Hi all,

As mentioned in my trip report, there were a few anomalies about
our trailer that I hoped to get some input on.

1) The trailer has a Truma Combi Eco Plus furnace/water heater.
It threw off error messages a couple of times. First was said
to be from blocked intake our outflow (found no blockage) and
second suggested there was a fault with the combustion air
motor. On top of that, I noticed a hot/burning
wire/electronics smell at one point. After a lot of googling,
I worked off the motor cover and gave it a spin with my
fingers. After replacing the cover, the unit seemed to work
fine.

I'm a little leery about this one, not wanting to get stuck
without heat when we're out some freezing night. My plan is to
call the dealer and discuss it with them. I'm not sure it's
worth dragging the trailer to them (almost 2 hours each way),
unless they feel strongly they should look at it. At the
least, I'll get it on the record with them.

2) I'm suspicious of the battery (Interstate SRM-24). It was dead
after just 5-6 weeks in storage (fully disconnected). After
conditioning and charging, it seemed fine--but after just a day
on electric heating it was dead again. The refrigerator was on
propane so there shouldn't have been a lot else drawing from
the battery. Am I expecting too much?

My impression from online searching is that this not a great
battery option. Should I be looking for something different?

Thanks for any inputs!

--
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA

On 3/27/2024 12:29 PM, Ted Heise wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> As mentioned in my trip report, there were a few anomalies about
> our trailer that I hoped to get some input on.
>
> 1) The trailer has a Truma Combi Eco Plus furnace/water heater.
> It threw off error messages a couple of times. First was said
> to be from blocked intake our outflow (found no blockage) and
> second suggested there was a fault with the combustion air
> motor. On top of that, I noticed a hot/burning
> wire/electronics smell at one point. After a lot of googling,
> I worked off the motor cover and gave it a spin with my
> fingers. After replacing the cover, the unit seemed to work
> fine.
>
> I'm a little leery about this one, not wanting to get stuck
> without heat when we're out some freezing night. My plan is to
> call the dealer and discuss it with them. I'm not sure it's
> worth dragging the trailer to them (almost 2 hours each way),
> unless they feel strongly they should look at it. At the
> least, I'll get it on the record with them.
>
> 2) I'm suspicious of the battery (Interstate SRM-24). It was dead
> after just 5-6 weeks in storage (fully disconnected). After
> conditioning and charging, it seemed fine--but after just a day
> on electric heating it was dead again. The refrigerator was on
> propane so there shouldn't have been a lot else drawing from
> the battery. Am I expecting too much?

I don't know if it is but this application really calls for a deep cycle
battery.

>
> My impression from online searching is that this not a great
> battery option. Should I be looking for something different?
>
> Thanks for any inputs!
>

In article <slrnv08lrq.5uf.theise@panix2.panix.com>, theise@panix.com
says...
>
> Hi all,
>
> As mentioned in my trip report, there were a few anomalies about
> our trailer that I hoped to get some input on.
>
> 1) The trailer has a Truma Combi Eco Plus furnace/water heater.
> It threw off error messages a couple of times. First was said
> to be from blocked intake our outflow (found no blockage) and
> second suggested there was a fault with the combustion air
> motor. On top of that, I noticed a hot/burning
> wire/electronics smell at one point. After a lot of googling,
> I worked off the motor cover and gave it a spin with my
> fingers. After replacing the cover, the unit seemed to work
> fine.
>
> I'm a little leery about this one, not wanting to get stuck
> without heat when we're out some freezing night. My plan is to
> call the dealer and discuss it with them. I'm not sure it's
> worth dragging the trailer to them (almost 2 hours each way),
> unless they feel strongly they should look at it. At the
> least, I'll get it on the record with them.
>
> 2) I'm suspicious of the battery (Interstate SRM-24). It was dead
> after just 5-6 weeks in storage (fully disconnected). After
> conditioning and charging, it seemed fine--but after just a day
> on electric heating it was dead again. The refrigerator was on
> propane so there shouldn't have been a lot else drawing from
> the battery. Am I expecting too much?
>
> My impression from online searching is that this not a great
> battery option. Should I be looking for something different?
>
> Thanks for any inputs!

That battery is rated at 81 amp hours. For best battery life you
shouldn't draw it down more than 50%. A typical RV furnance will use
around 7 amps per hour.

