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Radiant Floor Heating

Yahoo Message Number: 17956
Anybody got an idea how to troubleshoot the radiant floor heat? It was working fine until a couple of days ago. The thermostat indicates that it is heating (the five wavy bars) but it is not. I have tried resetting the thermostat to no avail. I have also reset the circuit breaker on the radiant floor circuit---also to no avail. Besides the circuit breaker, is there a fuse somewhere?

Brian Davis

2005 Intrigue LE, 42' OVTS
Coach #11901

Re: Radiant Floor Heating

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 17959
Brian

What is the floor temp reading on the thermostat compared to the night and day set points? Does it stop trying to heat the floor if you select one of the set points for control and then set the temp below the indicated floor temp (wavy lines should disappear?). Does the floor temp change during the day as the floor changes with ambient conditions? If the floor is not heating then the floor temp should vary with internal temperature of the coach. Also where are you that you need floor heat in August? I have found on several occasions that it was difficult to tell that the floor was heating when it was marginal. You mentioned trying to resetting the thermostat. Not sure what you meant by that. Did something else change two days ago like traveling or did it just seem to quit?
There is no fuse that I am aware of although every coach is different. There is a thermsistor (spelling?) under the floor about an inch in from the edge. It is what provides a temperature reading to the thermostat. When we took delivery we had the opposite problem. It would not stop heating. Someone at CC had chopped the lead off just where it goes under the floor in the wooden raceway in the bathroom. In that case there was no floor temperature reading at all. At that time (2004) the thermistor was just buried under tile. I asked them company why they didn't place it in a small plastic tube so that it could be removed? Answer: 'No one ever thought of it'. Maybe the guy got a big raise and they started doing it. I don't know. Anyway a word of caution. What ever happens DO NOT let anyone attempt to pull up a tile. It is virtually impossible without destroying the heating mat for anyone except those specially trained at the factory. Lazydays learned the hard way and had to replace a whole floor when they tried. They refuse to attempt it now. If you are getting a floor reading and it is changing then there is little chance that the thermistor is the problem.

The factory tech support was very helpful with our problem.

Hope thing work out easily for you.

Don Seager

2004 Allure 31046

Re: Radiant Floor Heating

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 17962
Hi Don,

Thanks for writing back. We are in Glacier National Park and it does get cold enough (low 40s) at night to need the floor heat. The thermostat seems to be working fine--it apparently is sending a signal to the floor mat to heat, but no heat. During the day as the ambient temperature goes up, the floor temperature goes up as well.
Yesterday for example, when we woke up the floor temp was 63 and by late afternoon it was up to 70 degrees. I had the thermostat set at 85 this whole time and the thermostat was calling for heat, but no heat.

Brian Davis
Coach #11901

Quote from: Don Seager

Brian

What is the floor temp reading on the thermostat compared to the
night and day set points? Does it stop trying to heat the floor if you select one of the set points for control and then set the temp below the indicated floor temp (wavy lines should disappear?). Does the floor temp change during the day as the floor changes with ambient conditions? If the floor is not heating then the floor temp should vary with internal temperature of the coach. Also where are you that you need floor heat in August? I have found on several occasions that it was difficult to tell that the floor was heating when it was marginal. You mentioned trying to resetting the thermostat. Not sure what you meant by that. Did something else change two days ago like traveling or did it just seem to quit?

Quote
>

There is no fuse that I am aware of although every coach is
different. There is a thermsistor (spelling?) under the floor about an inch in from the edge. It is what provides a temperature reading to the thermostat. When we took delivery we had the opposite problem. It would not stop heating. Someone at CC had chopped the lead off just where it goes under the floor in the wooden raceway in the bathroom. In that case there was no floor temperature reading at all. At that time (2004) the thermistor was just buried under tile.
I asked them company why they didn't place it in a small plastic tube so that it could be removed? Answer: 'No one ever thought of it'. Maybe the guy got a big raise and they started doing it. I don't know. Anyway a word of caution. What ever happens DO NOT let anyone attempt to pull up a tile. It is virtually impossible without destroying the heating mat for anyone except those specially trained at the factory. Lazydays learned the hard way and had to replace a whole floor when they tried. They refuse to attempt it now. If you are getting a floor reading and it is changing then there is little chance that the thermistor is the problem.

Quote
>

The factory tech support was very helpful with our problem.

Hope thing work out easily for you.

Don Seager

2004 Allure 31046

Re: Radiant Floor Heating

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 17973
Brian

Certainly all evidence points to it not working. Beyond this point would be new territory for me if I were trouble shooting it. I don't think I would be the greatest thing that I have ever done to experiment with your coach. As I mentioned I found Gold Heat to be very good at support. Sorry that I couldn't offer more support.

Hope Gold Heat can help.

Don Seager

2004 Allure 31046

Re: Radiant Floor Heating

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 17983
Quote
started doing it. I don't know. Anyway a word of caution. What ever happens >DO

NOT let anyone attempt to pull up a tile. It is virtually impossible >without

destroying the heating mat for anyone except those specially trained at the
We have radiant floor heat in our new coach (haven't tested it yet since it's been so hot). I'm assuming that I will need a platform of some kind built to put my dog crates on so they are not sitting directly on the floor (currently with a rubber backed throw rug underneath them). I'm not sure how the platform can be attached to the floor. I was thinking that if I had something bolted to the floor behind the passenger seat and also on the kitchen cabinet under the sink I could run a strap from one to the other up over the crates (which are already all bolted together). With the radiant floor am I going to be able to have something bolted in the floor and if so any suggestions on who could do it without risking mucking up the radiant heat?

