OEM Sol-Aire Furnace crapped out

boybach

boybach

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2020
1,031
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Hi guys, the furnace along with the fridge are not working - I understand that the old furnace would be a problem but majorly pissed off about the
fridge which is a 2013 Atwood helium HE-0601 that was barely used but has a duff control board that is made from unobtanium.

anyway, my question is will a Suburban sf35 furnace work in my coach and will the vents match up etc (there's one for sale on Craigslist, a working
one that can be seen running.

Appreciate any advice

Larry
--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach VIN TZE167V101295 - 39,000 miles, new wiper blades!
 
If you go to Google and put in Atwood He-601 control board you can find many parts that will replace your control board.

Emery Stora

>
> Hi guys, the furnace along with the fridge are not working - I understand that the old furnace would be a problem but majorly pissed off about the
> fridge which is a 2013 Atwood helium HE-0601 that was barely used but has a duff control board that is made from unobtanium.
>
> anyway, my question is will a Suburban sf35 furnace work in my coach and will the vents match up etc (there's one for sale on Craigslist, a working
> one that can be seen running.
>
> Appreciate any advice
>
> Larry
> --
> Larry - Victoria BC -
>
> 1977 Palm Beach VIN TZE167V101295 - 39,000 miles, new wiper blades!
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
 
Sf-35 is a good replacement. Lots of people like those
In order to have more cabinet space then the taller units. But they are a little wider. But also depends on your coach model and year.

However none will match the vents. You have to be a little creative in the install.

--
Jon Roche
75 palm beach
EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now.
St. Cloud, MN
http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
 
> If you go to Google and put in Atwood He-601 control board you can find many parts that will replace your control board.
>
> Emery Stora

I couldn't find one every supplier is out of stock

Larry

--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach VIN TZE167V101295 - 39,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New wiper blades!
 
> Sf-35 is a good replacement. Lots of people like those
> In order to have more cabinet space then the taller units. But they are a little wider. But also depends on your coach model and year.
>
> However none will match the vents. You have to be a little creative in the install.

Thanks, any idea on which furnace would match my vents? Cabinets are pretty awful and will be modded to accomodate new furnace.

Larry
--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach VIN TZE167V101295 - 39,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New wiper blades!
 
Hi Larry Not to answer your question but you should think about having your carb send to Canadian carb in bc for a rebuilt and Dick   Patterson's for a rebuilt ignition.   Have done both with great results.  I live in Squamish. Bert
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android


> Sf-35 is a good replacement.  Lots of people like those
> In order to have more cabinet space then the taller units.  But they are a little wider.  But also depends on your coach model and year.
>
> However none will match the vents.  You have to be a little creative in the install.

Thanks, any idea on which furnace would match my vents? Cabinets are pretty awful and will be modded to accomodate new furnace.

Larry
--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach VIN TZE167V101295 - 39,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New wiper blades!
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
 
> Hi Larry Not to answer your question but you should think about having your carb send to Canadian carb in bc for a rebuilt and Dick  
> Patterson's for a rebuilt ignition.   Have done both with great results.  I live in Squamish. Bert

Thanks for the tip but the engine carb and ignition are good at the moment and the best part of the rig

Larry

--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach VIN TZE167V101295 - 39,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New wiper blades!
 
What we have been doing lately. Is using high temp flexible silicon hose bought from mcmaster carr to get from the suburban intake and exhaust
vents up to the exterior vents of the old sol aire.

1 method is to seal up but leave the exterior crome cover on the forward vent. And just cut a new hole below the rear sol air vent to better match.
Or use a little more of the silicone hose to avoid other holes. But that requires a little creative way of cutting down the suburban exterior vent
trim.

By removing the lower couch, the furnace goes in and out. You have to be creative to mount the rear hoses up to the suburban plenum.

I was just told recently that the sf series uses more 12v power then the suburban NT series.

The NT series I believe can be installed a little easier. And it is not as wide, but 2x ad tall as the sf series. And will go in and out of the
cabinet door.

I installed a sf-30 last fall. I had to have it on a major tilt to match the curved wall. Since then I have info on how to mount with the mcmaster
silicone hose and will be remounting my sf-30 flat to floor.

I am helping another owner mount one this week. And once his is done, time to re do mine.

