Community Forums

shadrack · 01-13-2010, 02:59 PM

We are currently in sunny cool Florida and using the heat pumps for warmth most of the time. I have a problem with the bedroom heat pump and its cycling. It operates as it should until it is time for it to defrost itself as it should per the operating manual. But, it will not go back to the heat cycle as it should. It stays on the defrost cycle (cooling) and my wife gets VERY upset freezing to death in bed. The front heat pump operates as it should, so it isn't a thermostat problem. Has anyone out there run into the same problem? If so, were you able to just replace a part, or the unit. When it does this, the next morning when it warms, I can run the rear unit on cool for a couple of minutes and then switch to heating and the heat pump works fine until it gets down to 40 or so, when it has to again defrost itself. I'd sure hate to have to trade this in on a new Essex tomorrow at the Tampa show if I can't get a fix. Thanks.

Goodturn · 01-13-2010, 03:58 PM

I may be wrong, but I understood that the heatpump is ineffective under 40 degrees. We switched to the furnace these last few nights in sunny Florida. We'll also attend the Tampa show tomorrow and will look for sold signs on the new Essex.

a k · 01-13-2010, 06:41 PM

My Essex has heat pumps but they don't have a defrost cycle. They are reversible air conditioners and the e-plex locks them out under 40 degrees. If they would defrost you'd have a frozen up roof cap.

\Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

You might have a sticking reverse valve. My center one sometimes sticks on AC. I'd rather have the Hydra-Hot running anyway.

Luv2go · 01-13-2010, 06:48 PM

Carrier heat pumps do not have defrost and lock out at 40 degrees. The DuoTherm Penguin heat pumps have defrost and lock out at 32 degrees. Our Penguins worked well last week on Freeeeeezing Orlando! The gas heat did not run at all

.

Stewart

a k · 01-13-2010, 06:53 PM

My Duo pigeons don't defrost.

georgetown350 · 01-13-2010, 07:04 PM

Shadack are you plugged into 50 amps? Our heat pump will defrost for about 5 to 7 minutes. We only have one so I wonder if some how there is not enough power to run both pumps... just a guess.

Luv2go · 01-13-2010, 07:43 PM

A K, we don't have the e-plex, we have the 5 button DuoTherm thermostat. Maybe the e-plex is locking them out before they get to defrost. We don't have hydrohot to fall back on, only the noisy propane furnace

.

I can't find an on-line version of my manual, but it mentions this defrost mode. Mine starts defrosting when the outside temp is about 40 degrees and locks out a little below freezing (my experience is around 30 degrees).

Shadrack, do you have the e-plex or the 4 or 5 button control? This page: Service Documents has several manuals for the 4 and 5 button thermostats about 3/4 of the way down the page which may help you troubleshoot the problem.

Georgetown350, depending on the campground, we can run both heat pumps at the same time and not go over 30A (which is when the EMS automatically cuts off the rear unit). I think it is because of voltage, the campgrounds we can't run both units on either have too high or too low voltage (over 122V or under 110V). Between those two voltages, when we run both heat pumps (or A/C's in summer) we draw about 27A.

Stewart

a k · 01-14-2010, 08:59 AM

My Duo are model 630516.321 and they don't have a defrost board. They just run and when they freeze up they have a freeze protection thermostat that shuts them down. They actually won't come on under 40. E-Plex locks them out. Newmar won't give out the software so you can reprogram them, and E-Plex down in Florida won't give it out either. You have to pull the computer out of the overhead and send it to Newmar and then they send it to EDD in Florida for REPAIR. What a joke. I'm thinking of pulling the whole thing out and putting in a JCI system, since that is what I use to work on.

If only Newmar would let you buy the software it wouldn't be a problem, but I think they don't even know how it works.

Goodturn · 01-14-2010, 06:51 PM

Shadrack, we just returned from the Tampa show and there was a New Essex with a sold sign. Did you decide to go that route rather than sort out the heat pump issue?

shadrack · 01-16-2010, 07:03 AM

Our heat pumps are DuoTherms that do have a 'defrost' cycle and they do operate as the manual says. Anyway, the front one does. The rear one is the one that will not cycle back to 'heat' after the defrost cycle. When it's in this mode, the auxillary gas heat will not engage and shut the heat pumps off. When operating as they should, and the temperature goes down, the gas furnace kicks in automatically. As I said before, if I physically cycle the rear heat pump into the 'cool' mode and then back to the 'heat' mode it will operate until it acts up again. I may add that when the pump is defrosting you can tell by the sound. This is designed into the units per the manuals. I have also found out that I don't think that it's a set temperature that the heat pumps cease to operate, but the point is determined by how efficient the pumps are operating. It seems that the humidity and wind also are taken into effect. IMO anyway.

No, the Essex with the sold sign isn't ours. My DW and I agreed that if it wasn't for Lazy Days being there that show would have been really sad. As is, from our first visit to the show in '03 and ordering a MA 5er to now, it has really went down. For our tastes anyway. We are in our eighth year of full timing and have found that, as a rule, any of the better mfrs middle to upper middle coaches are best designed for us. The Essexes, Exectutives, and Magnas are too foo foo for our style. Not to knock people that full time in them, but they're not OUR style. So we were disappointed in the show again this year. As we were last year. And decided that next year we won't waste our time. That is, unless we hit the Lottery and we want to order a Newell or Liberty coach. LOL.

fordcougar · 01-25-2010, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadrack

.. I have also found out that I don't think that it's a set temperature that the heat pumps cease to operate, but the point is determined by how efficient the pumps are operating. It seems that the humidity and wind also are taken into effect. IMO anyway.

.

I agree, if you have a breeze to help wisk away moisture from the
unit, they freeze up less, and the heat pumps will continue to work
at lower temps. I know with the recent NC weather, and limited propane
I ran the pumps as much as possible.
Kept it about 80 in the unit until about 10pm then it was too cold..

tmitchell · 01-26-2010, 07:51 AM

I know that it is best to run the fan on high, for the air conditioning, for maximum efficiency,when it is hot and humid. Would it help to do this with the heat pump, during colder conditions?
Tom

shadrack · 01-26-2010, 08:49 AM

No, running the fan on high doesn't make a difference. It's just that for some reason when the pump goes into defrost, at certain times, it will not go back to heat again. And then the back heat pumps is cooling while the front heat pump is trying to heat. They fight each other until I turn the back pump off and cycle it. Or just let God defrost it. Then we go back to the proper operation until it does it again. It's useless to call a tech. when it's done its thing because they don't come out right now. I thought maybe a quick, simple answer, other than replacement of the unit, might be there. But, I will just keep manually cycling the darn old thing until that doesn't work anymore. Thanks for the replies, everyone.

wa8yxm · 01-26-2010, 09:04 AM

I had always heard that heat pumps don't work under 40 or 35 or some arbartary temp well above freezing too.. However where I"m sitting right now they have a heat pump that works well down into the teens.

I think.. it has to do with the design of the heat pump and it's control system. Some are designed for low-temp operation.