ProHeat - noises and getting started.

[daveola]

I finally pulled my ProHeat XL900 out of storage to start hooking it up.

I decided to do a test run, just pumping water in/out of a bucket to see if it heats up.

The unit turns on, but wouldn't fire, I finally realized that the brass elbow coming off the fuel pump had snapped.  Shouldn't be hard to replace, but concerning.

I saw the spark going, so that's a good sign, and the water pump started pumping, also a good sign, though the water coming out was nasty - clearly needed a flushing, not a great sign.

Also, I get that there's a "whir" sound for the heater and for the water pump, but there was a louder clacking sound that came on after about 30 seconds of pumping.  Is that normal, and what's it from?  I'm worried that it's the blower and it's hitting something.

Does anyone have video of the sound of one of these starting up?

So, the two main questions:

1)  What is that clacking sound, and is it normal?
2)  Is this ProHeat worth saving?  I got it from Bruce back in 2010, it showed up pretty dirty, though I managed to clean it up (externally, at least) fairly well:

http://bus.getdave.com/Album/Heating/

[luvrbus]

All diesel fired units make noise on start up it's the nature of the beast probably nothing wrong with it but that is a big unit for a converted bus

good luck

[Nick Badame Refrig. Co.]

Hi Dave,

Sometimes the combustion blowers can be very noisy...  If you think it's the blower, you could remove

it and clean/lubricate the bearings.. Also sometimes adjusting or cleaning the brushes are needed.

Nick-

[daveola]

Any thoughts on question #2?

I can't get the thing to fire, and I'm not sure if it's worth trying to diagnose.

Haven't been able to reach Bruce Knee yet about it either.

[bobofthenorth]

We have an XL900.  It about drove me nuts the first couple of years until I understood how it works.  Since then I just turn it on when it gets cold.  So my answer to the question about whether it is worth fixing is a loud YES.  Chris the GM Bus Guy was a big help getting my furnace back in action.  In fact he was the only guy I talked to who actually understood how it works.

There shouldn't be any metallic sound when it starts up but it is loud.  I'd describe it more as a roar but there is a "beat" to it as well.  Phone me if you want - I'm not sure what I can offer but even a blind squirrel finds the occasional nut.  3 zero 6 eight 6 two sixtyfour hundred.