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02-23-2014, 09:07 AM
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#1
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Rivet Master
1988 25' Excella
1987 32' Excella
Knoxville
, Tennessee
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,095
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Why do they put heat pumps in trailers?
Seems to me a very high effeciency AC and gas heat is a much better combination in every way for a trailer.
We had a heat pump in the house for 20 years. A very good day for us when they finally ran gas to the house and we could get rid of that darn heatpump. House became more comfortable in both the winter and summer and the utilities bill went down in both winter and suimmer. What is the attraction of a heat pump in a unit that is going to have to plug into campsite utilities connections.
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02-23-2014, 09:15 AM
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#2
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Wise Elder
2010 30' Classic
Vintage Kin Owner
South of the river
, Minnesota
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,169
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The advantage is that it minimizes propane consumption and therefore the hassle and expense of refilling propane bottles. Part of this is just externalizing the utility cost to the campground. Part of it is that propane refilling charges are always much higher than the actual value of the fuel itself, in some cases by a considerable amount. Part of it is that taking a bottle to be refilled is time consuming and requires a certain amount of logistics planning -- hours open, how to get the bottle there if the trailer is to remain parked, etc.
I don't use me heat pump, preferring to run a much quieter resistance heat unit for the same purpose.
__________________
To learn to see below the surface, you must adjust your altitude
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02-23-2014, 09:16 AM
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#3
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Rivet Master
2006 23' Safari SE
I'm In
, Kentucky
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 4,251
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I'm brand new to AS camping but I'd venture that a big difference is if the electricity comes with the camp site. If it does, you're getting free heat with the heat pump. If not you have a choice of which you'd like to pay for.
Rich
__________________
-Rich
Rich & Yvonne
2006 Safari SE -Dora-
2004 4Runner SE 4.7L V8
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02-23-2014, 09:18 AM
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#4
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Rivet Master
2007 23' Safari SE
2016 23' International
Fernandina Beach
, Florida
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 586
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AC is a heat pump, just in an opposite direction. Yes HP get inefficient approaching and operating below freezing. Many use resistive space heaters but fact is that HP's bottom out at near the same efficiency yet in more moderate temps can be up to 8X MORE efficient. For folks operating off a generator it makes sense. For long term camping many campgrounds now meter electrical usage. Gas? sure its great (wish I had it) but I doubt it is any less costly and you have to worry about refilling. What I really like are the Diesel Hydronic heater like those being offered by Advanced-RV. But that's in a B class that already has a Diesel source.
FYI, I have a heat pump for my house and my electric usage doubled YOY due to the chilly temps here in FL this year. It gets very inefficient below 32 degrees. Thats when we fire up the oven and bake lots of stuff cause its the same cost to heat the house and has the added benefit of producing good eats!
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02-23-2014, 09:29 AM
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#5
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Rivet Master
2012 25' Flying Cloud
Berlin
, Maryland
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,784
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Newer HPs for home use today are very effective and work well into the 20ies. We have three zones but did have to turn on the ems when it got into the low twenties and below. I thought our bill was reasonable and in fact less expensive then propane. Unfortuately the HP in our AS is not as effective and so we turn on the furnace around 45.
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02-23-2014, 09:41 AM
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#6
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Moderator
2015 25' FB Flying Cloud
2012 23' FB Flying Cloud
2005 25' Safari
Santa Rosa Beach
, Florida
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 13,153
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We have found in our experience that when we need heat while camped, we have used the electric heat pump about 75% of the time. We have found that it works well down into the high 30's. Below that point, we switch over to the gas furnace.
Brian
__________________
SuEllyn & Brian McCabe
WBCCI #3628 -- AIR #14872 -- TAC #FL-7
2015 FC 25' FB (Lucy) with ProPride
2020 Silverado 2500 (Vivian)
2023 Rivian R1T (Opal)
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02-23-2014, 09:49 AM
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#7
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Rivet Master
2002 25' Safari
Fountain Inn
, South Carolina
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 714
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moosetags
We have found in our experience that when we need heat while camped, we have used the electric heat pump about 75% of the time. We have found that it works well down into the high 30's. Below that point, we switch over to the gs furnace.
Brian
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This is normally the same for us.
__________________
Bud
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02-23-2014, 10:00 AM
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#8
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Home of Vortex tuning
2013 27' FB Eddie Bauer
Spearfish
, South Dakota
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 614
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I loved the HP in my Alfa, a basement mounted Coleman AC/HP. Quieter than the furnace, worked well two years in Flagstaff, saved on Propane, and it gave me an idea on how cold it was when it switched to the furnace in the wee hours. The use of the HP also keeps the seals lubed year round, for I never used the AC in Flag.
I hate the HP in my AS, very noisy, the thaw out process sounds like it blew up, the furnace is quieter.
When the power is free, you can't beat the price, , ,
__________________
"Chip Tank" is in Westwood Ca.
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02-23-2014, 10:31 AM
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#9
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Moderator
2017 26' Flying Cloud
Alamo Heights
, Texas
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,493
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill M.
Seems to me a very high effeciency AC and gas heat is a much better combination in every way for a trailer.
We had a heat pump in the house for 20 years. A very good day for us when they finally ran gas to the house and we could get rid of that darn heatpump. House became more comfortable in both the winter and summer and the utilities bill went down in both winter and suimmer. What is the attraction of a heat pump in a unit that is going to have to plug into campsite utilities connections.
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I strongly prefer gas heat in my home, I've had a heatpump and don't like the "warmish" air you get out of the vents. How the relative cost plays out in a home will depend on your local price for elctricity vs. natural gas or LP.
