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Old 01-03-2014, 11:02 PM   #1
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3170 Heat Pump is awesome

I thought I would post our recent 'cold weather' camping experience. (Cold for us here in SoCal anyway) Before we bought our 3170 we debated whether or not we really needed the heat pump option because we had read some varying opinions of how well they worked in colder temps. I have to say, during our last 6 day camping trip, temps dropped to 27-30 every night and the heat pump kept us very comfortable with the thermostat set at 69. I'm a fan of using the campground's electrical instead of my propane if possible as well.
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Old 01-08-2014, 08:30 PM   #2
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Didn't know there was a heat pump on that model. I don't know if my 3170 has it or not. I have been using oil filled space heaters and do just fine. But I haven't been in temps lower than 28 since I've owned this model.
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Old 01-09-2014, 05:54 AM   #3
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The heat pump is part of the upgrade from 13,500 to 15,000 btu air conditioner. If you have it, your thermostat will have a heat pump setting. We love ours also. Had some problems with it initially--would stutter several times before starting. Dometic wouldn't exactly admit they had a problem, but knew what I meant and willingly replaced the control board under warranty. All good since then.
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Old 01-09-2014, 07:15 AM   #4
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Unless things have changed in the industry (or with RV heat pumps) the actual heat pumping function only works down to around 32 degrees. Below that "emergency heat strips" kick in to supply the heat, as there's not enough heat in the outside air to pump in.

My ex FIL used to do what he called "wham bang"ing his system, making the heat strips kick in full time. Higher power bill? Yep, but he wanted *hot* air coming out of those vents all the time.

It was pretty common for dealers to not recommend heat pump systems for the elderly because unlike a gas heating system, the air is not really very hot out of the vents.

Heat pumps weren't recommended in areas of harsh cold temps for the reasons stated above.
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Old 01-09-2014, 07:24 AM   #5
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RV heat pumps do not have electric strips. When the temps get below about 30 the effectiveness does decrease (also a factor of humidity). Then its time to turn on the furnace.
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Old 01-09-2014, 05:58 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RvBill3 View Post
RV heat pumps do not have electric strips. When the temps get below about 30 the effectiveness does decrease (also a factor of humidity). Then its time to turn on the furnace.
See? Again I post with trepidation because we are still wet behind the ears when it comes to RVing, and because I did it anyway I learned something!

(used to be co-owner of a Carrier dealership, but back then HP's weren't even an option on RVs, so even though we often did repairs and installs of roof mount units, we didn't encounter HPs on them)

Thanks for adding to my knowledge base!
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If age is a state of mind, and I've lost my mind, I'm AGELESS, right?
Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around:
Flagstaff 5er 2014 8528 IKWS, Platinum Package, Regency Interior "Buffy"
F250 Super Duty 2013 Tuxedo Black "Biff"
Days camped 2014: 30
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