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Old 10-02-2020, 06:35 AM   #1
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Dometic Duotherm 630515 Heat Pump work?

Hey gang!

I have two Duotherm 630515 heat pump/AC units on my 2003 DP. The AC is cold as ice... no problems there 😎, thank god.

We are currently Boondocking, And I had to take one of our propane furnaces is out for service. So that means right now, with an open Propane line under the fridge, I have my propane system shut off.

We are in northern Pennsylvania and it got a little bit cold last night. This morning, I tried to start up the heat pump side of one of the roof mount units, and it doesn’t seem to throw out any heat. I know the propane furnaces are the way to go, but we’re in a pinch right now, and I was hoping we could just get a little heat in the morning to give us a little boost before the sun warms the coach.

Every post I have seen has been about the cooling side of these units, so I haven’t seen much about the heating component. does anybody know if the heat pumps actually transfer heat into the coach? Or is it just a myth? 😂
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Old 10-02-2020, 06:54 AM   #2
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Yes, a heat pump or reverse cycle A/C unit works. Right now we are 43 degF outside and the twoColeman heat pumps are cycling and keeping the RV at 72 degF.

RV heat pumps are not like a home heat pump in that they generally will not produce heat when the ambient is below 40 DegF.


An RV heat pump does not have a defrost cycle or auxiliary heat strip, so they will pretty much be us less below 40 degF.

The A/C unit is technically a reverse cycle hear pump. When below at 40 degF, the outside coil is about 20 degF and will ice over an ice is a great insulator.

The warm air delivered by a hear pump is nowhere as warm as furnace. The lower the outside temperature, the lower the inside air off the unit will be. Some people just do not like the lower air delivery from a heat pump and think it is not working.

Ken
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Old 10-02-2020, 07:02 AM   #3
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Have you tried the other heat pump?? Mine will chase you out. Wish mine still cooled though. Replacing one tomorrow. This Summer has been a real struggle and getting a new unit seemed impossible.
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Old 10-02-2020, 11:30 AM   #4
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How cold is it outside?

As noted above......Heat pumps work but only down to roughly 40*F ambient air temps
Below that....need furnace OR electric space heaters

Cap off that LP line to missing furnace ...
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Old 10-02-2020, 11:47 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TXiceman View Post

An RV heat pump does not have a defrost cycle or auxiliary heat strip, so they will pretty much be us less below 40 degF.
HuH

When I run my Duo-therm heat pumps in cool weather (say 36 to 42), occasionally the fans will shut down, there will be a hum from the unit, and 'defrost' will appear on the thermostat screen.
Usually lasts 40-60 seconds, then it fires up again.
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Old 10-02-2020, 01:17 PM   #6
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I believe the Duotherms will work with much lower temps than 40. I can't find the specs at the moment because I am too lazy to chase it down.
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Old 10-02-2020, 03:31 PM   #7
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Quote:
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I believe the Duotherms will work with much lower temps than 40. I can't find the specs at the moment because I am too lazy to chase it down.
X2! I think you're right Myron!
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Old 10-03-2020, 12:58 PM   #8
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Ahhh, just finished replacing our front Duotherm AC/ Heat pump unit and it works great.

Had to install a new control board inside the new AC unit to allow it to operate with the 5 button Thermostat control. The instructions to do that were excellent. Just take it one page at a time and don't try to outguess what comes next. Cut the yellow wire, splice to the blue. Something strange like that but lo and behold it fired right up.

Momma is happy and so am I .
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Old 10-10-2020, 08:39 AM   #9
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What unit did you replace it with?
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Old 10-10-2020, 07:04 PM   #10
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What unit did you replace it with?
651815 with heat pump 13.5K

Dometic 651815CXX1C0 Penguin II Low Profile Roof Top Heat Pump - 13,500 BTU, Multi-Zone CCC II

Dometic 3313107.107 CCC2 to CCC 12 Button to 5 Button Heat Pump Conversion Kit RV Parts

Bought on Amazon because they have a great return policy. Changing the board out is easy if you follow the instructions even though they have you cut a wire and cap it off. I didn't take the time to look at a schematic why the abandoned wire because it wanted to rain as soon as I opened the little cover.

Inspect the new AC closely before putting it on the roof. If no pinched wires, raise it up and look for the control wires that will come out the bottom. Look up inside to be sure the freeze probe is properly inserted into the fins. I had to put a dab of weather strip adhesive to keep it in place.
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Old 10-10-2020, 11:30 PM   #11
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Excellent, thank you!
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Old 10-11-2020, 07:30 AM   #12
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Justin, something my wife and I are really surprised at is the amount of additional air that comes out of the registers now. From the looks the innards have not changed much at all. The motor looks identical as does the compressor.

The only difference I can see is that the coils art not as thick. By about 1/2 of an inch. I suspect this may be the difference between the 13.5 an the 15K units.

The additional air flow could be the thinner coils or perhaps the old motor was dragging.

We still have one old AC in the bedroom that is the 15K unit and there is a marked difference in air flow between the two.

The old AC was notorious for tripping the 20 amp breaker it was on and it was becoming almost a daily issue. There was a bit of oily/greasy looking substance around the motor shaft so the bearings may have given up the ghost and spilled their guts.

My goal today is to finish up a design for AC drains. These things pour water off the roof like a waterfall here in Central Florida. I have experimented with different designs over the years and have not come up with something easy to build and install.

I gutted the old AC and kept the bottom tray so I can now experiment freely while on the ground. I want the new ac drain device to be bullet proof so the only thing needing to be changed will be the drain hoses. Installation without removing or raising the AC unit is a must as well.

I guess since you started the thread I'm not actually hijacking it by going a bit sideways on this.

If anyone has ideas on building drains I am open to suggestions. I considered making them out of fiberglass but that entails a lot of work and I don't have a 3D printer. If someone could give me a suggestion as to a company that can build nylon pieces that would be great.

The goal would be to get them made in bulk and cheap enough that most folks would add them. It is a nuisance to have that water coming off the roof in different places depending on how you level it.

Excuse me, I need to go turn the thermostat up a bit. It is cold in here.
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