Heat Pump problem

[Fireman Will]

Last night the heat pump shut off and never came back on. I didn't use the furness until this morning. It got down in the low 30'° water frozen and 37° inside the camper. After running the furness to get Emergency heat, I was able to run heat pump. The HP never warms the trailer. Always have to use fireplace or furness. What is the problem? Water hose warmed up no frozen water.

[Mikendebbie]

In our unit - the heat pump only seems to do us any good if it is not too cold outside...maybe in the 40's or 50's. I think I have read somewhere in this forum that the heat pumps will not work (at all???) when temps outside are real cold.

[mlh]

These heat pumps are very inefficient. You are probably as well off running an electric heater. The rating of an electric heater is 3.7 and that goes for an electric range to any electric heater. Your heat pump is probably about 6 but you loose at least 30 through the ducts and they won’t even heat below about 30 degrees. There are heat pumps that are much better. The rating on the one in my home is 12 and will heat all the way down to minus 15. What I’m saying is cut it off and use your furnace unless it’s above at least 45 degrees.
The way these are calculated is, how many BTUs do you get out of 1 KW electricity. Electric heat is 3700 BTUs, 3.7. Your heat pump 6000 my heat pump 12000. And some are even better.
Lynwood

[GO ARMY]

Heat pump is great but will only work 40+ deg Fahr

[DQDick]

Our heat pump will work until about 35 degrees and after that it's useless and will eventually lock out.

[AZ Traveler]

Most residential heat pumps include heat strips which allow them to continue heating as the outside air gets below 35-40 deg. Our RV heat pumps do not include heat strips for low temps.

[Daryles]

Keep an eye on the overnight temperatures. If it's going to be 40 or below use your furnace.
We also use our fireplace and a small ceramic space heater.
Dont forget, your furnace also heats your underbelly and helps prevent your pipes from freezing.

[DutchmenSport]

As everyone stated above, about 40 degrees and they quit pumping heat. When the temperatures get below freezing, mine won't even turn on. When temps are above 40, it will drive us out of the camper if set too high.

[mlh]

Originally Posted by AZ Traveler

Most residential heat pumps include heat strips which allow them to continue heating as the outside air gets below 35-40 deg. Our RV heat pumps do not include heat strips for low temps.

Most do have heat strips, electrical restraint backup heat but not all. The Bosch Bova is a regular heat pump that will heat down to minus 5, I think. Fujitsu mini splits will go down to minus 15. They will put our there rated or over BTUs to minus 5. And there are others that will too.

I know this isn’t about campers but if you are thinking about an AC or heat pump for your home and yours is 15 years old they will save you half on your heat and AC bill if your climate permits, that is you don’t get too cold. We had geothermal before we got the mini split. when it was installed they were the most efficient we could buy not now. Our electric bill has been less every month since the mini split was installed.
Lynwood

[AZ Traveler]

My first choice for my home would be gas heat. Had heat pumps in VA and FL and was never happy with them.

[mlh]

Originally Posted by AZ Traveler

My first choice for my home would be gas heat. Had heat pumps in VA and FL and was never happy with them.

I understand. The old heat pumps weren’t very comfortable the air from then wasn’t warm, you felt cold. That is no longer the case. The air from new ones is as warm as it is from any furnace. And where we live they are cheaper to operate than even a gas unit and they are quieter then a standard forced air system.
Lynwood

[Option 65]

Where (are) is the heat pump physically located on our 2019 3120rl? Is it internal to the roof mounted unit(s)? And do you operate it simply by turning the thermostat up in the cooling mode? The heat mode on the main thermostat located in the main living area only runs the furnace. I am trying to understand if the two roof units are actually heat pumps that operate in their individual cooling modes on each thermostat.

I hope these aren’t stupid questions but I really would appreciate any assistance I can get.

Thanks in advance.

[DebNJim B]

My heat pump is in the bedroom in the rear. It is also the A/C unit and has a separate setting on the thermostat. These unit as has been stated work good down to about 40deg. If you get into the 30's and continue to run it, it can ice up on you and the fan starts rattling. I speak from experience. On cool nights 40-60 outside temps, I will run the heat pump and fireplace. The H/P pushes heat into the main ducts in the ceiling and will heat throughout the trailer. Below 40 I turn on the furnace. Definitely below 30 you want to run the furnace even if you're running aux heaters so your pipes don't freeze. I have put a thermometer in the basement and it keeps it at about 60 even when it's in the teens outside.

[Carl n Susan]

The heat pump, if installed, is always built into the rearmost AC unit. Only the thermostat that controls that unit will have the option to run the heat pump.

[traveldawg]

Originally Posted by Fireman Will

Last night the heat pump shut off and never came back on. I didn't use the furness until this morning. It got down in the low 30'° water frozen and 37° inside the camper. After running the furness to get Emergency heat, I was able to run heat pump. The HP never warms the trailer. Always have to use fireplace or furness. What is the problem? Water hose warmed up no frozen water.

I might have missed it but...

Once you actual temperature in the rig is more than 2 or 3 degrees lower than what your thermostat is set at the heat pump will not kick in. Some RVs automatically start the gas heat (furnace) at this point but not all.

So once the outside temp goes below 45 degrees (or whatever) and the heat pump can't produce enough heat the temp inside gets too low and then the heat pump is usleess.

In cold climates when the temp is going to get colder than around 40 or 45 degrees it is best to just use the furnace.

A lot of us use an electric heater to maintain some degree of heat on a cold night while leaving the furnace set on a low temp (63 in our case) so if the electric heater can't keep up with the falling temps, the furnace kicks on.