A/C with Heat Pump, worth it?

A big NO to the heat pump if you are in cooler weather. In our area of Northern California it is totally worthless. As said before, under probably 40*, good luck...

dapperdan wrote:
WE "sprung" for the heat pumps on our Suites, so far we like it. We've been here in Door County since Saturday and haven't had to run the the furnace yet. Between the heat pumps and the fireplace heater we're toasty.

I can't say they are or are NOT worth it as we haven't used ours all that much but so far so good. We were told by DRV that below 40 degrees these things become pretty much useless but for us we don't do a lot of really cold camping so the heat pumps made sense to us.

Dan

Our grand plans were to never spend another cold winter but things do change! After wintering in the NW a couple winters ago and temps down to single digits using 3 -4 space heaters we decided the CheapHeat was for us.

RustyJC wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
No, the cheap heat is not as efficient as a heat pump.

8ntw8tn wrote:
I'd probably go with the Cheap Heat option. I think it would be just as, or more, efficient that the heat pump

Not as efficient in terms of watts converted to BTUs, but more efficient in terms of constant heat output as ambient temperatures fall and heat pump heat outputs drop.

Rusty

One of the biggies as you said earlier is with the CheapHeat the basement is heated.

We really like the CheapHeat and Fireplace also.

Yes it is worth it!

Eyeland wrote:
In my RV I put heat strips in both of my units and it worked very well.. Had Heat pump in my house in Louisiana. Below 40f it was worthless.

actually my houses were more comfortable below 40 f. stupid HP shut down and electric coils heated up. air not 85 degrees, got up to 105 IIRC using "real" heat.
bumpy

In my RV I put heat strips in both of my units and it worked very well.. Had Heat pump in my house in Louisiana. Below 40f it was worthless.

We usually use portable ceramic heaters to keep us warm. In the morning we then run the reverse cycle AC to take the chill off. As stated that works until the temps fall below 36 to 38. We then have to use the furnace. The problem we have with the furnace is no matter how clean you keep it when you first fire it up, it smells! DW can not stand that smell, so we try not to use it. Being from FLA usually not a problem, however we do like to go north in the fall and early winter.

Well, I guess that's a non-issue for me since I don't plan on being in -30F temperatures. To your point, though, is it any different than not having the CheapHeat and running out of propane, freezing up a regulator, or?? There's no back-up for that situation either insofar as furnace operation is concerned.

I don't use the CheapHeat when our 5th wheel is in storage. Our CheapHeat system is wired for 50A, and our covered storage bay has only 30A service. On the few nights on the Texas Gulf Coast that it might drop below freezing, I use electric heaters backed up by the propane furnace.

The system works fine for us. If it doesn't for your application, that's OK as well.

Rusty

Hi Rusty,

If you are NOT in the RV and it is cold (and I mean in the -30 range) and the power goes off the cheap heat system does not fail over to the propane furnace. That is a deal breaker for me. They could solve that with a relay but they choose to not do so.

In addition you can not use both the propane furnace and electric heat at the same time via cheap heat.

I do heat 100% electrically but my propane furnace is ready to jump in should the power cord be knocked out, or the campground power fail. I have 3 shore power cords, the OEM 30 amp, a 20 amp, and a 15 amp. Peak load is 7000 watts.

Last March when I returned to the frozen north I got my RV out of storage, turned on all my electric heat, and ran the propane furnace. It was all warmed up within an hour.

RustyJC wrote:

pianotuna wrote:


There are ways to heat 100% electrically without the cheap heat system while preventing plumbing freeze up while NOT disabling the propane furnace.

I don't understand what you're saying. The CheapHeat system in our 5th wheel doesn't disable the propane furnace. Ours has a rocker switch in the control cabinet with the thermostat that allows the user to select either "Electric" or "Propane" mode for the furnace. I've operated the furnace in both modes.

Rusty

missourijan wrote:
My opinion is not based on efficiency or cost, I would NOT get another heat pump. When I'm cold I want it to warm up fast and the heat pump just takes too long. We have a furnace and fireplace(electric heater), the furnace warms up the rv so much quicker. I switch to the heat pump AFTER it's warm in here.

why do you switch to the heat pump? I agree that heat from a heat pump sucks but if it will maintain the temperature on the camp grounds dime, why not? I mean it only puts out 85 degree air but if it's free?
bumpy