--
Jon Roche
75 palm beach
EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now.
St. Cloud, MN
http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
 
Thanks for the detailed explanation John - that's a big help. The one for sale I've been looking at is a used SF35, I'm guessing it's larger than the
SF30?

Larry

> What we have been doing lately. Is using high temp flexible silicon hose bought from mcmaster carr to get from the suburban intake and exhaust
> vents up to the exterior vents of the old sol aire.
>
> 1 method is to seal up but leave the exterior crome cover on the forward vent. And just cut a new hole below the rear sol air vent to better
> match. Or use a little more of the silicone hose to avoid other holes. But that requires a little creative way of cutting down the suburban
> exterior vent trim.
>
> By removing the lower couch, the furnace goes in and out. You have to be creative to mount the rear hoses up to the suburban plenum.
>
> I was just told recently that the sf series uses more 12v power then the suburban NT series.
>
> The NT series I believe can be installed a little easier. And it is not as wide, but 2x ad tall as the sf series. And will go in and out of the
> cabinet door.
>
>
> I installed a sf-30 last fall. I had to have it on a major tilt to match the curved wall. Since then I have info on how to mount with the
> mcmaster silicone hose and will be remounting my sf-30 flat to floor.
>
> I am helping another owner mount one this week. And once his is done, time to re do mine.

--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach VIN TZE167V101295 - 39,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New wiper blades!
 
Do you have any idea what the exhaust temperature is or could you measure it? How hot does the hose get on the outside? I decided to go with two
Pelonis ceramic box heaters rather than replacing the furnace given our limited use cases for the furnace. As I mentioned on FB, my old furnace is a
Duo-Therm with the exhaust over the intake. The Suburban NT doesn't match up to the holes (holes are too low), and I neither want to cut a big hole in
the side of the coach nor go with the SF and rely on silicone hoses not approved by the manufacturer. That seems a bit risky, given the potential for
CO to enter the cabin if there's a leak. Side note, I thought all furnaces would have the exhaust above (or next to) the intake since heat rises, but
the SF has the exhaust below the intake. Weird.
--
Christo Darsch
GMC Nor'easters
1977 Eleganza II - "The Komet"
3.50 Power Drive, Disc Brakes, Alcoas
Weymouth, MA
 
So these Pelonis heaters are 1500 watt, so you run them off the genny or shore power, right?

Larry

> Do you have any idea what the exhaust temperature is or could you measure it? How hot does the hose get on the outside? I decided to go with two
> Pelonis ceramic box heaters rather than replacing the furnace given our limited use cases for the furnace. As I mentioned on FB, my old furnace is a
> Duo-Therm with the exhaust over the intake. The Suburban NT doesn't match up to the holes (holes are too low), and I neither want to cut a big hole
> in the side of the coach nor go with the SF and rely on silicone hoses not approved by the manufacturer. That seems a bit risky, given the potential
> for CO to enter the cabin if there's a leak. Side note, I thought all furnaces would have the exhaust above (or next to) the intake since heat
> rises, but the SF has the exhaust below the intake. Weird.

--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach VIN TZE167V101295 - 39,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New wiper blades!
 
Cutting the exterior wall isn’t that big of a deal plus you have the
advantage of being able to remove the furnace for repair or maintenance
without dismantling the interior and cabinets. Even with the angled Mount
pan to match the curve the suburban I installed took up less space than the
Sol-aire it replaced.
I agree on the silicone hoses. The possibility that a hose could become
dislodged without my knowledge would concern me.

Sully
Bellevue wa

> Do you have any idea what the exhaust temperature is or could you measure
> it? How hot does the hose get on the outside? I decided to go with two
> Pelonis ceramic box heaters rather than replacing the furnace given our
> limited use cases for the furnace. As I mentioned on FB, my old furnace is a
> Duo-Therm with the exhaust over the intake. The Suburban NT doesn't match
> up to the holes (holes are too low), and I neither want to cut a big hole in
> the side of the coach nor go with the SF and rely on silicone hoses not
> approved by the manufacturer. That seems a bit risky, given the potential
> for
> CO to enter the cabin if there's a leak. Side note, I thought all furnaces
> would have the exhaust above (or next to) the intake since heat rises, but
> the SF has the exhaust below the intake. Weird.
> --
> Christo Darsch
> GMC Nor'easters
> 1977 Eleganza II - "The Komet"
> 3.50 Power Drive, Disc Brakes, Alcoas
> Weymouth, MA
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>
 
