What did you do to the Sunline today?

[MIKE43]

I am not sure what you mean by glowing red. The one I replaced only required the depressing of the pilot light for about a minute or so, then it stayed lit and the system would ignite when the main dial was turned to run.

[Tinstaafl]

The pilot light should heat the thermocouple enough that it is hot enough to glow red. If it doesn't, either you have low gas flow or the thermocouple isn't positioned properly to catch maximum heat from the flame.

Do you have a means of measuring the thermocouple's output voltage while the pilot is on? Should be about 30 millivolts.

[MIKE43]

Thank you for your reply, but the issue is that the pilot light will not stay lit once the red button on top of the control unit is released. It will only stay lit when the red button is kept depressed.

[Thekid710]

Leads me to believe it’s a bad thermocouple. Could also be a bad valve , though less common. This is why you’d need to be able to read the output in millivolts , short of just a shot in the dark it’s the only way to truly diagnose the thermocouple as working properly. The thermocouple is what keeps the pilot valve open after you’ve let go of the button, but only if it sends the tiny electrical signal to the valve. It does this when it’s hot enough(if it’s working properly )

[Tinstaafl]

The sequence is that you hold the red button down long enough for the flame to heat the thermocouple enough that it generates voltage to keep the gas valve open without your finger on it. So it's likely that either you have a bad thermocouple or it's not being heated enough to generate the proper voltage.

Also possible that the control valve is defective and not responding properly to the thermocouple voltage, but that's extremely rare.

In either case, I wouldn't take this to an RV dealer and pay their service rates. Any reasonably competent handyman would be able to troubleshoot and fix the problem.

While reading the resistance of a thermocouple can be helpful with general circuit troubleshooting, that's not really the way to test them. Apply good heat and see how much voltage it puts out.

[MIKE43]

I replaced the old control unit and the thermocouple/pilot assembly with new ones. Everything is installed properly. No leaks found. Is there a way to make the pilot light higher? Maybe that would help to heat the thermocouple enough to make it glow red. At this point I will try anything not already tried. I have a volt meter but do not know where to place the positive and negative leads in order to check voltage.

[Tinstaafl]

The pilot flame isn't adjustable, but an obstruction in the gas line could limit flow. One common culprit is spider webs. For some reason spiders are attracted to small traces of propane. If you could post a decent picture of the flame in action, we'd have a much better idea of what might be going on.

To measure the thermocouple voltage, you disconnect it from the valve assembly and place your meter leads on the end you disconnected while operating the pilot light. Comes in handy to have three hands.

[Thekid710]

Well, before we know if the pilot flame is adjustable, what appliance are we even talking about? I realized you never specified in the original post. In my 1978 t1750 the pilot for the oven, cooktop and furnace are all adjustable…but certainly also check for obstructions in the pilot orifice with a single strand of stranded 14 Ga. copper wire or compressed air or something similar. Don’t want to damage the orifice by digging around too hard.

[MIKE43]

The appliance in question is the thermocouple/pilot assembly on the control valve for the hot water heater on a T2261 Sunline travel trailer.

Please note that I recently installed a new control valve and thermocouple/pilot assembly, so I don't think the problem is with a blocked line. I was informed that the thermocouple had to be heated to glowing red before the unit would actually fire up. I have never seen the thermocouple glow red before. I thought that if the pilot light can be adjusted higher it might make the thermocouple hotter. I was also advised to disconnect the thermocouple unit from the control valve and check its voltage, but I do not know where the positive and negative leads of the volt meter need to be placed in order to do that since the tip of the thermocouple is very small. As previously stated, the pilot light will only stay lit when depressing the red button on top of the control valve, and yes I have held the red button down for more than two minutes and still the pilot light goes off when released.
I really don't want to have to take the RV to a dealer and pay there hefty labor charge just to diagnose the problem, however, if all else fails I guess that is what I will have to do.

[JohnB]

Hi Mike

Can you confirm the make, model and year if you know it of the water heater ? The model tag is normally outside on the side of the heater that can be seen when the door is down. We are not sure if yours is original or has been upgraded etc. At this stage we can help better if we know which exact water heater you have. The generic help is good but with so many years of campers, a lot has changed from the 70’s all the way the 2007 models.

A picture also helps if the make and model tag is too far gone to read.

Hope this helps

John

[Soundgal68]

Good afternoon I just picked up my Sunline T-1950 2004 just wondering how do you grease the bearings on the tires? Thanks for info

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Soundgal68

Good afternoon I just picked up my Sunline T-1950 2004 just wondering how do you grease the bearings on the tires? Thanks for info

Hi Soundgal68,

Unless your camper was built with an optional, Dexter EZ lube axle feature, (many of the 2004's did not have this feature) the wheel bearings get cleaned, inspected, and greased during a brake and wheel bearing maintenance procedure. They take the wheels and brake drums off, clean, inspect and hand pack new grease in the bearings.

