A/C with Heat Pump, worth it?

Our 5th wheel came with the heat pump. Yes, we like it, it perform well on the occasions we've used it. We also have the fireplace, it helps take the chill off and keep the place comfortable. Yes, I would probably get the heat pump should I need to replace the A/C unit. We can and do camp year round. However, we do not have it as cold as some of you either. I like not having to refill the propane tanks as often since we can use the heat pump and fireplace.

Hi Cummins,

Nope it doesn't change. It has to be hard wired and it is just a little to big to run on a 15 amp shore power.

It might be possible to modify the unit to do so with the addition of a switch. Good for you for thinking outside the box.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Good news on the 30A does it automatically adjust to 30A shore power?

Hi Rusty,

Lack of fail over is a big deal when you are not in the RV at -35. It doesn't take long for an RV to freeze up at those temperatures.

RustyJC wrote:
Perhaps an automatic changeover is critical to you If the power goes out and I start getting cold, I'll crawl out of bed, turn on the light (12VDC powered, of course) and flip the switch over to propane.

Rusty

I think the 30 amp is actually another model of the CheapHeat system that has the strip heat wired from L1 to N (120VAC). The 50 amp models wire the strip heat across L1 and L2 (240VAC) - as such, they could not work on 30 amps or incorrectly wired (in phase) 50 amps as the voltage across L1 and L2 in those cases is 0VAC.

My CheapHeat system does NOT work on 30 amp service.

Rusty

pianotuna wrote:
Cummins cheap heat doesn't fail over to propane if the power goes off.

Cheap heat does have a 30 amp setting but it does only a little more than a 1500 watt heater.

Yes I did know the electric/propane was not auto change over.

Good news on the 30A does it automatically adjust to 30A shore power?

No system is perfect but so far the CheapHeat is a winner!

pianotuna wrote:
Cummins cheap heat doesn't fail over to propane if the power goes off.

And what does propane fail over to if you run out of propane? Perhaps an automatic changeover is critical to you (it would be easy enough to do with a relay), but it's no big deal to us. If the power goes out and I start getting cold, I'll crawl out of bed, turn on the light (12VDC powered, of course) and flip the switch over to propane.

Rusty

Cummins cheap heat doesn't fail over to propane if the power goes off.

Cheap heat does have a 30 amp setting but it does only a little more than a 1500 watt heater.

CheapHeat is added by the dealer, not the factory. So it is a "retro fit".

The propane furnace is still totally functional with a toggle switch that says electric/propane.

The only downside for me so far is the system only works on 50A someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Those equivalency numbers are pretty strange. They must be using "new math". As them how many amps or actual watts of output there are. They removed that information from their web site. I do not know if they are reposted it or not.

At 10 F I would need the DH50 and I'm in a 29 foot Class C with beefed up insulation.

I would insist that the installation used a fail over relay so that the propane furnace could be used as a back up.

I use a twin window fan to replace the cold air return for the furnace and I can heat electrically down to -37 C (-34 f). I get my cake and eat it too, because I can leave the propane furnace set a few degrees lower than the various electric heating units I use. As a bonus I can use propane and my electric heat at the same time. Last year that meant I got up to acceptable heat levels in less than one hour.

I would never retro fit a "cheap heat" system but if an RV came with one it would not be a deal breaker--so long as they would modify it to allow propane use on a fail over situation.

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