Personally I would want someone to look for that burned wire.

TB

On Wed, 27 Mar 2024 17:28:12 -0700,
Technobarbarian <technobarbarian@gmail.com> wrote:
> In article <slrnv08lrq.5uf.theise@panix2.panix.com>, theise@panix.com
> says...
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> > As mentioned in my trip report, there were a few anomalies about
> > our trailer that I hoped to get some input on.
> >
> > 1) The trailer has a Truma Combi Eco Plus furnace/water
> > heater. It threw off error messages a couple of times.
> > First was said to be from blocked intake our outflow (found
> > no blockage) and second suggested there was a fault with
> > the combustion air motor. On top of that, I noticed a
> > hot/burning wire/electronics smell at one point. After a
> > lot of googling, I worked off the motor cover and gave it a
> > spin with my fingers. After replacing the cover, the unit
> > seemed to work fine.
> >
> > I'm a little leery about this one, not wanting to get stuck
> > without heat when we're out some freezing night. My plan
> > is to call the dealer and discuss it with them. I'm not
> > sure it's worth dragging the trailer to them (almost 2
> > hours each way), unless they feel strongly they should look
> > at it. At the least, I'll get it on the record with them.
> >
> > 2) I'm suspicious of the battery (Interstate SRM-24). It was
> > dead after just 5-6 weeks in storage (fully disconnected).
> > After conditioning and charging, it seemed fine--but after
> > just a day on electric heating it was dead again. The
> > refrigerator was on propane so there shouldn't have been a
> > lot else drawing from the battery. Am I expecting too
> > much?
> >
> > My impression from online searching is that this not a
> > great battery option. Should I be looking for something
> > different?
> >
> > Thanks for any inputs!
>
> That battery is rated at 81 amp hours. For best battery
> life you shouldn't draw it down more than 50%. A typical RV
> furnance will use around 7 amps per hour.
>
> Personally I would want someone to look for that burned
> wire.

Very helpful, thanks. Regarding the smell, I'm not convinced it
was a burned wire (or component). Something hot, but maybe not
burned. Given the past history with the dealer (many, many months
to get a slide out repair), I'm not sure I want to take it to
them. It's still under warranty though, so it seems they would
be the best option.

--
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA

Ted Heise wrote:
> On Wed, 27 Mar 2024 17:28:12 -0700,
> Technobarbarian <technobarbarian@gmail.com> wrote:
>> In article <slrnv08lrq.5uf.theise@panix2.panix.com>, theise@panix.com
>> says...
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> As mentioned in my trip report, there were a few anomalies about
>>> our trailer that I hoped to get some input on.
>>>
>>> 1) The trailer has a Truma Combi Eco Plus furnace/water
>>> heater. It threw off error messages a couple of times.
>>> First was said to be from blocked intake our outflow (found
>>> no blockage) and second suggested there was a fault with
>>> the combustion air motor. On top of that, I noticed a
>>> hot/burning wire/electronics smell at one point. After a
>>> lot of googling, I worked off the motor cover and gave it a
>>> spin with my fingers. After replacing the cover, the unit
>>> seemed to work fine.
>>>
>>> I'm a little leery about this one, not wanting to get stuck
>>> without heat when we're out some freezing night. My plan
>>> is to call the dealer and discuss it with them. I'm not
>>> sure it's worth dragging the trailer to them (almost 2
>>> hours each way), unless they feel strongly they should look
>>> at it. At the least, I'll get it on the record with them.
>>>
>>> 2) I'm suspicious of the battery (Interstate SRM-24). It was
>>> dead after just 5-6 weeks in storage (fully disconnected).
>>> After conditioning and charging, it seemed fine--but after
>>> just a day on electric heating it was dead again. The
>>> refrigerator was on propane so there shouldn't have been a
>>> lot else drawing from the battery. Am I expecting too
>>> much?
>>>
>>> My impression from online searching is that this not a
>>> great battery option. Should I be looking for something
>>> different?
>>>
>>> Thanks for any inputs!
>>
>> That battery is rated at 81 amp hours. For best battery
>> life you shouldn't draw it down more than 50%. A typical RV
>> furnance will use around 7 amps per hour.
>>
>> Personally I would want someone to look for that burned
>> wire.
>
> Very helpful, thanks. Regarding the smell, I'm not convinced it
> was a burned wire (or component). Something hot, but maybe not
> burned. Given the past history with the dealer (many, many months
> to get a slide out repair), I'm not sure I want to take it to
> them. It's still under warranty though, so it seems they would
> be the best option.
>

Considering the 4 hour round trip and the other problems you've had,
my opinion is: Sometimes, paid-for convenience is better than free
aggravation. That assumes, of course, that there is a nearby place
that's competent enough to find the problem and fix it.

