Scorched flooring around vents

[Nomadicchefs]

Originally Posted by Steveo57

Just curious, what is the temperature of the trailer/intake air?

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In the low 30s

[vampress_me]

How far are you from the dealer? My next idea is what I do if possible when someone won’t return my call. Get in the car and go visit them. If they are only a few hours away, I would be tempted to take the photos and go talk to the manager in person. But, it drives me bonkers when phone calls made to a business are ignored.

[Nomadicchefs]

Originally Posted by vampress_me

How far are you from the dealer? My next idea is what I do if possible when someone won’t return my call. Get in the car and go visit them. If they are only a few hours away, I would be tempted to take the photos and go talk to the manager in person. But, it drives me bonkers when phone calls made to a business are ignored.

Its nearly 5 hours away. We had an issue with a faulty outlet and they would only offer to let us bring the camper down and drop it off, giving us a 3 week time frame they could get it looked at. Dropping it off isn't an option, it's what we live in out here. We ended up finding a certified tech that had a mobile rv repair service. Unfortunately, that was in another state.

[Steveo57]

It's in the low 30s inside your trailer?

Okay I just went out and dug up the manual for my heater in the Cougar. It's an Atwood 35k btu furnace and the manual says to adjust air flow to obtain a 100-130 degree temperature rise.

So if the temperature in the trailer is in the 30s then a 130-160 degree outlet would be normal. That being said it shouldn't be making the flooring black!

Personally I think that's crazy that the design would have temperatures approaching 200 degrees at the outlet of the furnace!

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[Nomadicchefs]

Originally Posted by Steveo57

It's in the low 30s inside your trailer?

Okay I just went out and dug up the manual for my heater in the Cougar. It's an Atwood 35k btu furnace and the manual says to adjust air flow to obtain a 100-130 degree temperature rise.

So if the temperature in the trailer is in the 30s then a 130-160 degree outlet would be normal. That being said it shouldn't be making the flooring black!

Personally I think that's crazy that the design would have temperatures approaching 200 degrees at the outlet of the furnace!

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I thought you meant outside intake, the temp inside the camper is usually around 70 to 73 degrees. Sorry.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Nomadicchefs

I turned the heat back on, but turned the fan on low instead of high. This didn't occur to me it could be an issue (Low or high) to cause heat increases, but now the hottest vent (after running a cycle) has dropped to 159.5 degrees. Vents 2 through 4 are 137, 127, and 122 respectively. It didn't solve the high heat issue but it certainly decreased it a bit

I leave my furnace on auto....reckon that would make a difference? Have you tried that?

[Nomadicchefs]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I leave my furnace on auto....reckon that would make a difference? Have you tried that?

It's on heat - auto low.

[chuckster57]

I don’t believe there is a hi/low setting for the furnace fan. The fan hi/ low is for the fan in the roof A/C unit.

[Steveo57]

Originally Posted by Nomadicchefs

I thought you meant outside intake, the temp inside the camper is usually around 70 to 73 degrees. Sorry.

I was hoping that was the case! [emoji3]

So at 70 degrees with a 100-130 degree rise, well you can do the math. I think the flooring is getting discolored from the heat and would continue to pursue it with the dealer.

Just be careful walking around with bare feet! [emoji16]

Good luck getting this straightened out.

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[Steveo57]

Two more thoughts on this. If you're at a high altitude the air flow will be affected due to the density of the air. This could cause slightly lower flow and higher temperature. But I doubt it's significant in this case. Also if you have a heated underbelly the ducting giving to those areas might be affecting the air flow if they are crushed or blocked.

My trailer is sitting out in the snow all winterized just waiting for spring. But I'll fire up the furnace tomorrow and see what I find as now I'm curious to see how my heat will work!

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[Nomadicchefs]

Originally Posted by Steveo57

I was hoping that was the case! [emoji3]

So at 70 degrees with a 100-130 degree rise, well you can do the math. I think the flooring is getting discolored from the heat and would continue to pursue it with the dealer.

Just be careful walking around with bare feet! [emoji16]

Good luck getting this straightened out.

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Thanks, hopefully we can get it resolved. And fast!

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Call and ask to speak to a manager. Don't take no for an answer. If the receptionist transfers you to a voice mail, call back, keep calling until you speak to a human. Inform the receptionist that you are calling in reference to a fire hazard and you need help, not shuffling from one voice mail to another. Do the same with Keystone Customer Service. Continue calling until you're able to speak to a human who has the authority to do something or make decisions and can help you.

