Joy,

Bob's right about "blink codes".  If there is a malfunction you should be
getting a series of red light flashes.  The condition I'm describing below
should be giving you a series of five blinks shortly after the ten second
fan cycle you describe.

What you're describing sounds identical to what my Propex was doing a while
back.  Turns out there is a small non-motorized fan within the unit that
should be able to spin freely, indicating that there is proper air flow
through the unit.  The fan has a black and white pie chart on it and an
optical pickup.  This is a safety so that the gas son't start flowing until
the fan knows that there is air movement.

Karl has these fans available, and they are only a minor PITA to replace.
Swing out here where it's warm and I'll replace it for you.

Karl W

|-----Original Message-----
|From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
|Joy Hecht
|Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 8:48 PM
|To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
|Subject: Re: propex heater problems
|
|On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 11:16 PM, Bob Stevens <mtbiker62@gmail.com> wrote:
|
|> Turn the rocker switch left to begin the start/heater-on cycle, and move
|> the
|> temp knob all the way down to the "little" lines. The fan will come on as
|> you've
|> said, turn the knob toward the large lines which is telling the heater
|how
|> hot
|> you want it to heat, how long you want it to run before it reaches that
|> temp
|> and shuts off.
|>
|> The heater is supposed to be "started" with the thermostat dial at the
|> lowest
|> setting, then once the on/rocker switch is turned left/down and the fan
|> begins
|> blowing that indicates your start cycle has started. When it's very cold,
|> the
|> green light on the right comes on at the lowest thermostat setting but
|when
|> it's not so cold, the thermostat has to be rotated to get the green light
|> to come
|> on and the start/heat cycle to start.
|>
|> The red light just means the heater is on and when the ambient inside
|cabin
|> temp gets low enough, the green/start light comes on and the fan starts.
|>
|> Hope this helps get the chill off your home.
|>
|>
|Nope.  I did just as you said.  No matter where the dial is, the fan stays
|on for ten seconds if I switch it to the left.  If I turn the dial to the
|little lines, turn the switch left, and then rotate the dial to the big
|lines, the lights do not turn green, and the fan goes off after ten
|seconds.
|
|It's 40 in the van now, which isn't really that cold, but I'd think the
|heat
|would go on at 40, woudln't it?  Or does it only work at lower
|temperatures?
|
|I do have propane in the tank!
|
|
|Joy
|
|
|bob
|>
|> On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 7:49 PM, Joy Hecht <jhecht@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
|>
|>> Hi all,
|>>
|>> I thought the south was supposed to be warm!  But no.  And my propex
|>> heater
|>> doesn't seem to be working.
|>>
|>> Can someone who has one (or knows them) give me some info?  I have this
|>> switch box/thermostat for it.  The switch can go left, right or in the
|>> middle (middle is off) and the thermostat dial can go from what I assume
|>> is
|>> minimal heat (very short bars on the dial) to hottest (long bars on the
|>> dial).
|>>
|>> When I switch it left, towards the little picture of a flame, red and
|>> yellow
|>> lights come on.  The fan blows for ten seconds and stops. No heat, just
|>> cold
|>> air.  When I switch it right, towards some other little picture that I
|>> can't
|>> interpret, one green light comes on.  The fan blows constantly.  No
|heat,
|>> just cold air.  Turning the thermostat dial makes no difference to any
|of
|>> it.
|>>
|>> What is supposed to happen when I turn the switch either way?  And what
|>> would be causing this lack of heat?
|>>
|>>
|>>
|>>
|>> Joy and Matilda, who are way too cold in Chattanooga
|>>
|>
|>