If you are asking a mechanic to do this job for you, this is what you would ask for. I need to get my brakes and wheel bearings inspected, the brakes serviced and adjusted, and the brake hubs cleaned and greased, on my 2004 tandem axle camper. The camper has Dexter 3,500# axles and brakes.

Since you just bought the camper, it is good practice to have the above maintenance procedure done so you know all is good. Then keep up the periodic maintenance going forward.

Hope this helps

John

[Tinstaafl]

Originally Posted by MIKE43

Please note that I recently installed a new control valve and thermocouple/pilot assembly, so I don't think the problem is with a blocked line. I was informed that the thermocouple had to be heated to glowing red before the unit would actually fire up. I have never seen the thermocouple glow red before.

You didn't mention replacing the pilot assembly before. With that additional information, I agree that a blockage is unlikely. Have to admit I'm curious as to why you replaced so many components at once. That makes troubleshooting more difficult in the event one of them is defective or inappropriate.

Strictly speaking, the thermocouple doesn't always have to glow red to generate the proper voltage, but it's quite common for them to do so.

No offense, but while I'm all for DIY repairs where practical, it seems evident that you lack the technical background to deal with the problem efficiently. Given that, I'll reiterate my advice to find a handyman who has a passing acquaintance with gas fixtures. Price would be much more reasonable than any RV dealer.

[Soundgal68]

Thank you for all the information again

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by MIKE43

The appliance in question is the thermocouple/pilot assembly on the control valve for the hot water heater on a T2261 Sunline travel trailer.

Please note that I recently installed a new control valve and thermocouple/pilot assembly, so I don't think the problem is with a blocked line. I was informed that the thermocouple had to be heated to glowing red before the unit would actually fire up. I have never seen the thermocouple glow red before. I thought that if the pilot light can be adjusted higher it might make the thermocouple hotter. I was also advised to disconnect the thermocouple unit from the control valve and check its voltage, but I do not know where the positive and negative leads of the volt meter need to be placed in order to do that since the tip of the thermocouple is very small. As previously stated, the pilot light will only stay lit when depressing the red button on top of the control valve, and yes I have held the red button down for more than two minutes and still the pilot light goes off when released.
I really don't want to have to take the RV to a dealer and pay there hefty labor charge just to diagnose the problem, however, if all else fails I guess that is what I will have to do.

Hi Mike,

As I said in my prior note, we need the make and model and ideally the year, of what heater you have.

I'm going out on a limb here, but if you have one of the older Atwood all gas controls water heater, then this may help.

In our FILES section is a service manual for the Atwood water heaters, See here for a download when you are logged in.
https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/d...do=file&id=461

See PDF page 14, Manual page 3 at the bottom of the page, for the all gas valve control system.

While some of the older gas valves had a pilot screw adjustment, that seems to have been discontinued, and since you bought a new valve, odds are that screw does not exist.

Since there is no adjustment screw, gas pressure and the size of the pilot orifice (that is a fixed-sized hole) are what control the height of the pilot flame that should be totally covering the thermocouple. It may be, that your main tank gas pressure regulator is not putting out the correct 11" WC gas pressure, which could lower the pilot flame on a brand new control valve and pilot. It would not shock me at all, that an RV-style gas regulator went bad.

A pressure test on the gas system will confirm if the tank regulator is correct or too low in pressure. If you have a buddy who works on LP gas systems, they have a meter or a manometer.

This is the LP test, using a stove burner is a common attaching point to the gas system to read pressure. This shows using a manometer, I use a Dwyer LP gage also but check it back to the manometer if need to confirm the gage is still reading right. https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...cks-10981.html

Hope this helps

John

[jim44646]

I have a T2553. Been wanting to install a 17 inch high with a cabinet door. Well that said I came across a 17" porcelain at a price I couldn't resist. So after kickong around a few ideas I came up with solution. By reducing the cabinet opening height by about 3" with a piece of 3/4" oak and making a new door I was able to clear the toilet and still have access to cabinets contents.PXL_20220812_165208440.MP.jpgPXL_20220812_165039232.jpgPXL_20220812_165047615.MP.jpg

[Thekid710]

Sweet! Nice job. Being a camper owner with well rounded skills pays dividends!

[jleslie48]

every few years I re-tar the roof with heavy duty roofing tar. This past fall I must of done it on a very warm week, as the tar ran down the sides and looked real bad. Time for a fresh coat of paint.

[Tammy Lou]

Wow, your camper looks gorgeous!! Love the teal blue.

[jleslie48]

thank you. Through 3 repaints, the blue has always stayed. Last fall the inside was re-done and it was done with the blue as well.