--
bill
Theory don't mean squat if it don't work.

On 3/28/2024 8:29 AM, Ted Heise wrote:
> Very helpful, thanks. Regarding the smell, I'm not convinced it
> was a burned wire (or component). Something hot, but maybe not
> burned. Given the past history with the dealer (many, many months
> to get a slide out repair), I'm not sure I want to take it to
> them. It's still under warranty though, so it seems they would
> be the best option.

First, thanks for the report. I enjoyed it and am heading that
direction next week.

As far as the smell is concerned, first question I would ask is it the
first time the furnace was used? If yes, I would say it is normal. If
it is the first time for the season, it also could be considered normal
as dust and other unwanted things could have gotten in there and burned
up.
If it has been used before and it is not an initial burn off of machine
oils and such, you have to pay attention to exactly what it smells like.
There are webpages that give various examples of the different smells
and their causes and the action necessary if it fits the scenario.

If you DO think it was a burned wire or electrical component, you should
certainly do a full inspection. If you are proficient in electrical
diagnostics, I'm sure you could hook up a meter to make sure things are
working within limits. The specs should be all in your documentation
manuals. If not, I'm sure the stealer could. Good luck resolving this
and getting peace of mind!

--
Stand With Israel!

On 3/28/2024 3:09 PM, sticks wrote:
> On 3/28/2024 8:29 AM, Ted Heise wrote:
>> Very helpful, thanks.  Regarding the smell, I'm not convinced it
>> was a burned wire (or component).  Something hot, but maybe not
>> burned.  Given the past history with the dealer (many, many months
>> to get a slide out repair), I'm not sure I want to take it to
>> them.  It's still under warranty though, so it seems they would
>> be the best option.
>
> First, thanks for the report.  I enjoyed it and am heading that
> direction next week.
>
> As far as the smell is concerned, first question I would ask is it the
> first time the furnace was used?  If yes, I would say it is normal.  If
> it is the first time for the season, it also could be considered normal
> as dust and other unwanted things could have gotten in there and burned up.
> If it has been used before and it is not an initial burn off of machine
> oils and such, you have to pay attention to exactly what it smells like.
>  There are webpages that give various examples of the different smells
> and their causes and the action necessary if it fits the scenario.
>
> If you DO think it was a burned wire or electrical component, you should
> certainly do a full inspection.  If you are proficient in electrical
> diagnostics, I'm sure you could hook up a meter to make sure things are
> working within limits.  The specs should be all in your documentation
> manuals. If not, I'm sure the stealer could.  Good luck resolving this
> and getting peace of mind!
>

I think the scope of the work (unknown at this point) would determine
your plan of action. There are a lot of good mobile RV technicians. You
might find one to come out and do an assessment/inspection for a
relatively reasonable fee. He may or may not be cheaper in the long run
than hauling it off to the dealer.

We are getting into the heart of the RV season so leaving it gathering
dust at the dealership until it gets to the front of the line might not
appeal to you.

In article <ZVjNN.729426$xHn7.256498@fx14.iad>, redydog@rye.net says...
> Considering the 4 hour round trip and the other problems you've had,
> my opinion is: Sometimes, paid-for convenience is better than free
> aggravation. That assumes, of course, that there is a nearby place
> that's competent enough to find the problem and fix it.
>
> --
> bill
> Theory don't mean squat if it don't work.
>

You bring up a good point I hadn't thought of. For warranty work on
his apliances he isn't limited to the original dealer. If it needs to be
repaired any authorized service center can do the work on his furnace.

I originially learned how to wrench on RVs at a propane plant.
They only sold appliances, but they had warranty contracts with all the
major gas appliance companies. We repaired a lot of RVs and some of that
was warranty work. All I needed was the customer's signature and the old
part to return to the company that made it. Every now and then we found
problems that weren't covered under the warranty. In that case we had to
charge the customer and it was up to them to ask the dealer for a
reimbursement. For example, we got a furnace that had the 12 volt wires
running under it. Traveling around the furnace case had vibrated and was
shorting out its 12 volt supply intermittantly. There was nothing wrong
with the furnace and I didn't have anything to send in for the warranty
claim.