> Cutting the exterior wall isn’t that big of a deal plus you have the
> advantage of being able to remove the furnace for repair or maintenance
> without dismantling the interior and cabinets. Even with the angled Mount
> pan to match the curve the suburban I installed took up less space than the
> Sol-aire it replaced.
> I agree on the silicone hoses. The possibility that a hose could become
> dislodged without my knowledge would concern me.
>
> Sully

My rig has a Suburban, I don't know which model yet. But here's how the install looks. There's a plate that goes over the holes on the exterior wall
as you can see.

https://postimg.cc/21mvX6qM

https://postimg.cc/3kBpMTmR

--
Burl Vibert
Kingston, Ontario
1976 GMC 26 foot, Sheridan reno, don't know original model
 
Mine was different. I had to cut a large horizontal rectangle out of the
exterior wall and the furnace was installed through the exterior wall into
a carrier much like a din mount stereo into a dashboard. Then a vented
panel which covered the hole mounts over the top and seals to the wall
exterior.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn11.bigcommerce.com%2Fs-nhoi8s2chz%2Fimages%2Fstencil%2F600x600%2Fproducts%2F243%2F535%2FImageServer_13__58482.1515702567.jpg%3Fc%3D2&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsuburbanrvparts.com%2Fsuburban-furnace-access-door-6258acw-sf-q-series-colonial-white%2F&tbnid=Uo9pguXX4P0_JM&vet=12ahUKEwjBwMXimOrvAhWWkp4KHR9ABIQQMygAegUIARC5AQ..i&docid=RF1pzz4nYylxnM&w=600&h=341&itg=1&q=suburban%20furnace%20exterior%20finish%20panel&ved=2ahUKEwjBwMXimOrvAhWWkp4KHR9ABIQQMygAegUIARC5AQ

Sully
Bellevue wa

> > Cutting the exterior wall isn’t that big of a deal plus you have the
> > advantage of being able to remove the furnace for repair or maintenance
> > without dismantling the interior and cabinets. Even with the angled Mount
> > pan to match the curve the suburban I installed took up less space than
> the
> > Sol-aire it replaced.
> > I agree on the silicone hoses. The possibility that a hose could become
> > dislodged without my knowledge would concern me.
> >
> > Sully
>
>
> My rig has a Suburban, I don't know which model yet. But here's how the
> install looks. There's a plate that goes over the holes on the exterior
> wall
> as you can see.
>
> https://postimg.cc/21mvX6qM
>
> https://postimg.cc/3kBpMTmR
>
> --
> Burl Vibert
> Kingston, Ontario
> 1976 GMC 26 foot, Sheridan reno, don't know original model
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>
 
Correct. Up to 5,200 BTU each, so two of them provide 1/3 the capacity of the 30k BTU furnace I removed. We're mainly going to use the twin heaters
for overnight stops while traveling from MA FL in winter. Otherwise we mainly do campgrounds in New England from about May-Oct. I might cut up the
exterior wall someday, but not this season.
--
Christo Darsch
GMC Nor'easters
1977 Eleganza II - "The Komet"
3.50 Power Drive, Disc Brakes, Alcoas
Weymouth, MA
 
it has been Tested, and the output of the exhaust port on the side of the GMC with a IR gun and was 338 degrees. we are using silicone hose rated
to 600 degrees. Expensive stuff, like $20 a foot.

the sf-series. sf30 = 30,000 BTU.... SF35 = 35,000 BTU. ect....

Air conditioning. Solar and batteries. and furnaces the conversation all comes down to how you use your coach and how it is set up. Insulation
for A/C needs as well as furnace needs are a major factor.

I live in MN and use my coach in damn cold temps and do not take the time to properly put up insulation on the window, ect... the solaire I think
was 35,000 BTU and kept the coach warm. I bought this sf-30 used as well, and it runs alot more I think then the sol-aire ever did to keep the
coach warm.

--
Jon Roche
75 palm beach
EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now.
St. Cloud, MN
http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
 
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