Heat Strip In A/C

[malexander]

Anyone have heat strips in their A/C?
Those of you that do, how much heat do you get from them?

[malexander]

DSDP Don wrote:
"malexander".....Good post on your results. Most people won't give an honest review after they've spent money on something. I installed a heat strip in my truck camper years ago. To me it was worthless. The little heat that it provided was overshadowed by having to run the A/C, hear the A/C and worry about this hot element in the roof possibly melting and catching fire.

floor heater works just as well if not better and is quiet.

lol. Thanks Don. Well, it was only $130. Chicken feed, compared to $78K for the rig. I certainly wouldn't have known, if I hadn't have tried it.

[malexander]

dougrainer wrote:

malexander wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Use the lowest possible fan speed when using a heat strip.

Shouldn't the low speed setting be "programmed" into the stat, when elec heat is selected?

That's the "normal" operation of a residential unit.

This is the difference between HOME(residential) and RV units. Not too many Home units have an actual Fan SPEED setting. Usually just ON and AUTO. Remember, these forums are about RV units. Doug

Sorry Doug.
I'm a heat & air guy, along with plumbing & electric. That's why I referred to residential units, I sort of "understand" them.

[DSDP_Don]

"malexander".....Good post on your results. Most people won't give an honest review after they've spent money on something. I installed a heat strip in my truck camper years ago. To me it was worthless. The little heat that it provided was overshadowed by having to run the A/C, hear the A/C and worry about this hot element in the roof possibly melting and catching fire.

A floor heater works just as well if not better and is quiet.

[pianotuna]

Hi malexander,

Mine has a simple switch on the thermostat for fan speed selection.

[dougrainer]

malexander wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Use the lowest possible fan speed when using a heat strip.

Shouldn't the low speed setting be "programmed" into the stat, when elec heat is selected?

That's the "normal" operation of a residential unit.

This is the difference between HOME(residential) and RV units. Not too many Home units have an actual Fan SPEED setting. Usually just ON and AUTO. Remember, these forums are about RV units. Doug

[malexander]

pianotuna wrote:
Use the lowest possible fan speed when using a heat strip.

Shouldn't the low speed setting be "programmed" into the stat, when elec heat is selected?

That's the "normal" operation of a residential unit.

[pianotuna]

Use the lowest possible fan speed when using a heat strip.

[malexander]

You all answered my question.:)
I did in fact install them in both of my a/c's. My a/c's are ducted in the ceiling in my 2007 Bounder.
I really couldn't tell if they were actually heating or not, I really didn't feel much heat coming out of the registers/vents. Y'all confirmed what I was thinking. Too much airflow from the a/c fan, and not really a "hot enough" element.
The installation instructions, BTW, actually say they aren't intended to be "furnaces", but as they call them "chill-chasers".
I'm in the hvac business and am able to buy this "stuff" wholesale. So, if $130 (that's what I paid for both strips) will save me a bit of propane, I'm OK with it.

[Terryallan]

We had a heat strip in a popup. If it was 60 degrees out side. It would warm the pup right up to 61, and the air would freeze you. SO IMOP, and my experience. they are a waste of money. Get a space heater.

[Kayteg1]

YMMV
I am heating 3300 sq-ft house with 60kBTU furnace even on 30'sF nights here.
My conversion has polyurethane foam sprayed all over metal body and 5600BTU heater is all I need for late season camping.
But don't try to survive with small electric heater in coach with fiberglass insulation and unsealed holes around plumbing and electrical.

[dougrainer]

Most Motorhomes have a minimum 32,000 btu furnace(some have 2- 32k furnaces)===64K BTU's
The HP on a motorhome will be 15,000 EACH. Usually 2== 30k BTU's
The heat strips are 5600 BTU- EACH. 2 = 11,200 BTU's.
So, they are NOT designed to do anything other than take the chill out of the air, so you do not have to run a large forced heat source like a furnace or the HP. Doug

[Pass42]

Our 1988 Xplorer had heat strips in both ceiling A/C units..They worked very well for taking the chill out on those fall camping trips... this was not a ducted system, just 2 individual ceiling mounted A/C units....

[Golden_HVAC]

Mr.Mark wrote:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but heat pumps (which we have) will work down to 40 degrees like several posters have stated above.

Now, if you have electric strips, they should give you heat all the time as that is 'electric heat'.

Our home in Southern California (desert) has heat pumps for heat (rarely used).... but, we also have a selection for 'supplemental heat' on the thermostat, which is the electric strip that will 'drink' the electric juice!

MM.

This is correct. RV Heat pumps have a thermostat that will shut them off at around 40F outside air temp, to protect the compressor and keep the outside coil from freezing.

A home heat pump has a defrost cycle, and it will switch to the cooling mode and shut off the outside fan motor for about 5 minutes every 45 minutes. This way they can run very effectively down to about 5F on a new R-410 system or 12F on a older R-22 system.

The reason they have back up electric heaters on homes is to provide some heat if the compressor fails, or for those rare times when it is below 15F and you need additional heat that the heat pump can not provide.

As for the original post, I would not spend $90 for a electric strip heater for two reasons.

The fan is noisy compared to a compact portable heater.

The portable heater is able to blow just into the bathroom while I am showering, or just into the bedroom while I am sleeping, and this saves energy. Sure many times you are at a RV park with 'free' electric, but the owner is paying and will have to adjust their rates at some point to pay off the electric bill.

So I have 3 portable heaters. I can run 1-3 of them on low heat, or two on high heat with my 30 amp service. I was able to use my 3 electric heaters while living in Portland OR one winter with temps as low as 25F overnight, and did not need to use the furnace other than warming the RV from 45 to say 65 when I got home.

Portable heaters are less expensive, and will not be directing heat to the very coldest part of the RV - the A/C ductwork next to the very cold roof while trying to warm the room!.

Good luck,

Fred.

[rvten]

I had Heat Strips on one MH. Do not work as good as a Heat Pump. Neither one is as good as a gas furnace.

I would buy a good electric heater before wasting money on Heat Strips