The propane plant wasn't making much money on repair work. The real
profit was in bulk sales. They liked the warranty work because it
brought in potential propane customers. We were all sort of Frank Hill.
IOW selling propane. I also worked at an independent RV shop that didn't
sell RVs. Most of the time you only break even on warranty work, but
they welcomed it because it brought in customers.

TB

TB

On Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:10:27 -0700,
Technobarbarian <technobarbarian@gmail.com> wrote:
> In article <ZVjNN.729426$xHn7.256498@fx14.iad>, redydog@rye.net says...
> > Considering the 4 hour round trip and the other problems
> > you've had, my opinion is: Sometimes, paid-for convenience is
> > better than free aggravation. That assumes, of course, that
> > there is a nearby place that's competent enough to find the
> > problem and fix it.

> You bring up a good point I hadn't thought of. For
> warranty work on his apliances he isn't limited to the original
> dealer. If it needs to be repaired any authorized service
> center can do the work on his furnace.

Good suggestions, thanks. The U.S. headquarters for Truma are in
Elkhart, which isn't meaningfully farther than the dealer. If I
decide to get it looked at, I'm a lot more confident they would
get it right. I sent the dealer a description of the problem and
a request for their advice. We'll see what comes back.

--
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA

On Thu, 28 Mar 2024 20:04:16 -0500,
George Anthony <ganthony@gmail.org> wrote:
> On 3/28/2024 3:09 PM, sticks wrote:
> > On 3/28/2024 8:29 AM, Ted Heise wrote:
> >> Very helpful, thanks. Regarding the smell, I'm not convinced
> >> it was a burned wire (or component). Something hot, but
> >> maybe not burned. Given the past history with the dealer
> >> (many, many months to get a slide out repair), I'm not sure I
> >> want to take it to them. It's still under warranty though,
> >> so it seems they would be the best option.
> >
> > First, thanks for the report. I enjoyed it and am heading
> > that direction next week.

Let me know if you would like any more details of where we stayed
and what we did. Happy to share. E-mail in the headers is good.

> > As far as the smell is concerned, first question I would ask
> > is it the first time the furnace was used? If yes, I would
> > say it is normal. If it is the first time for the season, it
> > also could be considered normal as dust and other unwanted
> > things could have gotten in there and burned up. If it has
> > been used before and it is not an initial burn off of machine
> > oils and such, you have to pay attention to exactly what it
> > smells like.

Thanks for the input. The smell was definitely not a "heating of
accumulated dust after extended unuse" but neither was it a strong
smell. My nose is pretty senstitive, so I'm kind of inclined to
write it off as not significant.

> >  There are webpages that give various examples of the
> > different smells and their causes and the action necessary if
> > it fits the scenario.
> >
> > If you DO think it was a burned wire or electrical component,
> > you should certainly do a full inspection. If you are
> > proficient in electrical diagnostics, I'm sure you could hook
> > up a meter to make sure things are working within limits.
> > The specs should be all in your documentation manuals. If not,
> > I'm sure the stealer could. Good luck resolving this and
> > getting peace of mind!

I'm not that proficient. I once let the smoke out of a bank of
resistors on a q-switch board for a pulsed laser (it was pretty
obvious which ones were affected when they all turned bright red!)
but that was mostly luck. Working on this furnace is further
complicated by it being shoehorned into a very small space under
the refrigerator. I'm not sure how one would actually work on it
without pulling it out somehow, and I'm not sure how that would be
done. :-/

> I think the scope of the work (unknown at this point) would
> determine your plan of action. There are a lot of good mobile
> RV technicians. You might find one to come out and do an
> assessment/inspection for a relatively reasonable fee. He may
> or may not be cheaper in the long run than hauling it off to
> the dealer.
>
> We are getting into the heart of the RV season so leaving it
> gathering dust at the dealership until it gets to the front of
> the line might not appeal to you.

Great points. This dealer has been extremely slow to get work
done in the past, so that's a real disincentive to asking them to
work on it.

--
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA