Atwood Furnaces 8531 & 8520

[2chiefsRus]

Looking for suggestions/recommendations for where to have our furnaces serviced in central Florida. DH takes care of routine maintenance but given the age of the furnaces wouldn't mind have someone else take a look at them.

Back story - we are the original owners of our signature rig (2007 Monaco Knight). The furnaces are original equipment also. This past spring we had a problem with the front furnace (Atwood 8531) and had to have the burner replaced. The service tech told us (after the repair was all completed and put back together) that we should have an inspection done and possibly have the gaskets replaced. At that point we were already late to hit the road and it was late spring already so we decided to table the issue until the fall. Wish service tech had mentioned it before he put it all back together so we could have had it done then.

Thanks for your time.

[dougrainer]

2chiefsRus wrote:

dougrainer wrote:

2chiefsRus wrote:

wolfe10 wrote:


Depending on what gasket he is talking about, wonder why he did not replace it while in there???

my thought exactly!

Because very few service centers have the required Gaskets. INCLUDING my Service center. It is extremely rare for a professional to damage or lose the required gasket. There is only 1 and that is the plate gasket that holds the burner in place. Doug

Thank you Doug - that makes sense. Wish they had told us that.

I can get any gasket from our supplier in 3 hours. Doug

[2chiefsRus]

dougrainer wrote:

2chiefsRus wrote:

wolfe10 wrote:


Depending on what gasket he is talking about, wonder why he did not replace it while in there???

my thought exactly!

Because very few service centers have the required Gaskets. INCLUDING my Service center. It is extremely rare for a professional to damage or lose the required gasket. There is only 1 and that is the plate gasket that holds the burner in place. Doug

Thank you Doug - that makes sense. Wish they had told us that.

[dougrainer]

2chiefsRus wrote:

wolfe10 wrote:


Depending on what gasket he is talking about, wonder why he did not replace it while in there???

my thought exactly!

Because very few service centers have the required Gaskets. INCLUDING my Service center. It is extremely rare for a professional to damage or lose the required gasket. There is only 1 and that is the plate gasket that holds the burner in place. Doug

[2chiefsRus]

wolfe10 wrote:


Depending on what gasket he is talking about, wonder why he did not replace it while in there???

my thought exactly!

[wolfe10]

Yes, it is extremely important that there is no connection between interior of the coach and the "combustion part" of the furnace due to Carbon Monoxide.

A quick test is to find a smoker and have them blow smoke in the outside furnace inlet while you turn on the furnace. If you smell any cigarette smoke, repair before using.

Depending on what gasket he is talking about, wonder why he did not replace it while in there???

BTW, I go around a CG looking for a smoker to do this exact tests on both furnaces once a year! They always seem to get a kick out of it.