Furnace Fan rus long after shutdown, Are Old furnaces dangerous?

[SupercubPilot]

Sent: 11/18/2003

I am seeking some advice about my old heater. I own a 1979 Winnebago Itasca equipped with a Coleman forced air 24,000 Btu piezo pilot heater. This unit works most of the time. A couple of times I have noticed the fan running long after the burner has shut down (or maybe the burner didn’t light!). I’m not really sure what happened but things were back to normal after I turned the thermostat off and then on again. This has only happened a couple of times.

I know that a heater has the potential to do great harm to the human body. Does this old heater pose any additional danger because of its age? Should I just replace it with a new Suburban NT30SP â€"spending over $500? I called Winnegago and they recommended the Suburban unit.

Tim

[Elandan2]

Sent: 11/18/2003

Hi Tim,  The furnace is designed to run the fan after the burner is shut down to extract all the available heat from the heat exchanger.  I have found that mine will run for a long time occasionally, I believe it is due to corrosion on the pins inside the plug to the right of the gas valve.  I cleaned the connector and the problem seemed to go away. Hope this helps.  Rick

[denisondc]

Sent: 11/18/2003

i think the main danger is with a propane leak, that you would smell if it was much of a leak, or a crack in the heat exchanger, that might admit some combustion gases into the interior. Tho Ive never heard of it happening in a motor home. A carbon monoxide detector costs much less than the new furnace. I would get the co detector installed, and run the furnace until its fan bearings are worn out.
denison

[SupercubPilot]

Sent: 11/18/2003

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.  I now feel much better and will clean the pins and purchase a carbon monoxide (sp) detector. Tim

[firebug911]

Sent: 11/19/2003

Supercub Pilot...  If you are in doubt stop by your local fire station and most of them have a CO detector that will give you a numerical reading... I have a CO detector but I have also tested mine monthly... I don't trust what I cant see...