That said, I suspect that the savings you saw in the summer when you switched to gas heat was more about the general improvements made to AC units over 20 years than to a difference between comparable heat pumps and AC-only units. Heat pumps usually make extremely efficient AC units and decently efficient heaters.
Oh, and to weigh in, I'll be buying a new AC unit for the 28' trailer I'm renovating, and don't plan to buy a heat pump. My 40-year-old furnace is a bit noisy and it still makes less noise than a heat pump, or at least the noise seems less intrusive to me.
__________________
— David
Zero Gravitas — 2017 Flying Cloud 26U | WBCCI# 15566
He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. — Sir Winston Churchill
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02-23-2014, 11:42 AM
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#10
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Rivet Master
2013 30' Classic
Greenwood
, Mississippi
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 12,111
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My guess is so you have the choice to heat your trailer on the campground's dime rather than deplete your propane at your expense or maybe to keep you from being stuck somewhere with no propane...
__________________
2013 Classic 30 Limited
2007 Silver Toyota Tundra Crew Max Limited 5.7 iForce
2006 Vivid Black Harley-Davidson Road King Classic
1999 Black Nissan Pathfinder LE
TAC #MS-10
WBCCI #1811, Region 6, Unit 56
Airforums #70955
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02-23-2014, 11:57 AM
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#11
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Rivet Master
Airstream - Other
2016 Interstate Grand Tour Ext
Bosque Farms
, New Mexico
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 7,017
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Having seen the other side of this story, I can tell you that running the heat pump is not really running it on the campground's dime. That's calculated into the daily rate that you pay. In effect, then, unless you're staying at one of the "sliding scale" campgrounds, you're just using what you already paid for.
Lynn
__________________
ACI Big Red Number 21043
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02-23-2014, 12:10 PM
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#12
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Figment of My Imagination
2012 Interstate Coach
From All Over
, More Than Anywhere Else
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,868
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eubank
Having seen the other side of this story, I can tell you that running the heat pump is not really running it on the campground's dime. That's calculated into the daily rate that you pay. In effect, then, unless you're staying at one of the "sliding scale" campgrounds, you're just using what you already paid for.
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Then again, better to use what you've already paid for than to not use what you've already paid for; you're not going to get a refund for the electricity you didn't use.
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I thought getting old would take longer!
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02-23-2014, 12:21 PM
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#13
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Rivet Master
1981 31' Excella II
New Market
, Alabama
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 6,145
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I think an AC with a built in strip heater is just as effective as a heat pump. Although Dometic has been really bone headed about the strip heaters and they don't have thermostats. Mine keeps my 31 ft trailer warm down in the 30's and there is just the AC fan running on low. I added a base board heater thermostat to mine and it works fine now. Dometic gets a D- on engineering there. I have a 16 SEER heat pump at home and I think it is worth its weight in owl poop.
Perry
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02-23-2014, 11:04 PM
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#14
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Living Riveted since 2013
2016 Interstate Lounge Ext
Green Cove Springs
, Florida
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 8,201
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Our motor home had an AC / heat strip. I prefer the strip to the heat pump. It's much quieter, and when I'm camping any reduction in noise level matters greatly to me. The heat pump seems to work fine, but gadzooks, it's noisy.
__________________
Rocinante Piccolo is our new-to-us 2016 Interstate Lounge 3500 EXT
(Named for John Steinbeck's camper from "Travels With Charley")
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02-24-2014, 06:18 PM
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#15
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2 Rivet Member
2007 27' Classic FB
London
, Ontario
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 25
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Heat Pump
This thread was helpful, thanks. Will start using the HP in the spring and fall rather than waste gas.
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02-26-2014, 01:38 PM
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#16
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2 Rivet Member
2013 25' Flying Cloud
Amity
, Oregon
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 72
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My question would be" why don't they put Inverter heat pumps in trailers?" We have a house heated and cooled by Inverter pumps, ours is a Daikin. Mitsubishi and Fujitsu are two others. They are WHISPER QUIET, are ideal for small areas, and seem to be very economical. Maybe an engineer out there can explain why they are not used in the RV industry. Seems to me someone could make a fortune adapting one to an RV... I know I would stand in line to make the switch!
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02-26-2014, 01:39 PM
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#17
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Rivet Master
1981 31' Excella II
New Market
, Alabama
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 6,145
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What is an inverter heat pump?
Perry
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02-26-2014, 01:45 PM
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#18
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Moderator
2017 26' Flying Cloud
Alamo Heights
, Texas
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,493
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Quote:
Originally Posted by perryg114
What is an inverter heat pump?
Perry
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Most of the better modern "split system" ACs and heat pumps that have a suitcase-sized outside unit and usually one or more wall-mounted indoor units use inverter-driven compressor systems that can run at a range of speeds to match the demand, so they're quieter when they're not running all-out. Mitsubishi, etc.
I think that the big conventional AC companies like Lennox are starting to use it in their top lines as well.
__________________
— David
Zero Gravitas — 2017 Flying Cloud 26U | WBCCI# 15566
He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. — Sir Winston Churchill
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02-26-2014, 01:56 PM
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#19
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Rivet Master
2013 25' Flying Cloud
Cat City
, California
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 854
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Protagonist
Then again, better to use what you've already paid for than to not use what you've already paid for; you're not going to get a refund for the electricity you didn't use.
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X2
The watts have been pre-purchased, my propane is therefore precious.
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02-26-2014, 02:02 PM
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#20
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Rivet Master
2024 23' Flying Cloud
San Antonio
, Texas
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 501
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Ok, I am a bit puzzled. Rig is 2014 Sport 22FB. On the A/C unit there is a switch position labeled "Opt. Heat". This is the heat pump, correct? I have tried it twice, and it blows rather tepid air. Stat is set all the way to "warm". Does it warm up over time or what?
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