TrueAir on 37B

Nonno · 10-19-2004, 05:02 PM

I think I'm getting a false temperature reading from the digital thermostat which prevents the heat from coming on. Since the back of the thermostat is in the same area where the back of the hutch TV is I'm assuming the heat generated by the TV is affecting that reading. Has anyone noticed this happening?

Nonno · 10-19-2004, 05:02 PM

I think I'm getting a false temperature reading from the digital thermostat which prevents the heat from coming on. Since the back of the thermostat is in the same area where the back of the hutch TV is I'm assuming the heat generated by the TV is affecting that reading. Has anyone noticed this happening?

bsmith8 · 10-19-2004, 06:11 PM

bob
We have not used our furnance much but when we have it seems to work okey. We will be going out in the next couple of weeks and I'll let you know if I experience that problem. With 2 or 3 wall panels between the thermostat and the tv I would not think that would be the problem. If it is it would be easy to put some insulation behind that panel.
Bill

rgrstndgby · 10-19-2004, 07:03 PM

Bob, you might be getting a column of heat from a register under the thermostst, my 33v wouldn't run the a/c long enough to cool the cabin, till I discovered a ceiling outlet aimed right at the thermo.rgr

Kiwi · 10-20-2004, 04:22 AM

Turn the TV off and see if it makes a difference.

Kiwi

Nonno · 10-20-2004, 04:43 AM

When the TV is on the thermostat temp doesn't drop to a point where the furnace turns on. However, it does during the night when the TV is off and we are sleeping.
Right now turning the TV off is not an option because YOU GOTTA LOVE THEM SOX!

DriVer · 10-20-2004, 05:08 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bob Russo:
YOU GOTTA LOVE THEM SOX! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Game "Seven" tonight - a special night in baseball. How many times does it get this good!

bsmith8 · 10-20-2004, 06:50 AM

Bob
It sounds like the temperature around the thermostat is staying warmer than other areas of the coach. The reverse could be said that other areas of the coach are cooling off faster than the area around the thermostat. I don't think it is unusual that the area in the front of coach cools down faster because of the window, cirulation, etc. I would probably close the vent on the floor beneath the thermostat and push as much air and heat to the ends of the coach as possible especially the front. I doubt that the TV is the only thing that is adding heat to that area in the coach and suspect that all you can do is redirect your heat from the furnace. In colder weather I have put a small electic heater up front on the engine cover to keep that area warm.
Bill

Kiwi · 10-20-2004, 09:28 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bob Russo:
When the TV is on the thermostat temp doesn't drop to a point where the furnace turns on. However, it does during the night when the TV is off and we are sleeping.
Right now turning the TV off is not an option because YOU GOTTA LOVE THEM SOX!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Add a fudge factor to the temperature setting. For example if you set it at 85 it may really keep the room at 73. This will keep you warm for game seven -- as if you need it.
Kiwi

Bill R. · 10-20-2004, 01:25 PM

Are the White Sox still playing?

I wouldn't know 'cause the Astros are still playing.

No, that's not true. I have been rootin' for the BoSox. Would like to see them play us in the series.

bsmith8 · 01-12-2005, 06:02 PM

Bob
We have spent the last 2 weeks on the road. In the north and in the south. We have experienced the same thermostat false readings that you mentioned. First in the north the furnace would not come on when it should when the TV was on. Then in the south the air conditioner kept coming on even when we moved the thermostat higher. It was reading 5 degrees higher than a thermometer that I had in the front of the coach. Before we go out again I am going to try to put some insulation behind the thermostat.
Thought you would want to know.
Bill

DonavonP · 01-13-2005, 04:51 AM

Bob, I have a 37B but am not able to test the furnace/AC now but I'd sure like to hear if you find a solution. Maybe a 3 or 4 inch clothes dryer vent tube hooked up to the cold air return would suck enough heat out of the cavatiy to clear the problem. I'll look around for ideas after the temps get back above
zero around here.

Nonno · 04-23-2005, 02:42 PM

Bill & Donavon,

I'm sorry I haven't responded to your posts sooner. Somehow I missed them back in January. I must have been buried in a snow drift.

I just returned from the first trip of spring and experienced the problem again. The TrueAir thermostat was always 7 or 8 degrees higher than the correct room temperature with the TV on and about 4 degrees higher with the TV off.

I noticed that the false reading doesn't change degree for degree with the actual so I can't even compensate for the difference by setting it higher. However, it does seem to work a little better in the middle of the night but not degree for degree. BTW I have tried covering the floor vent below the thermostat.

