Heater Questions

Poppy's 5th Wheel · 04-06-2011, 10:18 AM

Hi All, new member here with a new Cougar High Country 299RKS.

We've been out in it twice now, both times in cold (for us Southern Californians) weather. One thing I have noticed is that the heater doesn't seem very efficient. The living area heats up to be almost unbearably hot but the bedroom stays cool. We have the thermostat set low 60's but it doesn't seem to regulate very well. It's either on full blast or off. I toyed with the idea of physically blocking off a vent in the kitchen but am a little concerned about creating a "hot spot" in the cabinet. We resorted to turning the heater on for a few minutes until is hot and then shutting it off. That seems rediculous.

In the past we have never really gone camping in our previous units in the winter and I can't ever recall really using the onboard heaters before. Is this just typical of trailer heaters or are there any ideas that might help?

Terrydactile · 04-06-2011, 10:38 AM

You may have an issue with the duct leading to the bedroom, it seems I've read an awful lot of posts about the duct run to the bedrooms being kinked or blocked with debris or not run very straight. Ducts need to be as straight as possible to work correctly. Also you would benifit by changing out that cheap analog thermostat for a digital one. It will regulate the cycle better.

Poppy's 5th Wheel · 04-06-2011, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terrydactile

You may have an issue with the duct leading to the bedroom, it seems I've read an awful lot of posts about the duct run to the bedrooms being kinked or blocked with debris or not run very straight. Ducts need to be as straight as possible to work correctly. Also you would benifit by changing out that cheap analog thermostat for a digital one. It will regulate the cycle better.

I will have the dealer check out the duct issue. I think it already has a digital thermostat. Wouldn't all new unit be digital? Maybe I don't know the difference between digital and analog. It has a digital display and you use buttons to raise and lower the desired temp. It's also multipurpose. It turns on the water heater and the water pump if I'm not mistaken.

Festus2 · 04-06-2011, 12:23 PM

By the sounds of it, you already have a digital thermostat --- if you push buttons to control the temperature. If it is working properly, you shouldn't notice such a large variation in temperature once it is set. It may run more often but should keep your temperature fairly constant.
As was mentioned, many members have had issues with getting enough heat to the upper bedroom area. The culprits were named by Terrydactile in his reply to you.

jje1960 · 04-06-2011, 01:34 PM

Maxx had a mod that he posted that may help you, he increased the size of the tube moving air up front. Also, I found that running the aircon unit on fan in the main cabin drew that super hot air from the main cabin and pushed it through the rest of the unit. While working on our SRX this winter, it really made a difference with temp variation through the unit. Just a thought for you.

JReinhart · 04-07-2011, 09:18 AM

It's funny you posted this. I have a laredo 321bh that had the same problem. The front was always cold. I had the dealer look at it, they added baffles in the ducting that did nothing. I tryed putting registers that could be closed in all the others spots but that didn't work. The day before yesterday I went to home depot, bought a 3 1/4 x 10 x 4 ducting elbow, 6 feet of 4" flexible metal tubing and a 4" adaptor. I completely removed the section of duct in the front compartment and ran this instead. All I can say is what a difference! you can actually feel the air coming out of the duct 3 feet above. It heated up the front section beatifully and in no time! I'll have to post some pics.

Poppy's 5th Wheel · 04-07-2011, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JReinhart

It's funny you posted this. I have a laredo 321bh that had the same problem. The front was always cold. I had the dealer look at it, they added baffles in the ducting that did nothing. I tryed putting registers that could be closed in all the others spots but that didn't work. The day before yesterday I went to home depot, bought a 3 1/4 x 10 x 4 ducting elbow, 6 feet of 4" flexible metal tubing and a 4" adaptor. I completely removed the section of duct in the front compartment and ran this instead. All I can say is what a difference! you can actually feel the air coming out of the duct 3 feet above. It heated up the front section beatifully and in no time! I'll have to post some pics.

Please do! I can't imagine working on it because it's all enclosed? Did your new ducting go all the way from the heater? In my rear kitchen model I think (that's dangerous) the heater is almost all the way in the rear of the trailer so it would be a long run.

Ruffus · 04-07-2011, 04:08 PM

I guess I must have a really cheap fifthwheel. Our 38 foot Copper Canyon has "NO" heat in the bedroom, just a vent outside the bedroom door in the hallway between the bedroom and the bathroom. The DW and I love it that way, we seem to sleep much better when it's cold. We have a 4 inch therma pedic pad on the mattress and a Down Comforter on top. Sometimes can get a little warm if one of us has a hot flash but other than that it's really comfortable.
Sweet dreams!

(I'm glad the DW doesn't read this blog) boy would I be in trouble like the time she caught aiming the digital thermometer at her to she if she was mad at me.

Chas883 · 04-08-2011, 04:35 AM

I just went round and round getting my heat straighend out . My TT was plumbed wrong from factory, and they think nothing of it because they think nobody uses heat. Mine was supposed to be 4-4inch ducts to registers and 1-2inch to underbelly. They had it plumbed with 2-4inch to registers 2-2inch to bed and bath registers 1-4inch to underbelly. I had a 28deg differance from one end to other.I ended up having to fix myselfdealer got it within 10deg. and that is ok with keystone but not so good for us. I have a posting on TT section on this.

Poppy's 5th Wheel · 04-08-2011, 12:39 PM

Just got off the phone with my service guy at the dealership and that didn't go so well. The trailer is there for some other work, a tick list of minor warranty issues, a couple of slide toppers and major body work from an incident involving a giant oak tree. Anyway, he just basically said "that's the way it is and they can't do anything about it". I sure found that disappointing. They'd been pretty helpful up until that. Oh well. I'll check it out better when I get it back and see if there's something I feel comfortable doing.

Thanks all for your input.

jje1960 · 04-08-2011, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppy's 5th Wheel

Just got off the phone with my service guy at the dealership and that didn't go so well. The trailer is there for some other work, a tick list of minor warranty issues, a couple of slide toppers and major body work from an incident involving a giant oak tree. Anyway, he just basically said "that's the way it is and they can't do anything about it". I sure found that disappointing. They'd been pretty helpful up until that. Oh well. I'll check it out better when I get it back and see if there's something I feel comfortable doing.

Thanks all for your input.

When you get it back, spend some time looking through the storage compartment, it's not that bad to take a few screws off and expose the plumbing stuff. "That's the way it is" is frustrating, but not correct, I'm sure you can arrange some heat without big trouble, home depot and a Saturday "hobby" may fix this! Lot's of smart RV'rs here, a camera and posting pics will help you get through this with help.

Poppy's 5th Wheel · 04-08-2011, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jje1960

When you get it back, spend some time looking through the storage compartment, it's not that bad to take a few screws off and expose the plumbing stuff. "That's the way it is" is frustrating, but not correct, I'm sure you can arrange some heat without big trouble, home depot and a Saturday "hobby" may fix this! Lot's of smart RV'rs here, a camera and posting pics will help you get through this with help.

I haven't had it very long but, now that you mention it, when I stocked that pass through storage compartment I realized the panel that separated the storage from the rest of the basement was very minimally attached. It should be fairly easy to remove it and peek in there and see what I can do. I imagine I wouldn't want to remove the bottom because it's all sealed up, so I will check it out from this direction. Thanks for the advise.

Maxzd · 04-23-2011, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppy's 5th Wheel

Please do! I can't imagine working on it because it's all enclosed? Did your new ducting go all the way from the heater? In my rear kitchen model I think (that's dangerous) the heater is almost all the way in the rear of the trailer so it would be a long run.

Here is the link to the duct upgrade I did located in this forum..

http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1966

Made a huge difference. There is also a lot of heat loss in my unit at least past the last vent towards the back of the unit. The factory just crushes the air duct so who knows how much heat loss. I bend a piece of sheet metal to fit into the last vent with four bends in it. Screwed it into the floor then taped all four sides. That made a difference again.

I will install heat vent covers which open and close. A couple cold nights I put a towel over each living room vent and the heat in the bedroom and bathroom was toasty!!!

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