Heat pump ?

[Jalsup]

I have a 2023 Montana High Country 311RL. It has 2 Coleman Mach AC's, one in the living area (that is also a heat pump) and one in the bedroom. The 2 thermostats are AirExel models.. The bedroom thermostat only controls the AC in that room and has no heat mode. The living room thermostat has settings for AC in the living room, the gas furnace everywhere and the heat pump everywhere. The living room unit shares the ducts with the AC in the bedroom when the heat pump is on. Of course the AC in the bedroom must be off for the living room heat pump to send warm air to the bedroom. I was told that the heat pump is effective at an outside temp of 40 degrees and up. Below 40 you turn off the heat pump and turn on the gas furnace. Last night the temperature dipped to 39 and the gas furnace came on while we were sleeping. I know that most houses with a heat pump have a heating element that comes on that assists the heat pump to heat in colder weather. Is that what's happening here? Is the gas furnace coming on automatically to assist the heat pump like in a house? Should the heat pump stay on while the furnace is going or should it cut off? Can't find anything in the owners manual to address this and hoping someone has the same setup to advise me.

[AZ Traveler]

Jeff,

First - welcome to the forum. Enjoy your new rig.

Your heat pump does not have electric heating elements which limits its effectiveness below 40 deg. The thermostat commands the furnace on to ensure warm air is available. I believe the heat pump shuts down when that happens but the coleman system is a little different that what we have in our older rigs.

[Mikendebbie]

When it is just slightly chilly outside, and the heat pump would work - we have used the electric fireplace to keep things nice inside…but we like things on the cooler/colder side anyway.

[Jalsup]

Thanks my friend. Last nite I was too impatient and cut off the heat pump and just let the furnace run. Next time I will wait and see if the heat pump cuts off.' Thanks for the response! Safe travels!

[Foldbak]

The heat pump isn't very efficient. I never use it. The fireplace works better especially if you turn on the ceiling fan.

[JJ76]

We have the same trailer. From my experience this fall, when the thermostat is set to heat electric and the temp dips to 14( Celsius) the gas furnace automatically kicks in to help get back up to the set temperature. I read this I believe in the manual for the a/c unit.

[DutchmenSport]

My Montana High Country is now 5 years old and already has "old" technology. Wow, how 5 years changes things.

On mine, I have the "old" Dometic thermostat. Push the button once for fan mode. Push again for Air Conditioning. Push again for Furnace mode. Push again for Heat Pump mode. Mine is not automatic. If Heat Pump is on and temps get below 40, it just keep blowing colder and colder and colder as the temperature drops.

On mine, the heat pump works very well until about 45 degrees outside. Then it starts cooling down.

I've often wondered why "they" did not install both AC with heat pumps, only 1? Maybe the heat pump feature is a lot more efficient than the AC? Who knows?

[Cat320]

Originally Posted by Foldbak

...The heat pump isn't very efficient. I never use it...

Same here, if we want so extra heat or to just take the chill off, we have two Lasko towers.

[RMcNeal]

I have a 2019 model with the older style heat pump as well. I have found that I can use the heat pump with temps down into the low 30's to upper 20's with supplemental heat inside the coach. I use the fireplace and ceramic space heaters to provide the supplemental heat. The heat pump at that point just circulates the warmer air provided by the ceramic heaters but it does provide enough warmth to keep it in the mid to low 60's inside.
Without this additional heat, the heat pump would freeze up.

[Bmw22555]

I have started using a small electric heater in the bedroom, especially when below 40 which it is here in Bend Oregon. Above 40 it depends, when wife goes to bed she heat pump to loud for her.
Sure helps the furnace from constantly have to come on and off and annoyingly have to turn tv up and down…..

[Daryles]

Here's a link to Coleman FAQ.
They have a section on the operation of the new system, how it works with the heat pump and furnace.

https://coleman-mach.com/service-support/faqs/

[Ram Montana High Country]

I'm old tech with my 2020 - thank God. I'd not want a unit with In-Command or this auto stuff. I don't care if the Heat pump is not efficient. Not paying for the electricity, so let it be not efficient. We use the fireplace allot to aid Heat Pump down to about 39. After that, it's a mix of heat pump and furnace. The furnace is import below 32 to keep the pipes warm in the sub-basement. I've heard newer units have the auto switch function to switch from Heat Pump to furnace as temps drop. It may shut the Heat pump off or just keep the fan on (not all bad).

Good luck - best plan is experiment and full understand.

[Todd & Mary]

We have a micro thermostat installed on the front unit. it will run the heat pump until the inside temp drops 5 degrees below the setpoint, then it shuts down the heat pump and runs the furnace. We run the heat pump when we are in campgrounds where electric is available and cheap.