Ductwork question

[Steve & Linda]

First trip out in new 38GK...there is what appears to be a round floor vent slightly behind toilet. It has foil duct work so I would assume it is part of the heating/cooling system. No cold air comes out, blew a candle out near it and it did not suck in smoke, so not an air return. Is this a heat only duct or is it not connected down the line? Aren't the heat and a/c ducts all common?

[brenkco]

It is a heat duct for your forced air furnace. The a/c and heat pump come from only the ceiling vents.

Ken

[atom ant]

Ken is right, and man did they put that in the right spot!!

Kick the fan on your furnace to test it. The furnace only supplies the floor vents. Roof ACs/heat pumps suppy the ceiling vents.

[Steve & Linda]

Thanks, that makes sense. This is all a little much to figure out when you're new at camping in a self-contained rig.

[AlanN]

Good info ... thanks! That's on my personal, two-day post-delivery inspection. Pickup countdown - 8 days. Campground near RW dealer booked for four days for my full inspection. Owner is the former head mechanic for my dealership, and has very good relations with them still. I figure that's a "plus!"

[Steve & Linda]

Record lows in KS this morning, turned on heat, set thermostat up about 8 degrees. Heated the coach real fast but the heat came out of every vent, ceiling and floor. Not sure if that is a problem (?) as it warms fast.

[Steve & Linda]

Oh boy, turned off main heat, put on only FRONT heat (bedroom) and furnace kicked on and heat came on from ALL ROOF vents, front to back, NO floor vents. Front heat only cycles are very short, heating a couple of minutes, then off for a few.

This coach heats and cools, but do I have a problem I need to have fixed? Should I care where the heat/air comes from as long as it heats/cools?

[johnboytoo]

As stated:

the propane furnace heat comes from the floor vents...

the ac's heat pump/heat strips come from the ceiling vents...

We haven't stayed in it enough in the winter to really know...

I just know that between the heat pump and fireplace we were comfy the few times we did...

You say you turned on the heat - did you turn on propane furnace or heat pumps ?

and did you get TWO heat pumps or only one like we did?

[Steve & Linda]

This is getting really weird. I turned off front thermostat, turned on main (living). Still blowing heat from roof only. Then I turned main thermostat OFF, the system switched from roof to floor vents, blew cool, not cold, air for 5 minutes and stopped.

John, yes we ordered heat pump option which on our order sheet states both a/cs. I am only trying electric heat so far. I also have two different thermostats. There is nothing on the thermostats about heat pumps. I don't really know if I have the heat pumps I ordered.

Boy do I feel stupid!

[brenkco]

johnboytoo is correct however there is one additional fact. If you set the thermostat to electric and temp and it is more than 4-6 degrees higher than the ambient temp, BOTH the heat pump (ceiling ducts) and the forced air furnace (floor ducts) will be producing heat. This is the only circumstance whereby you will have heat from both floor and ceiling.

The forced air unit will never supply heat through the ceiling and the air conditioning unit will never supply cooling through the floor.

Ken

[brenkco]

Steve,
The cool air from the floor is from the fan running both before and after the burner either starts or stops. It is a safety feature to make certain that the burner never runs without the fan.

[brenkco]

BTW, the heat pump/furnace should be only on your main thermostat. The bedroom thermostat should only have an a/c switch. At least that is the way it is on my rig.

[johnboytoo]

Ah brenkco... that makes perfect sense about the propane being 'backup' heat if the heat pumps can't do it....

your point made me remember a heat pump/all electric home I had a while back...

the heat pump would try to warm it up, but could only do about 20 degrees difference IIRC, and then the heat strip would kick in if need be -
THAT'S when the electric meter would turn into a helicopter it was spinning so fast

[brenkco]

Yea, I confirmed this with Crossroads as I was surprised when I had the thermostat set to electric only and both the heat pump and furnace kicked on. This was even though the ambient temp was in the low 50's.

If I don't want the furnace to kick on, I set the temp to 4-5 degrees higher than the inside temp, then increase the thermostat setting as the coach warms.

Ken

[Steve & Linda]

I'm in the twilight zone...I put a post up right after Johns and it disappeared after a half hour.....

John, I ordered heat pump option which on our order sheet says both A/Cs. So I should have two. I have no way of knowing. Both thermostats are different, neither has anything about heat pumps on them.

When I turned the air off at the main thermostat, it switched from blowing out of the roofs to blowing out the floor, cool, not cold, for about 5 minutes, then stopped.

I switched to gas heat, and only floor vents blew heat.

Am I correct to believe the heat pumps were on and heating from the roof? When do the heat pumps stop and furnace kicks in?

I really feel stupid now...

[Steve & Linda]

So...my post went away and I tried to recap, then when I posted the recap, my post was back. I have very poor internet here so I hope I can blame my posting troubles on T-Mobile (I won't sue them).

I think were ok from what everyone said, the real problem is my ignorance. Thank everyone for being willing to help.

[Oriana]

Steve - when you select electric heat from the thermostat you are turning on the heat pump(s). When these are running heat will come out the ceiling vents. However, the system is programmed that if the thermostat is set to a temperature of 7 to 10 degrees above the inside temperature, the gas furnace will automatically kick in. When the gas furnace kicks in heat will come from the lower vents.

To test the system - select electric heat and set thermostat a couple of degrees above the inside temperature. Provided outside temp is above 40 degree the heat pump(s) should provide heat out the ceiling vents. The gas furnace should not cut in. Then set the thermostat about 10 degrees higher than the inside temperature. The gas furnace should now kick in automatically, even with selector at electric heat. You will get heat out the lower vents as well.

The furnace fan runs for a few minutes after the furnace shuts down.

Hope this helps.

With respect to how many heat pumps, you should hear them running when on electric heat. We have 1 on the rear A/C.

[Foxfire]

I have 2 heat pumps. The bedroom thermostat says AC off or heat for the heat pump only. the thermostat in the living room says AC off gas heat elect heat. Gas heat only comes from the floor elec heat pumps from the ceiling. The furnace always cycles cool air at start up and shut down.

[Foxfire]

The thermostats owners manual is only one page folded up and explains it really well. It was in the loose leaf binder pocket of the owners package.

[rcflame]

We have had both the heat pump and furnace come on when we initially turn on the heat pump and the temp difference between what the pump is set for, and the actual inside temp are over 4 degrees difference. Once the thermostat set temp and actual temp are closer, the furnace shuts off and the heat pump handles it.