Heat Pump refrigerant

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tarrco

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Joined
Aug 7, 2014
Posts
106
Location
Nova Scotia
Does anyone know the correct refrigerant to put in basement heat/ac for a 2004 Winnebago Adventurer? Thanks all and Happy New Yr.
 
It will be labeled But most likely R-22.
The OEM units had no charging ports so will need to be installed
Are you sure you need to recharge?
If cooling works but not heatpump may just need a reversing solenoid coil.

Good luck TJ
 
Thank you all. My heat and AC were working just fine till one day I turned the heat up with the thermostat and it just clicked and went dead. I checked and the fuse in the Coleman thermostat was blown. I checked for a short but found none. I replaced the fuse and tried again several times but all I get is a "click" but no heat or fan but the fuse no longer blows. People are telling me the problem is in the heat pump unit itself so I have a tech coming to check it. He wants to know the type of refrigerant.
 
Hi again, the tech got the heat pump going but it is only blowing cold air. The temperature outside today is 0 degrees celsius but it should still heat up right? Lots of refrigerant.
 
The temperature outside today is 0 degrees Celsius (32?F) but it should still heat up right?

Nope!!! RV heat pumps do not work well much below 40? F. so you are expecting too much from that lowly heat pump.

In many cases with usual basement AC/heat pump models and the Coleman thermostat installed in Winni models , it should automagically switch to the furnace after 5-10 minutes when the the heat pump has not been able to raise the inside temperature quickly enough. The heat pump/AC fans may or may not continue to run along with the furnace when this happens. (This will depend on the particular model of thermostat but on MINE, the two sets of fans do not run simultaneously.)
 
Thank you all. Got my pump running but I guess you guys are right, temperature outside is too low. New residential heat pumps work as low as minus 20C.
 
tarrco said:
Thank you all. Got my pump running but I guess you guys are right, temperature outside is too low. New residential heat pumps work as low as minus 20C.

Know what you mean. The RV industry is way behind the times when it comes to developing and instituting newer technology. Look at the normal furnaces in these things, pretty much the same since the '60's. The RV industry's idea of new technology is remote controls for awnings, stabilizers etc. Except for the touch screens on those, it's still '60's technology. Capacitive touch screens are '60's technology while resistive touch screen are '70's technology. New touchscreens are back to capacitive technology, used in a completely different way. These are at least turn of the century.
 
tarrco said:
Thank you all. Got my pump running but I guess you guys are right, temperature outside is too low. New residential heat pumps work as low as minus 20C.
They have defrosters for the condenser coil which permits them to operate in low temperatures.
 
The residential heat pumps use a medium outher than air to operate below 40*. Most have a fluid heat exchanger and the fluid, water /glycol solution is circulated through pipes underground to pick up some heat. Remember a heat pump is just a ac in reverse it is using the "waste heat" to heat your living quarters while cooling the outside.
Bill
 
John Canfield said:
Not in the south, just a defroster.
I am talking about the newer hi efficiency ones. I had never heard of a coil defroster. When the temps get below where the heat pump can pull enough heat out of the air my (House) system has a built in electric heating element for heat. In the coach it switches to gas heat.
Some RV ac units also have a heatstrip to give a little more heat.
Bill
 
WILDEBILL308 said:
I am talking about the newer hi efficiency ones. I had never heard of a coil defroster. When the temps get below where the heat pump can pull enough heat out of the air my (House) system has a built in electric heating element for heat. In the coach it switches to gas heat.
You might be talking about commercial or industrial applications, but my residential Trane 2-stage variable speed VX20i heat pump is supposed to be the most efficient on the market and it uses a "defroster" like John says to thaw the coils when the temp drops.  Once the heat pump gives it up, the system switches to natural gas furnace.  Its fun to watch mine clear a snow drift around it after a good snow and the temps come back up.

Heres a youtube of a smaller unit in defrost

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbiultu6a3U

I actually don't use it much these days because the cost of natural gas is low so its not cost effective anymore.
 
Mile High said:
You might be talking about commercial or industrial applications, but my residential Trane 2-stage variable speed VX20i heat pump is supposed to be the most efficient on the market and it uses a "defroster" like John says to thaw the coils when the temp drops.  Once the heat pump gives it up, the system switches to natural gas furnace.  Its fun to watch mine clear a snow drift around it after a good snow and the temps come back up.

Heres a youtube of a smaller unit in defrost

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbiultu6a3U

I actually don't use it much these days because the cost of natural gas is low so its not cost effective anymore.
That doesn't look like it is very cost effective to spend energy to heat coils when the temperature is below where you can get enough heat for practical use.
Bill
 
WILDEBILL308 said:
That doesn't look like it is very cost effective to spend energy to heat coils when the temperature is below where you can get enough heat for practical use.
Bill
It is what it is Bill - Obviously the defroster removes from the efficiency but it only runs long enough to clear the coils.  Just part of living in a 4-season state.
 
WILDEBILL308 said:
That doesn't look like it is very cost effective to spend energy to heat coils when the temperature is below where you can get enough heat for practical use.
Bill
Residential heat pumps have always had a defrost mode since inception. Most have a thermister burried in the coil and when it reaches a certain temp, it switches to air conditioner mode to defrost the coils. I've seen coils with 4 to 8 inches of ice built up on them when the defrost board have failed. Not a pretty sight when you're a HVAC service man, let me tell ya. Most systems disable the heat pump at a certain out door air temp now. As a HVAC service tech for 25 years in a Northern state, I don't see why they even sell them here. They simply do NOT work below about 40 degrees. Ground thermal units work but are much more expensive to install, and takes years to make up for the installation cost. Electric heat may just be the cheapest heat now that gas has taken the leap in price.
 

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