Furnace Filters

[Marks mobile suite]

Have an 05 MS RE3 and had to turn on the furnace for the first time this season. Other than the bitch of a filter to get to above the Refrig. and on the back of the shower wall, is there another one to find and clean??

Anything I need to do maintenance wise on the furnace??. I assume the alarms would have gone on if it was not venting correctly or something. Kind of funky smell when on.

Thanks Mark :?: :?:

[ponch]

Mark
Each of the vent's on the ceiling have a filter in them.

[Motor31]

There is no filter for the furnace. The furnace draws from the entire basement area to include the pocket door opening. Our rig didn't even come with a mesh "filter" in the grill over the pantry. Since the pocket door and the opening in the circuit box is also open to the furnace to draw from it wouldn't d much to filter anything anyhow.

The smell is likely to be from the burner area and the dust it collected. It will fade shortly. Make sure the burner exhaust vents are free and clear of bugs and debris. You can also look the furnace over in the area behind the basement door. Make sure none of the air ducting has come loose or the basement will get well heated but the rest of the rig won't. I do suggest you take off all of the floor vent covers and vacuum as much of them out as you can. They collect all sorts of stuff and TONS of dust (bunnies too) in there since they are in the floor.

The ceiling filters are for the AC / heat pump.

[Okie]

Ponch, the cieling vents are for the air conditioners. The furnace comes up from the floor. The only filter is the one over the cabinet near the shower. Never figured it was mush good it never seems to get dirty and is a pain to get out and back in.

Okie

[ponch]

LOL

DUH

I can't read very well! sorry about that :oops:

[Marks mobile suite]

There is no filter for the furnace. The furnace draws from the entire basement area to include the pocket door opening. Our rig didn't even come with a mesh "filter" in the grill over the pantry. Since the pocket door and the opening in the circuit box is also open to the furnace to draw from it wouldn't d much to filter anything anyhow.

The smell is likely to be from the burner area and the dust it collected. It will fade shortly. Make sure the burner exhaust vents are free and clear of bugs and debris. You can also look the furnace over in the area behind the basement door. Make sure none of the air ducting has come loose or the basement will get well heated but the rest of the rig won't. I do suggest you take off all of the floor vent covers and vacuum as much of them out as you can. They collect all sorts of stuff and TONS of dust (bunnies too) in there since they are in the floor.

The ceiling filters are for the AC / heat pump.

Thanks all, it got down to 39 here in Woodland Park Co. last night. We had sleet, hail, rain and tornado warning's all in one afternoon. This is our 1st summer in our MS and we learn something new about it everyday. Thanks for being gentle to all my NOOB questions. I'm not so sure we would be that nice on some of the motorcycle forums I belong too.

[layne]

Hey Mark--we're in Southfork, CO and that system must have moved down here. We just got the hail, rain, tornado warnings, etc. Great weather though, glad to be here instead of in Texas right now!

We change the AC filters about every 4 months--are currently using some we got from walmart that are kind of thick and padded. They are supposed to be for filtering out dust and allergens (they are for house ACs, but I cut them down to size.) I'm glad responses showed not to change the furnace filter because that had not occurred to me at all!

BYW--we ride a trike--haul it in a trailer behind the suite!

[hitchup]

Our Suite has gray foam filters that are washable and reusable in all the return air vents. We found a large one at WalMart and I cut them to fit for extras and to rotate while the others are drying.

I just cleaned all of five a couple of weeks ago. The one above our pantry was only slightly dirty as stated. I clean it once a year since it's so hard to get to.

We had a Mobile Tech clean and vacuum our furnace last year. It seemed to run smoother and quieter. Then he recaulked the top of the exterior door. He said it's important to keep the water from running inside.

[JBoldennew]

per a tech from the furnace manufacturer ... the filter above the fridge/cabinets that serves as a return air vent for the furnace should be removed. They found the return air to the furnace with the pocket door open was actually insufficient for the furnace causing problems with overheats and shut offs. Basically, the furnace cycles more than necessary due to overheating the fire box. He even went so far as to recommend opening the small access panel beside the step to increase air flow. (I has to screen it to keep the cat from exploring!)

[47hook]

So far as the dust and fur in the lower vents, I went to Home Depot and picked up a pack of magnetic vent covers that are about 6X8" or so and cut them down to size and lay them over the grates. When I get that "round tuit" I'll cover the back side of the mag strips with some carpet or whatever. Does work and the slides coming in & out haven't effected them.

[Haggis]

If you place one sheet of toilet paper against the air return vent above the pantry, while the furnace is running, you will find out how inefficient that vent really is.

Geoff

[bstark]

Geoff, I agree. the furnace draws air via the pocket door cavity and bypass leakage around the storage doors and indeed through any orifice cut into the belly material as well as back down through any gaps in the flooring such as that for the drain pipes under the sinks or wiring holes into center islands etc.. I find it difficult to believe that a furnace over-heat condition might exist due to a filter material being installed behind that grill above the pantry.
I am also of the opinion however, after trying the material in that location, while it does get dirty over time, since it is not filtering all of the air supply to the furnace, it is kind of redundant in nature.
I would think a furnace overheat would be more likely to occurr due to blockages of those flexible plastic heating duct runs which would impair the volumn of air being blown across/around the heat exchanger.
A blocked intake/exhaust combustion air port (small round ones on the outside of the coach) should be alarmed via the "sail switch" failure to allow ignition sequence completion.

[berghild]

i have blocked all furnace vents by removing screws and covering underside of vents with foil. If i have to use the furnace I will have to remove all that stuff....but until I need that furnace i think I will try to block that draft from the pocket door. I didn't know there was a vent up there over the pantry...DH put a silk plant up there. I will have to look. One of my friends said they removed their grate up there and there was nothing to indicate that it was a return...I just presumed that it was eliminate in ours....Now I have to climb up there and check....then I will have to clean the stupid silk plant ....and that will start a whole cleaning thing...thanks a bunch guys! :-) Cyndy