John is right. You HAVE to do this. The game between the dealership and Keystone is rather intricate and time consuming. It can literally make you give up....DON'T. You have to push. You have to be aggressive. You can't take no for an answer; you can't let them transfer you to voice mail; call back. When you have them on the line MAKE them give you a direct answer or transfer you to someone who can. I know it is difficult but you have to be as a$$ at times to get what you need.

[Nomadicchefs]

Originally Posted by sourdough

John is right. You HAVE to do this. The game between the dealership and Keystone is rather intricate and time consuming. It can literally make you give up....DON'T. You have to push. You have to be aggressive. You can't take no for an answer; you can't let them transfer you to voice mail; call back. When you have them on the line MAKE them give you a direct answer or transfer you to someone who can. I know it is difficult but you have to be as a$$ at times to get what you need.

��agreed, I will get after them again tomorrow and keep everyone posted. Thank you!

[Nomadicchefs]

Originally Posted by Steveo57

Two more thoughts on this. If you're at a high altitude the air flow will be affected due to the density of the air. This could cause slightly lower flow and higher temperature. But I doubt it's significant in this case. Also if you have a heated underbelly the ducting giving to those areas might be affecting the air flow if they are crushed or blocked.

My trailer is sitting out in the snow all winterized just waiting for spring. But I'll fire up the furnace tomorrow and see what I find as now I'm curious to see how my heat will work!

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I appreciate your help and thoughts on the issue. I hope your furnace runs perfectly for You! When I get a hold of the dealer or a tech and get answers, I'll be sure to pass them along.

[FlyingAroundRV]

This is a bit of a guess from an old floorlayer who used to do linoleum and tiles, but the "scorching" is not uniform around the register cutout. If it was burning from heat I would have kind of expected the "scorching" all the way round the vent. Is this vent near a sink? What I'm wondering is whether this could actually be water damage to the flooring. Some vinyl flooring has a paper like backing to make it a bit softer to walk on. Getting water in this will discolor the flooring. Also, I noticed that some of the areas where the flooring looks "scorched" the backing (the white stuff) looks thickened which also suggests watre damage. Has this area of floor ever been flooded with water, either because of a leak, or excess water when being mopped?
Edit:
I just went back and looked again at the second batch of pics. The thickening of the backing of the flooring, and also the flooring lifting and separating at the seam looks very much like water damage. These types of flooring are a very thin plastic layer over what is essentially a paper like composition. With the exposed edge around the vents, the flooring is susceptible to water wicking up through the backing paper. The water then attacks the inks used to print the patter on the layer under the vinyl topcoat.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by FlyingAroundRV

This is a bit of a guess from an old floorlayer who used to do linoleum and tiles, but the "scorching" is not uniform around the register cutout. If it was burning from heat I would have kind of expected the "scorching" all the way round the vent. Is this vent near a sink? What I'm wondering is whether this could actually be water damage to the flooring. Some vinyl flooring has a paper like backing to make it a bit softer to walk on. Getting water in this will discolor the flooring. Also, I noticed that some of the areas where the flooring looks "scorched" the backing (the white stuff) looks thickened which also suggests watre damage. Has this area of floor ever been flooded with water, either because of a leak, or excess water when being mopped?
Edit:
I just went back and looked again at the second batch of pics. The thickening of the backing of the flooring, and also the flooring lifting and separating at the seam looks very much like water damage. These types of flooring are a very thin plastic layer over what is essentially a paper like composition. With the exposed edge around the vents, the flooring is susceptible to water wicking up through the backing paper. The water then attacks the inks used to print the patter on the layer under the vinyl topcoat.

These were my thoughts as well but I didn't want to be accused of being obnoxious when trying to help. After looking at the first photo on my desktop computer I could see what you observed as well as the raw wood against the duct in the upper left corner. The wood used in the framing of these campers make excellent kindling and for it to be apparently unchanged would have me suspect water damage or mold.

[Nomadicchefs]

Originally Posted by flybouy

These were my thoughts as well but I didn't want to be accused of being obnoxious when trying to help. After looking at the first photo on my desktop computer I could see what you observed as well as the raw wood against the duct in the upper left corner. The wood used in the framing of these campers make excellent kindling and for it to be apparently unchanged would have me suspect water damage or mold.

