Heat Pump question...

[MossflowerWoods]

When it isnt iced up too bad, and mine goes into defrost mode, ONLY the compressor and outdoor fan run.

Hmmm... I believe there is a problem. I do not think the compressor outside EVER runs without the blower except for a couple min as it starts up.

I bumped up t-stat low 2 deg, and lowered high 1 deg, i think i am getting less "Aux Heat" but the dang thing runs constantly now and it is at least 10 degrees warmer outside!

GRRRRR!

When i build, I want to look into ground coil heat exchanger and/or wood fired furnace if such exists...

Thanks all,
David

 

[EE_Bota]

My new Carrier unit hasn't seen winter yet, so I am not sure how it defrosts, but my Lennox just replaced, it would do the following to defrost:


a)it would never defrost if the unit was not already running, so the indoor fan was already running, and did not stop.

b)the reverse valve switched to go to A/C mode.

c) the outdoor fan stopped

d)if the inside temperature dropped enough for Aux heat to come on, if came on

e)when defrosting was over, the reverse valve switched back and the outdoor fan resumed running.

Reverse valve may not be the correct name. I am referring to the valve in the "freon" circuit that determines whether the unit is cooling or heating the house.
My unit had/has electric aux heat, not propane.

Edit..one nasty thing that would happen under ideal circumstances was a 2" or more layer of ice over the fan outlet. That cannot be defrosted. I always had to go into the house, and switch to A/C mode directly and leave it there until a layer of water formed under the sheet of ice. Then I could bust up the ice and remove it by hand, and switch back to heat mode. I hope my new Carrier dies not do that, but I see no reason why it shouldn't, since that is nothing more than cold air striking falling precipitation and freezing it directly. That is hard to defeat, but some side exhaust units may have that conquered.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Something is SERIOUSLY WRONG now.

it ran all night, and the temp never went up. house is cold, outside unit will NOT start and run.

blower is blowing cold air, and EM heat is not coming on either.

DANGIT! I've got enough problems right now!

David

 

[LD1]

I really think you need to have a service call put in to a compentent HVAC company

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I really think you need to have a service call put in to a compentent HVAC company

In process, I've got a home warranty, so I must use them...

David

 

[955Lincoln]

Something is SERIOUSLY WRONG now.

it ran all night, and the temp never went up. house is cold, outside unit will NOT start and run.

blower is blowing cold air, and EM heat is not coming on either.

DANGIT! I've got enough problems right now!

David

Most likely low on freon and it has been running with poor efficiency for a while. Now the pressure is too low and not allowing the compressor to run. Your EM heat is a pretty simple setup and I don't see why it wouldn't work. I assume that you can select it from your thermostat?

What is home warranty? It sounds like a homeowners association for appliances :confused2:

 

[clemsonfor]

Before getting this HP, I had no idea how high-tech these things had gotten. Has a full color display which you have control over. With the cover open, you can see all the controls & if you know the secret handshake you get access to a whole lot more functions and info.

Air handler has a variable speed blower and I can see what the air flow is at any time. Controls measure pressure drop across the filter and pops up a message any time the filter needs replacing. Can also control humidity and if you live where the air is really dry and you have the humidifier attached in the system you can really control humidity over a fairly broad range.

Yesterday someone mentioned defrost cycles. Outside humidity impacts freq of defrost cycles. Real humid here and during real cold spells, my HP freezes up to the point system has to go into defrost mode 3-4 time an hr. All aux heat comes on at that time so if you have this situation you may be better off having the lock out point set a little higher so defrost cycles don't happen so frequently. Since my aux heat comes on in stages, it may be a little more economical to have aux heat come on in the 30-35 degree range than say low to mid 20's. During the heating season, I always have a small stream of water dripping from the HP.

This is true if you buy an 8-10 thousand dollar system, but folks like me bought a heat pump 3.5 yrs ago and just went with a base model Good quality goodman unit. I dont think it even has the capability and onboard computer to allow all that readout. I do have a normal programable t-stat. I just dont have 2 speed blowers and 2 speed compressors and 2 stage aux heat. So NOT all new heat pumps have ability like that. They still make units just like mine for afordable heat, which is all i want. My t-stat i think may be hunter now that i think about it.It was NOS from ebay i can see a cumulative aux heat usage from the whole time its on, and i can see a daily heat pump use for the day and day before in hours/mins.

 

[grsthegreat]

This is true if you buy an 8-10 thousand dollar system, but folks like me bought a heat pump 3.5 yrs ago and just went with a base model Good quality goodman unit. I dont think it even has the capability and onboard computer to allow all that readout. I do have a normal programable t-stat. I just dont have 2 speed blowers and 2 speed compressors and 2 stage aux heat. So NOT all new heat pumps have ability like that. They still make units just like mine for afordable heat, which is all i want. My t-stat i think may be hunter now that i think about it.It was NOS from ebay i can see a cumulative aux heat usage from the whole time its on, and i can see a daily heat pump use for the day and day before in hours/mins.

I have a 2.5 YO Goodman system, and believe me any unit less than 10 years old has an onboard control board.

Ther are alot of settings that the installer has to do to get al functions working, and they all are dependant on the thermostat he married the system with. Mine has a variable fan that ramps up as needed, has 2 stage heat and heats during defrost. All these things are controlled from the THERMOSTAT not the unit.

 

[clemsonfor]

Something is SERIOUSLY WRONG now.

it ran all night, and the temp never went up. house is cold, outside unit will NOT start and run.

blower is blowing cold air, and EM heat is not coming on either.

DANGIT! I've got enough problems right now!

David

DO like i said. GET a digital thermometer and put over several vents in the house. What is the Temp? Im thinking it should be 7-10 degrees warmer than the room air if its funtucioning correctly.

The unit may be severly undersized because of just sheer wrong size for SQFT of house or they did not take into account inadequate insulation or older doors windows? If that Aux heat kicks on every day esp more than a few breif moments your bill is gonna be sky high!

You do need a tech to come out. It may still be under warrenty? Many now have 10 year warrenties, i know my goodman does.

 

[grsthegreat]

DO like i said. GET a digital thermometer and put over several vents in the house. What is the Temp? Im thinking it should be 7-10 degrees warmer than the room air if its funtucioning correctly.

The unit may be severly undersized because of just sheer wrong size for SQFT of house or they did not take into account inadequate insulation or older doors windows? If that Aux heat kicks on every day esp more than a few breif moments your bill is gonna be sky high!

You do need a tech to come out. It may still be under warrenty? Many now have 10 year warrenties, i know my goodman does.

The unit has a 10 year compressor warranty, but no one gets more than a 1 year installers warranty (at least that i know). Settings are probibly just not set right. asking it to run at too low of an outdoors temp.
My aux heat is a 95% efficient gas furnace so if it clicks on im not too worried.