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Coleman AC. Should we upgrade to heat pump

susblum
Explorer
Explorer
Our 2017 Jayco has a Coleman AC. We miss the Dometic heat pump that was in our Forest River. Thinking of pulling out the AC. Any feedback on upgrading to a heatoump
Is one brand better than another? What about a heat strip. We are sucking down too much propane.
17 REPLIES 17

lenr
Explorer II
Explorer II
If using two space heaters be sure that you have them plugged into two different circuits. And, 50 amp service would be a good idea.

Ivylog
Explorer III
Explorer III
susblum wrote:
We are snow birds so that might be worth it to us to switch

Unless you were billed separately for the electric go buy a couple space heaters. When the AC cannot be fixed cheaply replace it with a heat pump.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Sold 04 Dynasty to our son after 14 great years.
Upgraded with a 08 HR Navigator 45โ€™...

jfskeet
Explorer
Explorer
We have twin a/c heat pumps in our 35 ft motor home. They are terrific, we do a lot of camping spring and fall and never need heater.Would never have another rv with out them.
Jeff & Kathy
2018 Tiffin 34PA
Honda CRV Toad

msturtz
Explorer
Explorer
chuckftboy wrote:
Heat pumps are a great way to heat the coach when temperatures are not below 38. we live in Florida and spend a lot of time in the South East so for us they are perfect. Most heat pumps put out around 14,000 BTU's at the same power consumption an electric heater uses to produce 5,000 BTU's. Put another way, a roof a/c with a heat strip produces 1/3 the BTU's produced by a heat pump.
A heat pump has a COP of 3 and a heat strip has a COP of 1 meaning the pump is 3 times more efficent at the same power consumption. Generally people north of the Mason Dixon line ae not big advocates of heat pumps.
I'm in Washington State and am a big fan. Sure during the dead of winter it won't work but the rest of the heating season it's great.
FMCA member

msturtz
Explorer
Explorer
dougrainer wrote:
msturtz wrote:
A heat pump is economical to operate and distributes even dry heat. I had them on a prior rig and really liked it. It does not use nearly as much energy as a radiant heater or strip heat.


A Heat Pump will pull 1680 watts. I do not know of a Radiant heater for standard Household use that pulls more than 1500 watts. They use about the same energy, but the HP will distribute the Heat much better and thruout the RV unlike a Radiant heater. Doug


To be clear I should have said it is they are more efficient in that you get 15000 BTU with about 1650 Watts. A 1500 watt Hester produces 5118 BTU.
FMCA member

susblum
Explorer
Explorer
We are snow birds so that might be worth it to us to switch

chuckftboy
Explorer
Explorer
Heat pumps are a great way to heat the coach when temperatures are not below 38. we live in Florida and spend a lot of time in the South East so for us they are perfect. Most heat pumps put out around 14,000 BTU's at the same power consumption an electric heater uses to produce 5,000 BTU's. Put another way, a roof a/c with a heat strip produces 1/3 the BTU's produced by a heat pump.
A heat pump has a COP of 3 and a heat strip has a COP of 1 meaning the pump is 3 times more efficent at the same power consumption. Generally people north of the Mason Dixon line ae not big advocates of heat pumps.
2019 Horizon 42Q Maxum Chassis w/tag
Cummins L-9 450 HP / Allison 3000
2006 Jeep TJ and 2011 Chevy Traverse Tows

Ivylog
Explorer III
Explorer III
Heat pumps average 4X more efficient than restive heat... even below 40 they are still 2X. I use mine below freezing before switching to my AquaHot. Strip heat is nothing but restive heat.

Op, unless you use your camper often when it's cold and you pay for elect I would not remove that new a AC. Buy a couple space heaters.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Sold 04 Dynasty to our son after 14 great years.
Upgraded with a 08 HR Navigator 45โ€™...

Lantley
Nomad
Nomad
Pirate wrote:
Heat pump (roof top) has a small window of best use. I found below 40 forget it. I did spend the money to upgrade to heat pump and regret it. I would have been better off using two small portable heaters and then propane when they can't keep up. Save your money.

My thought exactly. Maybe in moderate climates the heat pump is more effective. However in places where it is actually cold (below 40f).
I have found heat pumps to be inadequate.
19'Duramax w/hips, 2022 Alliance Paradigm 390MP >BD3,r,22" Blackstone
r,RV760 w/BC20,Glow Steps, Enduraplas25,Pedego
BakFlip,RVLock,Prog.50A surge ,Hughes autoformer
Porta Bote 8.0 Nissan, Sailun S637

Pirate1
Explorer
Explorer
Heat pump (roof top) has a small window of best use. I found below 40 forget it. I did spend the money to upgrade to heat pump and regret it. I would have been better off using two small portable heaters and then propane when they can't keep up. Save your money.

crasster
Explorer II
Explorer II
Heat is very relative to wattage. A good quality space heater will go a lot further than a low qual because of the distribution, fan, and overall engineering. REMEMBER though that more expensive does NOT mean better. One of my best space heaters is from the 1980's and still going today.
4 whopping cylinders on Toyota RV's. Talk about great getting good MPG. Also I have a very light foot on the pedal. I followed some MPG advice on Livingpress.com and I now get 22 MPG! Not bad for a home on wheels.

Mile_High
Explorer
Explorer
Another option may be the electric heat coil in the furnace.

Cheap Heat. I don't know anyone that has this, but the advantage would be that it would operate continuously down to temperatures that the heat pump would not (<40 degrees), and it would circulate as well as your existing furnace to a point - they do have to slow the fan down to match the heat output.
2013 Winnebago Itasca Meridian 42E
2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara Towed

dougrainer
Nomad
Nomad
susblum wrote:
Our 2017 Jayco has a Coleman AC. We miss the Dometic heat pump that was in our Forest River. Thinking of pulling out the AC. Any feedback on upgrading to a heatoump
Is one brand better than another? What about a heat strip. We are sucking down too much propane.


1. Heat Strips are NOT meant to heat an RV, Just take the chill off.
2. Since you already have the RV wired for a RVP(Coleman) just get a RVP HP. You only have 2 choices. Dometic and RVP. Both are comparable.
3. You will have to change the wall Tstat if you go to a Heat Pump.
4. HOW long is your Trailer? If over 25 feet and you have 50 amp service, install the original AC in the Bedroom and install the HP in the living room. Doug

dougrainer
Nomad
Nomad
msturtz wrote:
A heat pump is economical to operate and distributes even dry heat. I had them on a prior rig and really liked it. It does not use nearly as much energy as a radiant heater or strip heat.


A Heat Pump will pull 1680 watts. I do not know of a Radiant heater for standard Household use that pulls more than 1500 watts. They use about the same energy, but the HP will distribute the Heat much better and thruout the RV unlike a Radiant heater. Doug