Any way to quiet heater fan? December 16, 2015, 09:17:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157639I love out '95TK except one thing...the heater fan noise. Every time the heater comes on that fan noise wakes me up...ugh. Any solutions? Also, what is a simple and maual thermostat replacement? Mine is getting old and a bit rusty.
Re: Any way to quiet heater fan? Reply #1 – December 16, 2015, 10:28:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157641Yes, a catalytic heater. Wave 3 or 6. http://www.amazon.com/Camco-57331-Olympian-Wave-3-Catalytic/dp/B000BUV1RK A simple thermostat would work: TH3110D1008 - Honeywell TH3110D1008 - Pro Non-Programmable, 1H/1C, Standard Display ThermostatChris As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Any way to quiet heater fan? Reply #2 – December 17, 2015, 11:41:04 am Yahoo Message Number: 157642Every forced air furnace, used in LDs and most other RVs, are very noisy due to the heater's sail switch, It rattles and is what makes he annoying noise that wakes both you and me. Not much you can do about reducing the racket. We deal with cool nights with an assortment of warm blankets and quilts, not using the heater at all when sleeping. Keeping warm this way saves the battery and is quiet. When morning arrives, a switch in the bunk turns the heater on remotely. After 15 minutes or so, it is warm enough get up and put on the coffee. A pair of Wave 3s can be used to keep the interior toasty during waking hours but normally we never run them at night.Larry
Re: Any way to quiet heater fan? Reply #3 – December 17, 2015, 12:03:53 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157643A quieter heater?That remains one of my back burner projects. Not so much cutting down the noise, but more to ramp up the heater fan more slowly, so it's not an abrupt change in noise level. On mine, I don't notice the sail switch rattling, but that can fixed fairly easily too.First the fan ramp up. I've not been able to find a "soft start" for a DC motor that ramps up slow enough (over a number of seconds). However, DC motor speed controllers are inexpensive on eBay and Amazon $10 to $30. It would be a simple matter to replace the variable resister with a R/C time constant circuit (a capacitor and resistor) that would automatically ramp up the voltage to the motor and a rate determined by the size or value of the capacitor and resister.As to the sail switch, that would be easy enough to replace it with a pressure switch - same idea as those that are used to monitor the water level in a washing machine, but more sensitive and smaller. They are available in sensitive versions that will switch at relatively low pressure differentials on the order of an inch or less of water column - $25 to $30 or so. I'm using one on the Wankel engine in my glider to monitor a fan belt driven impeller, if the belt breaks, the motor has maybe 15 or 20 seconds to live if not shut down, so I built an alarm for that!bumper
Re: Any way to quiet heater fan? Reply #4 – December 17, 2015, 02:04:13 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157644My heater has far more capacity than my SOB needs, even in sub-freezing temperatures. I'm wondering if it could use a smaller orifice to produce 75% of full capacity, along with a lower fan speed. It would run longer (an aid to more even temperatures), but would be significantly quieter, and I think I'd like the tradeoff.Eric [lifewithalazydazerv] wrote on 12/17/2015 10:03 AM:
Re: Any way to quiet heater fan? Reply #5 – December 17, 2015, 02:35:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157645There's a fundamental problem with small blowers, such as those used in RV furnaces. In order to move the same amount of air (cubic feet per minute), a small blower has to spin faster than a large one. The faster a fan or squirrel-cage blower spins, the higher the pitch of the noise it generates. And the higher the pitch, the more obtrusive that noise becomes.There are things you can do to mitigate this--for example, RVs that pass the furnace's output through floor or ceiling ducts are generally quieter than ones like Lazy Daze that pretty much blow air straight out the business end of the furnace--but you can't escape the basic fact that small, high-velocity blowers are inherently noisier.As others here have pointed out, a catalytic heater such as the Wave 3 or Wave 6 has the advantage of being completely silent, as well as being more economical of propane than the furnace (which exhausts almost half of its heat to the outdoors).The main drawback of these small cat heaters is that they produce much less heat (3,000 or 6,000 BTU versus 20,000 to 30,000 for the furnace), so they're nowhere near capable of heating an entire RV. Compounding this, cat heaters aren't good at spreading the heat around. Because they have no fans, they mainly heat the area directly opposite the heater. For these reasons, they're best thought of as supplementary--not primary--heat sources.But they can be very useful in that role. I've used my Wave 3 every day for the past week or so. But first I run the furnace to quickly get the rig up to a livable temperature; then I shut it down and use the cat heater to maintain a cozy atmosphere in the kitchen/dinette area until the sun warms up the rig. The cat heater alone isn't enough.Andy Baird
Re: Any way to quiet heater fan? Reply #6 – December 17, 2015, 02:46:36 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157646I agree the heater is very loud. If you have A.C. hookups a small electric is available at Walmart for $15. I think it's a Pelonis brand. It makes very little noise. If no hook ups the Wave 3 is a good option. Just make sure you get the flexible hose kit so you can move it where you need heat. It is radiant and makes no noise. If you cook dinner in the oven leave the door open after meal is done and it's been turned off. It helps a little.Bobmoore14
Re: Any way to quiet heater fan? Reply #7 – December 17, 2015, 07:46:04 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157652Not all RV gas heaters are noisy. The one in our 2004 LD Mid Bath woke me up every time it came on and it had a 10 degree swing in temperature. The Aqua Hot in our Foretravel made less noise but the 5 fans circulating the air were far from quiet but I could usually sleep thru the noise they made. The Suburban model SF-30FQ furnace in our Born Free has 2 speeds and is quieter than the heaters in either of the other RVs. Not only that, but it keeps the temperature pretty constant. I have used it on some pretty cold nights (lower teens) and have not had it wake me up once. Of course one option that makes a real difference when we have electrical hookups is the heated floor. That is really nice.Monti
Re: Any way to quiet heater fan? Reply #8 – December 17, 2015, 11:44:42 pm Yahoo Message Number: 157658Andy Baird said, "...the more obtrusive that noise becomes. There are things you can do to mitigate this..."My inexpensive solution requires no mechanical knowledge or skills--foam inserts for the windows/shades/overhead vents; blankets (on me & blocking off the cab); Lilly under the covers at my feet (& maybe socks for an extra measure); &, most importantly, I take my hearing aids out when I go to bed...nothing disturbs me, unless Lilly becomes *alarming*. : > )Lynne LDy Lulubelle, "05 30" TB Lilly, 4-Legged Alarm
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