Wall heat registers in 31SL

Bklamb · 08-09-2013, 12:08 AM

We get good heat from all the floor registers, but nothing comes out of our 2 wall registers. One register is on the vertical part of the bottom step of the stairs, and the other is next to the refrigerator. Am I misunderstanding the purpose of these 2 registers? Are they intended for some other use?

sinder · 08-09-2013, 12:51 AM

The register under the bottom step is a just a vent cover which allows warm air inside the 5er to flow into the basement area to keep things from freezing. I believe the vent next to the fridge is a return air vent.

atom ant · 08-09-2013, 12:53 AM

I wonder if those are return air?

To be honest, we've only used the heat pumps so far. I should check mine out as I have the same registers. You probably have one in the basement ceiling too. Mine is by the curb side up by the netting. I just noticed it the other day.

KenM · 08-09-2013, 08:22 AM

The both wall registers are return air for the furnace in the basement. The air is pulled in by the furnace and reheated and blown out in the floor registers.

It works justlike your furnace at home. Itreheats and circulates the air.Edited by: KenM

NW Snowbirds · 08-09-2013, 01:10 PM

I would agree that the wall registers are return air to the furnace on the 31SL. I can feel air flowing into the registers when the furnace runs. My question is how many furnace outlets there are on the 31SL? I have three which seems too few compared to other trailers I have owned. There is a single floor register at the rear end of the living room, a floor outlet (round) in the bath room and a floor register in the bed room. Is this the same as other 31SLs? I would like to have another outlet in the living room to accelerate the warm up.

atom ant · 08-09-2013, 01:53 PM

I think I only have 3, plus the round one in the bathroom and the one in the basement. Quantity and size is typically in direct relation to the CFM of the furnace itself.

Howevever, you can replace the registers with adjustable types which would allow you to divert more air to the living room. Camping World has them. Home Depot does as well, but be careful they are not to deep. The ducts are pretty shallow and the standard adjustable house registers can actually touch the bottom of the duct and cut off the flow.

KenM · 08-09-2013, 02:44 PM

That is correct, there are only three. I have replaced both the living room and bedroom grills with adjustable ones from Home Depot. I did have to do a little trimming to get the new register mounted in the hole.

Due to the small size of the ducts I am not sure you would be able to get much more CFM's from the duct by adding another register to the living room.

Our coach is currently at the dealer formore warranty repairssoI am unable to look right now, but I believe you can run a new duct from the furnace to the wall of the kitchen. I will take a look as soon as I get it back.

Having been in the HVAC and electrical business it would be a very simple task to add another heat run to the coach.

Bklamb · 08-09-2013, 04:37 PM

Thanks for your answers, but I'm still confused. Doesn't hot air rise? These vents are at floor level. We looked in the storage area, and there isn't anything behind the registers to pull the air out. Just empty space.

We have 3 registers that deliver heat in the 31SL, same as yours.

KenM · 08-09-2013, 04:48 PM

Hot air does rise, however it would take up more space to run the ducts up in the walls and the ducts would have to be larger due to resistance to get the same amount of air flow.

Adamsvr · 08-09-2013, 05:16 PM

On our RL, we found just the opposite. Hot air would come into our coach in the summer and cold air would come in the winter.

Now you have to understand that we no longer do the cold and have become snowbirds. Therefore, we're blocking off the vents with plastic. I asked the Crossroads tech while at their service center what they were for and confirmed they were for the heater. Then I asked whether we could block them off and confirmed that the pan provided enough air leakage to keep the heater happy.

johnboytoo · 08-09-2013, 05:20 PM

If replacing floor registers think about why they are plastic usually...

metal ones can get hot and burn bare feet

so make sure you consider that...

KenM · 08-09-2013, 05:40 PM

The original one's weremetal, just not adjustable. We have used ours during the winter in sub 20 degree temperatures and have had no issues with them being to hot to walk on.

Rick and Mindy · 08-11-2013, 02:28 PM

We noticed that when using just the furnace to heat our 31sl that the countertop to the left of the sink and the drawers located on the left get very hot. If you put a candy bar in one of the drawers it would definitely melt. Has any else noticed the same thing?

Andrew · 08-11-2013, 02:51 PM

Check in your toe kick there should be a heat registor there they just pressurize the bottom of the island with an open vent and the heat should come out there.

Rick and Mindy · 08-11-2013, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew

Check in your toe kick there should be a heat registor there they just pressurize the bottom of the island with an open vent and the heat should come out there.

I guess I'm a little confused, what do you mean by pressurizing the island? We are aware of the toe kick register but very little air comes out of it.

Andrew · 08-11-2013, 04:53 PM

Rick and Mindy, they cut a hole in the floor into the main heat run under the island and pressurize the toe kick area. The heat should come out of the registor maybe you need more than one so the heat can get out. Check the floor of the cabinet to mahe sure it is sealed up good so the heat is forced out the registor

Rick and Mindy · 08-11-2013, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew

Rick and Mindy, they cut a hole in the floor into the main heat run under the island and pressurize the toe kick area. The heat should come out of the registor maybe you need more than one so the heat can get out. Check the floor of the cabinet to mahe sure it is sealed up good so the heat is forced out the registor

Thanks for the info. I guess we need to take out our drawers and see where the hot air is coming from. Obviously we don't have a good seal somewhere if hot air is going up into the island. There is a little bit of air coming from it but not like the forced air from the floor vents. Does yours feel forced?

Andrew · 08-11-2013, 06:06 PM

Yes but not as strong as the floor vent, we probably have a little leakage also

Rick and Mindy · 08-11-2013, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew

Yes but not as strong as the floor vent, we probably have a little leakage also

Thanks, we are planning a trip next month to Minnesota and the way their weather has been goin, we will probably need to use our furnace at sometime or another. We will be looking into how all that is connected. It was cold when we purchased our 31 sl and we were concerned because the quartz countertop got so hot when we used the furnace.

sinder · 08-11-2013, 11:49 PM

We are in Chisago City Minnesota staying on my sister's 5 acre farm. The weather has been cool in the mornings, and on an occasion we will turn on the electric fireplace to quickly warm up the place. In early June we did run the heater a couple of times in the morning to warm up the place. Rick and Mindy where are you staying in MN?

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