In addition to the TV I would think there are other sources of heat that may be affecting the thermostat. Some I've wondered about are (1) hot water pipe for shower (2) vent under shower stall that lets heat get to the holding tanks (3) space under doors for washer/dryer letting warm air in (4) washer/dryer (which I don't have) hot water pipe (5) heat generated from the panel itself. As you can tell I'm baffled.

I'm going to call my dealer and probably Winnebago Customer Service on Monday and run it by them.

Have either of you found a solution yet?

Bob

Cousin Ed · 04-23-2005, 03:54 PM

We have noticed the same problem. Run the TV or W/D and the themo.. thinks it's much warmer than it is. We have the MH at Flagg RV for the recall and a few other problems (or are they issues?) and I asked them to look into it. They have been very good; so I am looking forward to a solution. Winnebago must have figured it out by now. A little fan blowing room air over the sensor would work.

I never get cold so it works fine for me but Jeanie notices that it's really 50 when the MH thinks it's 74.

It's only one small problem in a great floor plan

Dave from MN · 04-24-2005, 03:14 AM

Bob,
We have spent over 7 months in our 2004 37B. We are not tv watchers, so the tv is seldom on.
But that part of the coach is the warmest! We just turn thermostat to get the rest of coach the temp we want. There isn't a problem all of the time.
Cooling, seems to be more accurate.

Nonno · 04-24-2005, 10:08 AM

Dave,
All things being equal it sounds reasonable that area would be the warmest. However, I've tried compensating for the difference in temp but since it isn't a degree for degree drop I find myself continually having to increase the setting in order to get the furnace to turn on. Based upon your experience, w/o the TV on, I'm even more convinced that the TV is the main reason for the problem.

ED,
Would be interested in what your dealer has to say.

Nonno · 04-25-2005, 05:26 AM

Talked with my dealer today. I'm going in tomorrow and he will replace the thermostat. He can't believe that the TV or anything in the wall cavity would affect the thermostat.

Once I get home I'll turn on the TV for a while and see what happens during the next couple of days. Would like to know if it's fixed before I'm camping again next week.

DonavonP · 04-26-2005, 10:41 AM

Bob, I haven't yet had a chance to test my thermostat but I did finally look the situation over. The floor vent blows heat directly onto the thermo., the vented doors to the w/d allow heat to rise up onto the thermo, and the rear of the thermo is warm. Not a good place for the thermo to be. I also noted that there seems to be a sensitivity adjustment knob.

I'm wondering if a small pancake fan like they use in computers would be enough to vent the heat away from the thermo. - you could test this with a little fan in the w/d hose access door and if it helpd, you could mount a pancake fan in that door permanently. They're very quiet. You could also adjust the fins on the floor heat vent. If the left half were bent straight up and down, the heat would miss the thermo. as the air flow wants to head toward the front of the cabin.

I'm very interested to hear what the new thermo does for you.

Nonno · 04-28-2005, 05:39 PM

As I expected the thermo isn't the problem as the new thermo acted just like the original. Maybe now the dealer and winnebago will give some consideration to my theory that the heat generated by the TV is the problem. If I had a w/d, I assume, that heat would also be a problem.

To prove my theory about the TV, I conducted an experiment. I'm not a rocket scientist so I just used common sense and logic. I put one thermo in the bedroom and a second thermo (indoor/outdoor) on the dinette. The outdoor wire went behind the monitoring panel by going thru the door that accesses the w/d faucets. Over a 48 hr period I took about 20 readings some with and some w/o the TV on. The outside temp was in the 40's, and I had the thermo set to 65. By the way the TV hutch does not have a back therefore it is fully exposed to the cavity behind the panel.

When the TV was off the temp behind the panel was basically the same as the bedroom and dinette areas which were on average 3 degrees lower than the thermo setting of 65.

However, with the TV on the temp behind the panel was on average 9 to 10 degrees higher than the bedroom and dinette areas and 3 to 4 degrees higher than the thermo setting.

Bottom line - TV off, furnace basically cycled as it should. TV on, Furnace would not cycle because heat from TV would not allow thermo to cool as the rest of the coach did.

Solution - Winnebago needs to come up with a fix. Personally I like the idea of the pancake fan but it should be wired to come on when the TV is on.

Not sure what affect this will have with the AC system.

Sorry for the long post,
Bob

DonavonP · 04-29-2005, 11:37 AM

Bob,

Try opening the two glass cupboard doors above the TV, unscrew the metal plate that has the radio selector switch and see if there is enough natural heat convection up through the WD doors and out through the doors to keep the heat down to maybe a 2-3 temperature spread and then see if your thermostat works properly. If it does, maybe someone would have an idea on venting those glass doors somehow as well as a venting type plate to replace the steel plate for the selector switch. It would be nice to avoid a fan ventilator.