220RK Furnace first use pre-check

[Julann]

I have a 2018 220RK and I am planning a camping trip in a few weeks and it might get brisk in the evening so I may have to use the furnace. I have never used it (fair weather camper) so I want to make sure everything is good before I do. I have a bit of discomfort since I am still dwelling on the bad experience of a friend. I found a post on another site where some mods were made to the venting under the bathroom sink where the heat just dumps into the cabinet and it can get it hot. I am on my way to get some duct work parts to remedy that.

To anyone that has the 220RK, have you found any issues in your rig in the basement in the ducting or furnace that I should check first before I fire it up and trust running it while I sleep?

[TXcmpr]

I would just open the windows and fire it up. Expect to run it for a few minutes to help get rid of the odor from the initial use. It will smell bad for a while. If you have the time do this a couple of times before you actually need the heater.

[Yoda]

I have a 2018 220RK and I am planning a camping trip in a few weeks and it might get brisk in the evening so I may have to use the furnace. I have never used it (fair weather camper) so I want to make sure everything is good before I do. I have a bit of discomfort since I am still dwelling on the bad experience of a friend. I found a post on another site where some mods were made to the venting under the bathroom sink where the heat just dumps into the cabinet and it can get it hot. I am on my way to get some duct work parts to remedy that.

To anyone that has the 220RK, have you found any issues in your rig in the basement in the ducting or furnace that I should check first before I fire it up and trust running it while I sleep?

Pull the pass through wall and check the pipe connections to the back of the furnace (very easy to do) and inspect the duct work runs. I found a couple of my connections loose (they twist lock), While I have only test fired mine, I found no issues with the heat dumping under the bath cabinet as it also feeds the bedroom too. I would test fire it during the day for an hour or so. If the thermostat goes flaky when your trying to set it just pull the cover off and touch the metal studs to change the settings. The AC fan may come on to help circulate the heat so you know.

Please report back on how things go.
Keith

[Julann]

Pull the pass through wall and check the pipe connections to the back of the furnace (very easy to do) and inspect the duct work runs. I found a couple of my connections loose (they twist lock), While I have only test fired mine, I found no issues with the heat dumping under the bath cabinet as it also feeds the bedroom too. I would test fire it during the day for an hour or so. If the thermostat goes flaky when your trying to set it just pull the cover off and touch the metal studs to change the settings. The AC fan may come on to help circulate the heat so you know.

Please report back on how things go.
Keith

Thanks Keith, my plan is a bust. I bought a T thinking we could feed both the bedroom and bathroom vents, but the T wont fit. Not enough clearance on the bathroom side to accommodate that side of the T. Since there is not enough real estate in there to do much with fittings and the bedroom boot fitting is a special order because of it's size, we thought of just lining the cabinet space with foil backed duct liner instead. That should keep the surrounding walls in that space from getting too hot. I was going to check the basement today but it has been raining all day so I hate to take everything out until the weather can cooperate. Thanks for the insight, I'll let you know what I find when I get in there.

I wish I could blindly use everything without overthinking it. The 'what if' syndrome is so debilitating.

[Julann]

Here is what we did. Lined the space with foil backed insulation, taped the corners with foil tape. The photo shows the space before we put the top on and reattached the floor of the cabinet.
I checked all of the connections in the basement and they all seemed secure. I ran the furnace a few times and it performed beautifully. I'll run it a few more times this week to burn off the smell. No problems with the thermostat. I used a gentle touch and it behaved just fine.
Thank you so much for the support.