Hurricane heater

[Gorde Lang]

Thank you in advance. We have a 2000Beaver marquis / c12- 40ft / 2 slides. Upon our  return from quartzite rally we turned on switch for heater control which fired up burner, l then switched on wall thermostats which turned on floor register fans & furnace ignition. 5 minutes later we had heat coming out of regiisters.Furnace ran for 8 minutes then cycled on & off every 2mins for 3 consecutive times. Then a high pitched alarm sounded &a red light replaced the green light at the heater control switch mounted to underside of upper interior cabins.Furnace &burner quit working at this point. After opening access door to hurricane heater l noticed a red pulsating light next to run flame trouble light.I turned heater control switch off ,then back on. Identical results again. Next morning same procedure, same results. Need some guidance please

[Jeff Wheless]

I have a similar issue with mine when the voltage on the batteries drops.   Once I charge back up or go on generator/shore power, the Hurricane furnace does not alarm and runs without interruption.   I have not determined the exact voltage, but its somewhere just south of 13V on the energy management panel.   I have not tested the voltage at the furnace yet.

This  is a new to us coach and the PO did the annual maintenance, so I am assuming things are per spec inside.

I hope that helps or at least gives you some assist on isolating the issue.

[Gorde Lang]

I was plugged into 50 amp shorepower so low voltage seems unclear as to the cause

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Sometimes, you develop air in the system, on occasion I have had to bleed the fuel system.  Having said that, is your fuel filter clean, when was the last time the nozzle was cleaned? 

[Ron Johnson]

Another possibility is the fluid level in the overflow tank is low .. it should be at the 1\2 to 2\3 level. The tank on mine is in the engine compartment passenger side against the firewall. Regardless of whether this is the issue it is a good thing to check.

[Joel Weiss]

5 minutes later we had heat coming out of regiisters.Furnace ran for 8 minutes then cycled on & off every 2mins for 3 consecutive times. Then a high pitched alarm sounded &a red light replaced the green light at the heater control switch mounted to underside of upper interior cabins.

The red light and warning alarm signal that the Hurricane flame has failed twice.  Turning the inside off and on again will reset the system, but if you are having issues the situation will repeat itself.  Since the "run flame" fault light is on that tells you that the flame is failing while running (as contrasted to failing during ignition). 

The first thing I would do is remove the burner nozzle and clean it to ensure that there isn't any "buildup" on the outside of the nozzle that can mess up the flame.  It is also possible that there is air in the fuel line; you could open the bleed valve to while the system is running to see if that resolves the problem.

Fluid level in the tank as has been suggested is definitely not the cause of this issue.

[Rick Daniels]

Had the identical problem.  Found that the fuel line as it entered the fuel filter had had a crack caused from aging and the Hurricane was sucking air.  Replaced the fuel line and installed a new fuel filter and all is well.

[Gorde Lang]

I will open up front of Hurricane heater & try to identify burner nozzle, fuel line.filter,&a way to bleed air out.appreciate your input, l will try my hand it tomorrow. Thanks

[Gerald Farris]

Gorde,
You can obtain a Hurricane service manual from the ITR (International Thermal Research, makers of the Hurricane) website. However, if you can not determine the problem, give me a call and I will walk you through the diagnostic procedure.

The Hurricane heater is a very simple unit and easy to repair. The biggest problem with it is that since it's primary application is in the Marine industry most RV shops know nothing about the system, and try to through parts at it with the hope that it will work. This approach is often unsuccessful and always expensive. So take your time and determine what your problem is before replacing anything.

Gerald

[Joel Weiss]

You can obtain a Hurricane service manual from the ITR (International Thermal Research, makers of the Hurricane) website

I think there's a installation and operating manual on the BAC site, but there's also one here: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=502F3E54066E9137!16859&authkey=!APuz-cczaQP4qxI&ithint=file%2cpdf

[Gorde Lang]

Regarding the Hurricane system, I have discovered that the Glycol reservior had a crack in it. So I removed it and used sealant to fix the leak.
I will replace the reservior and fill it up again. Am I on the right track?







2000 Marquis Tourmaline

[Gerald Farris]

Gorde,
If you are talking about the plastic recovery tank for the Hurricane unit, it is not necessary for the system burner to run. So if you are trying to repair a nonfunctioning burner, that is not the problem.

A replacement recovery tank can be purchased at most automotive supply stores. It's purpose is to keep the pressure tank (round tank that the hose from the recovery tank hooks to) full at all times to prevent air pockets and/or foaming of the heat transfer coolant (ethaline glycol). So it needs to be a part of the system for the Hurricane to function properly but it will not prevent the burner from igniting when the system is turned on.

Gerald   

[Keith Moffett]

Hi Gorde
We had a Hurricane on our last coach.  We had fits getting it fixed as Gerald mentions.  The first four owners never got it running at all.  ITR in Vancouver Wa helped.  Jim Rixon in Sandy Or. helped  a bunch.
My best suggestion is check the simple things first.  The Hurricane runns off the chassis batteries.  The 50 amp shore power doesnt charge the chassis batteries unless the house batteries are full and you have a working battery equalizer.  Check the charge level and the contacts for corrosion.  If I remember right the Hurricane fires an alarm if the power dips below 11.8 V or around there.
It sounds like yours could use a good service.  As mentioned above the fuel line is a weak spot so start there and do air and fuel filters.  (The air filter is just a repurposed fuel filter).  Clean the burn chamber, replace the nozzle and wipe off the flame sensor.  An added suggestion would be to remove the exhaust and muffeler and check the flow as these get plugged and cause all kinds of problems.
Go slow, you can do this.
Keith

[Gorde Lang]

Hi Gerald, l cleaned up dirty nozzle on burner, l also fixed 2 leaks in over flow line &tank.I topped off antifreeze & then filled 1/2 of plastic overflow tank.l fired hurricane up &ran it for 1 hour without  a glitch & no leaks.I can't thank the forum enough. I honestly would sell rv otherwise. It would be overwhelming.

[Joel Weiss]

Gorde:

Hurricanes are really rather simple devices with a relatively small number of key parts.  In the five years I've owned my coach my biggest problem has been getting competent people to repair them.  At this point I only trust Kevin Lambert at ITR to really know how to fix it and even he misdiagnosed my problem in its early stages.  Jim Rixen is a great guy but he is primarily focused on his own systems; he, too, failed to realize that my primary problem was being caused by a fuel pump that was leaking fuel into the system. 

One thing I can say with confidence is watch the exhaust stream as a signal of other problems with the system.  Hurricanes have a remarkably clear exhaust when they are working properly.  If the smoke starts to look white or gray you know you have a problem.

Also, one last point, as delivered by Beaver the Hurricane had a small, difficult to change inline fuel filter.  I had ITR replace it with a standard fuel oil filter as used in the residential heating industry; much larger capacity and much easier to replace.

Joel