My apologies flybouy, being already terrified to leave the camper to even go to the grocery store is bad enough, but the "hope you have a fire department nearby" wasn't helpful. As for what you and FlyingAroundRV are saying, something that has me curious is, when they were selling us this tin can, we were told that this model had 1 solid piece of wood throughout. I assumed a giant piece of ply, but when I took the vent cover off I see those seams and it made me furious. I see what your both saying about the way the seams are, and how it looks like water damage. I don't mop the floor, but I do wet swiffer, just not over or right against the vents. Actually I avoid them. The only thing somewhat near this vent, inside the camper, is the breaker box, and behind or underneath it are the water lines. Our hot water heater sits just below the fridge, directly behind it, maybe a foot away. I've had those panels off to check for leaks or damage when we had a -0 night and everything froze up. There was no damage when it thawed, no puddles or water to be seen anywhere. Unless it's something happening below the floor that I can't see. I guess there's every possibility that it was sold to me like this. I always knew that vent ran hotter and it was hot to step on, so I thought I'd change the vent cover to something different, and that's when I found the darkening.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Nomadicchefs

My apologies flybouy, being already terrified to leave the camper to even go to the grocery store is bad enough, but the "hope you have a fire department nearby" wasn't helpful. As for what you and FlyingAroundRV are saying, something that has me curious is, when they were selling us this tin can, we were told that this model had 1 solid piece of wood throughout. I assumed a giant piece of ply, but when I took the vent cover off I see those seams and it made me furious. I see what your both saying about the way the seams are, and how it looks like water damage. I don't mop the floor, but I do wet swiffer, just not over or right against the vents. Actually I avoid them. The only thing somewhat near this vent, inside the camper, is the breaker box, and behind or underneath it are the water lines. Our hot water heater sits just below the fridge, directly behind it, maybe a foot away. I've had those panels off to check for leaks or damage when we had a -0 night and everything froze up. There was no damage when it thawed, no puddles or water to be seen anywhere. Unless it's something happening below the floor that I can't see. I guess there's every possibility that it was sold to me like this. I always knew that vent ran hotter and it was hot to step on, so I thought I'd change the vent cover to something different, and that's when I found the darkening.

The Fire Dept. remark was a serious one to emphasise the potential danger. Some folks don't think things are serious unless a point is driven. As far as a "giant piece of ply" that only comes in 4' X 8' size. Just curious and maybe you have answered this already but have you given this a sniff test? Looking at the photos I would think the vinyl flooring would be melted before it scorched. It appears as though the wood grain pattern is unaffected. I would also suspect surface water as water intrusion from below would leave staining on the wood below. Unfortunately none of us know what happened to the unit at the factory or the dealer. Could be the dealer mopped the floor before delivery and left water there, could be the flooring was peeling up and some improper glue was used around the register hole. I hope you find the solution so your mind will be at ease. As an aside, I don't know where you are from but I know the Clarksburg, WV area well. Had relatives that lived outside of there towards Salem years ago. That's a very scenic area with nice folks.

[Nomadicchefs]

Originally Posted by flybouy

The Fire Dept. remark was a serious one to emphasise the potential danger. Some folks don't think things are serious unless a point is driven. As far as a "giant piece of ply" that only comes in 4' X 8' size. Just curious and maybe you have answered this already but have you given this a sniff test? Looking at the photos I would think the vinyl flooring would be melted before it scorched. It appears as though the wood grain pattern is unaffected. I would also suspect surface water as water intrusion from below would leave staining on the wood below. Unfortunately none of us know what happened to the unit at the factory or the dealer. Could be the dealer mopped the floor before delivery and left water there, could be the flooring was peeling up and some improper glue was used around the register hole. I hope you find the solution so your mind will be at ease. As an aside, I don't know where you are from but I know the Clarksburg, WV area well. Had relatives that lived outside of there towards Salem years ago. That's a very scenic area with nice folks.

Thanks, I did see some glue that seems to be puffing out, almost I suppose the way wood glue does, but it's pliable and rubbery when I touch it. I took the register out and smelled, there's no smell that I can notice that offers mold or mildew, etc. I did find an RV center that might be willing to send one of their guys out. Maybe they could hear the desperation in my voice.

Aside from that, we were in Clarksburg for work, both originally from WV, but praying we get to travel the country sooner than later!

[Jonas]

Originally Posted by Nomadicchefs

I took the register out and smelled, there's no smell that I can notice that offers mold or mildew, etc.

Is there a "burnt" smell?