Heat Pump Blower running with furnace

[rmebrat]

We're connected to shore power and want to use the furnace but the Dometic cool cat blower kicks in at the same time, blowing cool air on top of the heat the furnace is putting out. Is this normal? We've never used the furnace while connected to shore power.

[dmcd]

Originally Posted by rmebrat

We're connected to shore power and want to use the furnace but the Dometic cool cat blower kicks in at the same time, blowing cool air on top of the heat the furnace is putting out. Is this normal? We've never used the furnace while connected to shore power.

This happens in mine as well. I don't understand it either. Looking forward to hearing what others have to say.

[fonzie]

Set your dometic thermostat to auto .

[5picker]

Originally Posted by fonzie

Set your dometic thermostat to auto .

Yes, just to expand... set the fan/blower part of the thermostat to AUTO.

It is a design feature built into the Dometic 'stat which allows the air conditioner fan to come on with the furnace to allow for better circulation of the heat. Heat rises so the A/C unit distributes the heated air that has risen towards the ceiling.

[rmebrat]

Bingo! Had the fan set to high. Changed it to Auto and it is working. Thanks so much!

[ard58]

It's that cool up north that you need the furnace camping?

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by ard58

It's that cool up north that you need the furnace camping?

Seems like we can assume so.

[pgandw]

In July, we camped at Timberline Campground - a National Forest campground near Grant, CO. Elevation 9,841 ft. Lots of shade among the pines. Day time temps were in the low 60s, night time was 40-42. We ran the heater at night.


Camping at Waco Lake, TX was the time I discovered how important it is to have the fan in Auto. Accidentally got set to High, and the air conditioning struggled to cool the A-frame.

Custer SP SD hit 38 one night in mid-September when we were camping there. Awesome place with all the wildlife.

In Palo Duro SP (near Amarillo), we normally need the A/C during the day. That canyon gets warm, even in April and October.

having fun camping
Fred W
then 2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
now 2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[rmebrat]

Originally Posted by pgandw

In July, we camped at Timberline Campground - a National Forest campground near Grant, CO. Elevation 9,841 ft. Lots of shade among the pines. Day time temps were in the low 60s, night time was 40-42. We ran the heater at night.


Camping at Waco Lake, TX was the time I discovered how important it is to have the fan in Auto. Accidentally got set to High, and the air conditioning struggled to cool the A-frame.

Custer SP SD hit 38 one night in mid-September when we were camping there. Awesome place with all the wildlife.

In Palo Duro SP (near Amarillo), we normally need the A/C during the day. That canyon gets warm, even in April and October.

having fun camping
Fred W
then 2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
now 2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

We're up on Lake Superior in Michigan's UP. Low tonight is supposed to be 41 so we want to be prepared..

[JArry]

Originally Posted by rmebrat

We're up on Lake Superior in Michigan's UP. Low tonight is supposed to be 41 so we want to be prepared..

What park are you at?

[rmebrat]

Originally Posted by JArry

What park are you at?

Muskallonge State Park. Beautiful!

[JArry]

Originally Posted by rmebrat

Muskallonge State Park. Beautiful!

Probably rough seas right now. I am in Marquette. Enjoy!

[cantxsailor]

I had the same problem with the heat pump running at the same time as the furnace. I opened the breaker panel
under the table and turned off the a/c breaker. Worked for me.

[dmcd]

Originally Posted by cantxsailor

I had the same problem with the heat pump running at the same time as the furnace. I opened the breaker panel
under the table and turned off the a/c breaker. Worked for me.

There were responses above about how to correct this without having to go through the breaker box.

[cantxsailor]

Ya I saw those.
I’m just saying what I did to stop the problem not saying it’s the correct way to do it.

My camper is away from the home on our land in NM for the next while until I can get a house built.
Where we are there is no cell service and I have no idea where I put the owners manual so I just used the most logical method of shutting off the cool cat.

We had temps down to 9°f and stayed plenty warm which is an indication of how well the roof panels are insulated. The snow wasn’t even melting which surprised me.

I kept the battery charged with a Renogy 100watt solar panel during the day and ran my little Honda generator at night to keep the block heater on my diesel going.

The heated mattress is wonderful and since we had the generator running anyway it was a treat. The floor never gets very warm and the door and window frames had frost on them at night.

My only beef is the skylight over the bed gets a LOT of condensation which will sometimes run down and collect enough to drip but a wipe with a towel cures that small problem. That is however with two people and two dogs breathing.

We used 3 20lb propane and 15 galllons of gas for a week keeping the camper at about 65° day and night.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by cantxsailor

My only beef is the skylight over the bed gets a LOT of condensation which will sometimes run down and collect enough to drip but a wipe with a towel cures that small problem. That is however with two people and two dogs breathing.

As counter-intuitive as it seems, you need to crack open the Fantastic Fan vent and the window next to the bed. You need just a little airflow to prevent the condensation from forming on the window. You need both cracked to allow the excess humidity to be vented outside. It won't affect your inside temperature all that much.

The other solution is to keep the thermostat lower - in the 50s instead of 60s and use warmer bedding.

Ask any cold weather tent camper - just a very small amount of ventilation prevents condensation.

just our experiences
Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[cantxsailor]

Thanks. I’ve tried that and while the condensation is less it doesn’t go away completely. It was very cold (9°) and there was my wife and I and two big dogs huffing and puffing all night. The heated mattress is a treat and gets used when it’s that cold. Two dogs are pretty nice too unless they are gassy.