Hurricane Service

[Jeremy Parrett]

My Hurricane furnace shuts down after a few minutes operation. I need to bleed air from the fuel line. Can this be done with the unit running or shut down??  

[Glenn Perkins]

It needs to be running in order to draw fuel in ... keep a towel of some sort handy to catch the burping fuel though.

[Jeremy Parrett]

when I open the fuel bleed valve the pump slows down but I cannot see where the fuel/air is going to. I have a fuel hose attached to the bleed valve.

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Jeremy,  

I use a small bottle to use as a catch can for the fuel when burping.  The unit needs to be running to so it engages the fuel pump.  If this does not Dix consider cleaning the nozzle. I keep a spare nozzle clean so I always have a replacement.

Good luck!

[Jeremy Parrett]

OK, I bled the Hurricane with it running. It still shuts off,giving volumes of white smoke that stinks of diesel. It s showing a " flame out run " fault .......there is plenty of fuel . The guide tells me this can be caused by the 'diode' not sensing fuel .

[Gerald Farris]

Jeremy,
Did you check the combustion fan to be certain that it is running? A bad combustion fan will give you the same symptoms.

You should also check the compressor to be certain that you are not loosing pressure. The set screw on the compressor motor shaft for the bell crank can work loose and allow the compressor to stop pumping right after start-up resulting in a flameout, however this usually does not cause excessive smoke.

Gerald

[Jeremy Parrett]

Hi Gerald and Tom,
 Thanks for your suggestions.
 I can hear the fuel pump ticking. Ticking slows, when bleed valve is open.  Pump is running  fine.
 Fan is blowing white smoke (diesel mist) from exhaust, so it also is running fine.
 I am going to remove and clean the nozzle, when it cools down.
 Last night it was 47 degF here in Baja California Sur. With the "Coach heat" switch on, to activate the Hurricane's water pump, the Seaward electric 6 gallon water heater is able to heat the Hurricane's radiators water, with its heat exchanger, to make the system work quite well but not enough to heat the coach when it gets really cold. It kept us at 62 deg F last night.
 Gerald, I wonder if there are some Beaver owners who do not know the Seaward 6 gallon water heater can be used to heat the coach !!!

[Tom and Pam Brown]

I for one did not know that how does it circulate?  Do you mean engine pre heat or coach heat?

[Jeremy Parrett]

The Seaward water heater has a heat exchanger in it. This allows the Hurricane furnace (when running) to heat the hot water for showers etc.  as well as its own water for the radiators spaced around your coach. When the Hurricane Furnace is switched off, the Seaward water heater heats the water for showers etc. and through its heat exchanger, it heats the Hurricane water  too. If you switch "Coach heat" on (dash panel switch) you switch on the Hurricane water circulation pump. As this Hurricane water circulates, it passes through the Seaward water heater heat exchanger.......inside the water heater, gets heated and then continues through the radiators and the engine, if you have the valves open(preheat) .  Eh voila !!!   Obviously you need to be hooked to 120v ac  for the Seaward water heater to work, and its ability to transfer heat to the Hurricane system through its heat exchanger is limited to the water temp the Seaward is set to.  The water does not get as hot as when the Hurricane is running, but it is hot enough to take the chill off the interior, and will save you having to run the Hurricane furnace.  If you have cooler evenings as we do, we leave the "Coach heat" on during the early evening to get the Hurricane water up to temp.  It will take an hour or so to start feeling some heat.   We set the main thermostat to "Gas heat".......around 72 deg F.....set the local thermostats in the bed room and bathroom to the same.  The whole system works as it would with the Hurricane running, but without switching that hurricane switch on above the dining table.
  Hope this is easy to understand.......when the coach heat/hurricane water pump is on you can hear it if you listen closely.  

[Jeremy Parrett]

Gerald,
I took the Hurricane apart this afternoon and replaced the burner nozzle.  I had the old one from when Lazydays last serviced it. They had cleaned the nozzle, and gave it to me as a spare.  I fired up the Hurricane and opened the bleed valve for 10 mins.  Then I let the Hurricane run for 1 hour and it never quit.   I think the nozzle must have been slightly blocked ;  maybe some algae from the diesel tank.  To solve this issue I am going to install a Racor diesel filter with a coalescer bowl.   As soon as possible I will get the diesel in the tank "polished" and the tank cleaned. After 12 years I am sure there is a bit of sediment and some algae in there.

[Gerald Farris]

I am glad that you have got the Hurricane burner running. As for cleaning the fuel tank, you may want to reconsider that if you were planning to remove the tank and have it cleaned. To remove the tank on your coach, you have to remove most of the front suspension. In my view point, one clogged nozzle does not justify that much work. If you start getting clogged filters, then some actions may be necessary. However the nozzle could have been clogged by carbon, and not algae, so don't jump the gun and make unnecessary repairs.