Pati Mah

2005 Allure #31287

Re: Radiant Floor Heating

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 17993
I think my instructions for the floor heat say do not use rubber back rugs.

John Drebick
06 Affinity 6550

Re: Radiant Floor Heating

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18001
Dear Brian; The first step in diagnosing your Radiant Floor Heating problem is to see if you have continuity in the floor pad. The floor pad is the blanket that is under the floor tile that heats the tile. It is a very simple test. First shut off all power to the floor at the main breaker. Be sure you have it turned off or you could be electrocuted in the next step. Second, open the control box and look for the two braided wires that connect to the floor pad. Third, disconnect the two braided leads from the control box so that you have two bare braided leads. Fourth, connect your multi- meter to the two braided leads in continuity checking mode. Do you have continuity? If YES, then you probably have a defective control box and that is easy to replace. If NO continuity, then you have a defective pad under the floor. If the pad is defective, you will most likely have to have the entire floor removed and replaced to fix the defective pad. We know because we did have to have the entire floor replaced -- a BIG job that takes a professional about a week to 10 days to do it right.

Regards,

Bob Kumza

Re: Radiant Floor Heating

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18003
Bob,

Thanks for your response. I understand it in theory, but what I know about electricity wouldn't fill a thimble!. I DO have a multimeter, but have no idea what "continuity mode" is or how to set it in that mode. Is that something you could explain to me?

Thanks,

Brian Davis
Coach #11901

Quote from: rvrobert2003
> Dear Brian; The first step in diagnosing your Radiant Floor

Heating

Quote
problem is to see if you have continuity in the floor pad. The > floor pad is the blanket that is under the floor tile that heats

the

Quote
tile. It is a very simple test. First shut off all power to the > floor at the main breaker. Be sure you have it turned off or you > could be electrocuted in the next step. Second, open the control > box and look for the two braided wires that connect to the floor > pad. Third, disconnect the two braided leads from the control box

so

Quote
that you have two bare braided leads. Fourth, connect your multi- > meter to the two braided leads in continuity checking mode. Do

you

Quote
have continuity? If YES, then you probably have a defective

control

Quote
box and that is easy to replace. If NO continuity, then you have

a

Quote
defective pad under the floor. If the pad is defective, you will > most likely have to have the entire floor removed and replaced to > fix the defective pad. We know because we did have to have the > entire floor replaced -- a BIG job that takes a professional about

a

Re: Radiant Floor Heating

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18010
Yes I read that too. Thank you John. I figure I'll have to have the platform for the crates before it gets cold.

Pati Mah

2005 Allure #31287

Quote from: John Drebick
> I think my instructions for the floor heat say do not use rubber

back rugs.

Quote
>

John Drebick
06 Affinity 6550

Re: Radiant Floor Heating

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18013
Hello Brian;

For those people who don't know much about electricity, you have a couple of options. One, dig out your manual for your multi-meter and learn how to use the continuity checking mode. In most cases, you just turn the dial to the "continuity" selection, clip the leads to the two braided wires and listen for a beep that indicates "continuity". Don't forget that all important step of turning off the main breaker to the floor before starting the process. Also, the two braided leads must NOT be connected to the control box, but must be bare wire leads -- this ensures you are checking continuity through the floor pad and not the control box!

Another option is to go to Radio Shack and buy an el-cheapo continuity checker. It is a device with 2 leads and a tiny light.
You hook it to the two braided wires and see if the light turns on.
If it lights, you have continuity and you can smile -- just replace the control box and the system should work. If it doesn't light, be ready for major dust as they rip out all your tile and rebuild your floor heating system and re-lay all the tile.
When our system failed, they had to do a complete floor rebuild. We (Lazydays and I) were completely shocked to find that the heating pad was so badly damaged from the factory installation that sections of it were completely missing and there was no hope that the system would ever work without a complete rebuild. It really made me wonder if Country Coach has any quality control in the tile installation process. Lazydays (Ivan - a real craftsman) did a superb job in fixing our floor and it works perfectly now and we don't have any loose tiles now either.

Regards,
Bob

Quote from: bondaddy5191
> Bob,

Thanks for your response. I understand it in theory, but what I > know about electricity wouldn't fill a thimble!. I DO have a > multimeter, but have no idea what "continuity mode" is or how to

set

Quote
it in that mode. Is that something you could explain to me? >

Thanks,

Brian Davis
Coach #11901

[quote author=rvrobert2003"

> Dear Brian; The first step in diagnosing your Radiant Floor > Heating

> problem is to see if you have continuity in the floor pad. The > > floor pad is the blanket that is under the floor tile that heats > the

> tile. It is a very simple test. First shut off all power to the > > floor at the main breaker. Be sure you have it turned off or

you

Quote
could be electrocuted in the next step. Second, open the

control

Quote
box and look for the two braided wires that connect to the floor > > pad. Third, disconnect the two braided leads from the control

box

Quote
so

> that you have two bare braided leads. Fourth, connect your

multi-

Quote
meter to the two braided leads in continuity checking mode. Do > you

> have continuity? If YES, then you probably have a defective > control

> box and that is easy to replace. If NO continuity, then you

have

Quote
a

> defective pad under the floor. If the pad is defective, you

will

Quote
most likely have to have the entire floor removed and replaced

to

Quote
fix the defective pad. We know because we did have to have the > > entire floor replaced -- a BIG job that takes a professional

about