KViews0likes10CommentsRe: Suburban SF-20 furnace wont stay lit
wa8yxm wrote: Some Suburban heaters use the same circuit board as my Attwood. From the time the Thermostat calls for heat 1: Blower starts (Working) 2: Sail switch closes (Working) 3: Gas valve opens and ignightor starts (Working) 4: Gas ignites (you hear it light so working) 5: Thermocouple heats (Working, since it is burning) 6: Control board looks for .480 volts from thermocouple (Suspect) 5: Absent .480 volts control board shuts it down. Possible issues. Thermocouple, Defective or dirty enough that it does not heat up in time. Thermocouple/control lead: Poor connection causing low voltage delivery. Control board: Defective On my Attwood they use a SINGLE WIRE for both Ignition (Roughly 1,000 volts Peak based on the spark gap) and flame detection (less than 1/2 volt) Now imagine what would happen if the change over from MAKE SPARKS to Is it hot? Went flakey and the detector chip got hit with one of those killovolt peaks instead of the less than 1/2 volt it loos for.. it would become a Popped tart. I replaced my $250 dollar control board with a $100 dollar Dinosaur board. (108 including S&H) and I will tell you a few things about Dino Boards. First: I am trained as an Electronics technician with some engineering training as well. Also over 40 years as a Licensed Ham Radio Operator (WA8YXM, original issue 1968) The first thing that struck me when I opened the box that Dinosaur board was in was the QUALITY of the unit, All the solder joints looked first rate, The traces were heavier than on the Attwood board and it just gave me a feeling of QUALITY the Attwood OEM board did not. Then I looked closer.. I do not know for a fact that what I described above happened. But on the DINOSAUR board there was a device (Gas discharge tube) that did not exist on the Attwood board.. From it's location on the board (next to the connector for the wire mentioned above) I suspect it is there to prevent just the type of failure I think happend. So.. Test everything, but if you end up replacing the control board.. Go with Dinosaur.. They are 1st rate. Good detailed post. I like it. I did order a new board, though not a dinosaur. I wasn't sure which one I should get, so for $80 I found one that looks nearly exactly the same as the OEM one. I also bought a new igniter/flame sensor. Yes, mine is both in the same lead as well. Anyway, for anyone that may stumble across this thread while trying to figure their own heater out, here is what I did and what I learned about my particular setup. 1. The actual working parts of the furnace are encased in a shroud that has the knockouts for connection to flexible ducts as you so desire. For my application with an access door on the outside of the camper, I thought I needed to remove the entire thing...shroud and all. Not an easy task for my application since I had to disconnect 5 hoses connected to the knockouts with very little room to get my hands in there...not to mention working blind on all but one hose. Well, the shroud can stay in place. There is a single, yes just one, screw that holds the furnace in place inside the shroud. It is the screw that has a label next to it that says something like "Do not remove this screw unless you are performing service to the unit." If I had just removed that screw, disconnected the gas and chassis power, ground, and t-stat wires...out it would have come and save me all kinds of frustration and a little bit of blood fussing with those sheet metal knock out holes and the flexible tubing ducts. 2. Like the problems I had earlier this year (think my camper is just reaching that age at 6 years old now) with my dometic tundra 12V compressor fridge...I have no idea exactly what the problem was, but both work fine now. I replaced CPU boards on both. However, I suspect a more likely cause is a bad ground that may have worked its way loose and was made better again once I put it all back together. I now know which connection was the likely main culprit for the fridge, but since all of the ground leads for the furnace lead to a common spade terminal block riveted to the unit itself, not so sure it was one of those connections. 3. Getting to the igniter/flame sensor is such a huge PITA and making sure that the gap is setup properly after replacing being even more of a PITA requiring even further disassembly, it was worth it to gamble on not replacing. Even though it seemed that for whatever reason, the CPU board wasn't sensing the flame starting or the CPU board just wasn't sending the command signal to keep the gas valve open and secure the spark after combustion was sensed. The gamble paid off. As mentioned previously, furnace works flawlessly now. 4. The installation instructions and owners manual as well as service technician guides all reference observation of the flame and checking the flame pattern. Can't be done inside the camper on my particular unit. The observation port is little more than about a 3/8" diameter circular hole that is covered by the shroud assembly. Even if it wasn't covered by the shroud assembly, it couldn't be viewed while installed in my TC. Only way to check the flame front for me would be to pull unit out, hook up a temp 12V power supply, temp gas line, and a switch (more likely just a jumper wire) to replace the t-stat input and then test and observe on the bench. Within my skill level, just wasn't in my time and patience level just yet.675Views0likes0CommentsRe: Suburban SF-20 furnace wont stay lit
Old-Biscuit wrote: Spark electrode must be engulfed in main flame....then the main flame creates a signal thru 'flame ionization' and if spark electrode is good this signal is sent via electrode and high tension wire to control board. This milivolt signals proves main flame and power is keep on gas valve to hold it open. Spark electrode not engulfed in main flame.......no signal Bad electrode or high tension wire......no signal No signal.....gas valve closes If the furnace worked fine for nearly 6 years, isn't it unlikely that just now the electrode shifted out of the flame path?676Views0likes0CommentsSuburban SF-20 furnace wont stay lit
Over the weekend, I ran the furnace a couple of times. Whenever there was actual combustion, I'd get a pretty good whistling noise. Figured I had some debris in the combustion chamber. Got it home and today, it won't light and stay lit. Here is the sequence: 1. Blower comes on. 2. I hear the gas valve pop open and the igniter start clicking. 3. I can hear combustion start with a "POOF" noise 4. Warm air begins to exit the exhaust tube, but igniter is still clicking. 5. I hear the gas valve cycle and the igniter stops clicking. 6. It will do this for 3 cycles and then go into shutdown mode. No whistling during the brief episodes of combustion though. I pulled the unit from my TC and tore into it. Combustion chamber looks pretty darn clean as does the orifice. So, I think I'm left with two possible culprits: 1. Circuit Board 2. Bad propane regultaor I'm leaning toward 1 since the gas fired hot water heater works just fine. Propane bottle feels about half full, but gas fired hot water heater seems to work just fine. I was on batteries and solar all weekend, now plugged in at the house.3.1KViews0likes8CommentsRe: Looking for suggestions to defer drip on camper
The simplest fix is to park on a gradient such that water flows mostly to the back of the camper. Another option, to expound on what was previously posted about caulk, is that you can grab the garden hose and run water down off the front of the camper. You need to see the normal water path to determine how to divert the flow. After you see the flow path, it is up to your own creativity as to how to divert it as the options are only limited by your imagination and the materials you can get your hands on.216Views0likes0CommentsRe: outside speakers
Some OEM car speakers have plastic enclosures around the bottom side of the speaker...particularly door speakers. Crutchfield has something similar in these: Crutchfield clicky Depending on the speakers you chose, if you want any real bass response, you'd have to "port" the enclosure to allow air to move and thus not restrict the larger woofer diaphragm from moving as much (yes I know, air is a compressible medium...but if it doesn't have a place to go, it will restrict the woofer somewhat). You would also need to puncture the enclosure to run wires, though that can be sealed up with caulk. I'd recommend either a small hole or even better a semi circular "C" type of cut on the surface that would cause the most torturous path for water to make it inside the TC (probably the top surface for a camper, but bottom surface for a car door application). Either way, I'd still go with marine grade speakers as they will surely spend some time getting wet when driving through a rainstorm or washing the TC. And, FWIW, my outfitter has 2 marine grade outside speakers without an enclosure. I've had the camper since Dec 2007 and have had water enter from a few areas, but not the speakers. They are set up with the car stereo deck I have in the camper such that they are considered the "rear" speakers. 99% of the time, I have the fade all the way forward so that only the inside speakers transmit audio. The rare occasions I do use the outside speakers, I'd say 70% of the time I'm not in a campground (read not near anyone else), 20% I'm in a NF style CG with very few people around, and the remaining 10% of that original 1% usage....I'd rather listen to my own music than some fool who thinks the entire CG wants to listen to his music. Even in those cases, I'm never loud enough that you can hear my music more than 10 feet away as I'm likely outside right next to where the speakers are wrenching on a bike. But, the $5 dollar question is: Would I cut holes in my TC if I didn't already have external speakers? Nope. Not worth the hassle to me.489Views0likes0CommentsRe: Going from pop-up to hard side, big mistake?
Not a comparison to a hard side, but... One of the reasons I went with outfitter is that I could still get in the back to make a sandwich and even sit at the dinette with the top down. You can even use the toilet with the top down...though your only option is to sit on the can. I've also stealth slept with the top down. I leave the board that converts the dinette into a bed underneath one of the cushions. I don't really call that camping because you are much more limited in space and can't use the cooktop. Really all I have done is sleep in the back at a rest stop or in a residential area near a highway as I was passing through.233Views0likes0CommentsRe: Do you use your sliding window at the front of your camper?
For those that use it all the time, what (if anything) do you do for a screen? I've wanted to use it plenty of times, but keeping bugs out was more of a priority. Mine seems like an odd ball size, so haven't tried too hard to find a screen for it.308Views0likes0Comments
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