Gerald

[Edward Buker]

Jeramy,

I have cleaned burners in furnaces and my Aqua Hot many times. I use Gumout Carb Cleaner and a brass brush on the electrodes and the combustion chamber. I will replace the nozzle with a new one, reset the gap and burnish the electrodes. Maybe one in 5 times doing that type service I have had a non repeatable combustion firing. The nozzles are machined to produce a spray pattern and atomization that compliments the design of the ignition source and chamber.  The fringe of the spray is supposed to pass by the electrodes.  If that pattern is not just right it will not reliably start combustion.  I would then replace the nozzle and the combustion would work just fine. Your nozzle may have a had a particle in it, a little carbon buildup on the tip, or just a marginal spray pattern to begin with.

If you have a Racor filter before the burner and the bowl is clean I would not worry too much about the fuel being the cause unless this continues to happen with new nozzles.

There are times when the ignition transformer can be at fault and the output voltage is insufficient to give repeatable ignition but most of the time it is related to the nozzle pattern.

Later Ed

[Joel Weiss]

The Seaward water heater has a heat exchanger in it. This allows the Hurricane furnace(when running)  to heat the hot water for showers etc.  as well as its own water for the radiators spaced around your coach. When the Hurricane Furnace is switched off the Seaward water heater heats the water for showers etc .and through its heat exchanger it heats the Hurricane water  too. If you switch "Coach heat" on (dash panel switch) you switch on the Hurricane water circulation pump. As this Hurricane water circulates, it passes through the Seaward water heater heat exchanger.......inside the water heater,gets heated and then continues through the radiators and the engine if you have the valves open.  Eh voila !!!   Obviously you need to be hooked to 120v ac  for the Seaward water heater to work,and its ability to transfer heat to the Hurricane system through its heat exchanger is limited to the water temp the Seaward is set to.  The water does not get as hot as when the Hurricane is running but it is hot enough to take the chill off the interior and will save you having to run the Hurricane furnace.  If you have cooler evenings as we do we leave the "Coach heat" on during the early evening to get the Hurricane water up to temp.  it will take an hour or so to start feeling some heat.   We set the main thermostat to"Gas heat".......around 72 deg F.....set the local thermostats in the bed room and bathroom to the same .the whole system works as it would with the Hurricane running but without switching that hurricane switch on above the dining table.
  Hope this is easy to understand.......when the coach heat/hurricane water pump is on you can hear it if you listen closely.  

What you've described makes a lot of sense and does describe how my Hurricane seems to be set up.  However, the switch on my dash is labeled Preheat and I was under the impression that it caused engine heat to be used to heat the coach while driving and could also be used to pre-heat the engine if the Hurricane was running.  That's what's described in the owner's manual and what I thought was happening, but the plumbing does seem to match what you describe.  Can anyone clarify this?

[Jeremy Parrett]

Hi Gerald,
  Polishing a tank full of diesel involves a fuel transfer pump , a good filter system and three 50 gallon oil drums(clean) . Once the diesel is removed they will flush the tank to get rid of sediment and algea and then replace the "polished" diesel.   On my sailboat I get  this done every two years. Tank removal is not necessary.
 As far as I know there is a paper diesel filter on the Hurricane. Adding a small Racor with a sediment bowl is an inexpensive precaution that will eliminate any future problems .  
Changing the Hurricane burner nozzle took 10 minutes........accessing the burner door by  r&r  the stainless steel panels took an hour . Going to redesign to make access quick and simple.......no more self tapping screws either.

[Jeremy Parrett]

Hi Joel
 on my drivers switch panel(left of drivers seat)  there is a "preheat" switch that allows Hurricane heated or Seaward 6 gallon heated water to warm the C12. (page 18 C of the owners manual) . When the C12 is running this will also allow engine heated water to heat the Hurricane systems radiators if you close the switch marked "coach heat".
The switch you need is the one labelled "Coach heat".......it activates the Hurricane's water pump.  If you open the Hurricane 's bay door and get someone to close this switch you can hear the pump run.
 Page 47 of the Owners manual is a bit confusing but it does say that activating "coach heat" will connect the engine coolant system with the Hurricane system and transfer heat   throughout the coach.  Then under "water heater" it states' when  the generator or a shore line supplies power,the Hurricane will then produce hot water via a 120 ? element in the hot water tank!!!  
  So,as per my previous diatribe, you can heat the coach's radiators with either the electric water heater or the Hurricane furnace or the C12. To warm  the engine as well you can activate the "preheat " switch......it will allow the hot water to circulate through the C12 as well as the radiators.
Sitting here at the La Trinidad RV Ranch near La Ribera,Baja California Sur it is 49 deg F outside . With the coach hooked up to 120 volt power we are using the Seaward electric water heater's heat exchanger to heat the Hurricane's water being circulated throughout the coach by the hurricane water pump ( Coach heat switch) and  it is maintaining a steady 72 deg F in the coach !!  
Lastly, with the engine running you can heat the coach using engine heated water. Close the two switches labelled "preheat" and "coach heat" and the hot engine  will heat the Hurricane radiators . Set your thermostats the same as you would for using the Hurricane furnace,just do not switch the furnace on.
I am quite impressed by this system . I wish the technical writer that Beaver employed had explained it more concisely !!!
if anyone has anything to add or ask me please dont hesitate.......this has been a mind numbing exercise with the owners manual confusing the whole issue with too many incomplete or downright inaccurate statements.