I'll start by saying I'm very happy to have a woodstove that does the bulk of the heating in our home. But stuff happens and today was another crappy day that I didn't get to play with chainsaws... We replaced the Lennox heat pump that came with the house a few years ago. It was 13 years old at the time and the only place to get a new A coil that blew was strait from the Lennox dealer and they wanted $ 2500 for it. It was a 13 SEER unit and it sounded like a car hitting the side of the house when it came on or shut off. We put in a Champion 21 SEER unit with much higher efficiency. The heating side is much higher efficiency also and will pull heat from outside to a way lower temp than the old Lennox so the E-heat coils will kick on less (ideally never with the woodstove running). ANYWAY... I noticed that the outdoor unit had been running non stop yesterday which is unusual even in the single digit temps we're having. This morning I looked at the thermostat in the dining room (where I rarely go). It was throwing an error code of lost communication to the outdoor inverter driver. I got out the manuals and it said if that happens the inverter driven compressor will just keep running at the last demand that the system had sent it before the com link failed. That's why it just kept running. I checked the wiring at the indoor unit and it was OK. I went out to check the outdoor unit wiring and crapped when I saw the outdoor coil was a 3" thick block of frost and ice. So I'm not sure how long this thing had been running like this. In the limp by mode it wasn't defrosting the coil every 6 hours like it normally would and with these really cold days it just kept making ice... To complicate things, the first time I went out to see what tools I'd need to open it up, I slipped on the hill and landed on my right hip just missing the retaining wall. I laid there in the snow for minute with visions of wheelchairs and rest homes circling my head. I got it moving and was able to stand and walk... Good Deal!!! There was so much ice build up that I had to chisel ice away for about 20 minutes to get to the screws for the cover and allow it to be removed. I loosened and wiggled the communication wiring and tightened all the connections and turned it back on. NO ERROR CODES, AWESOME. But I spent another couple hours reading through the manuals to find a way to initiate the defrost cycle instead of waiting for it to accumulate time making more ice before it would defrost itself... Finally found it and ran the defrost cycle 3 times and was able to clear most of the ice. Back to normal now except for the large black and blue welt on my hip. I'll stay up late tonight and babysit it to ensure it's really back to normal or if there are still issues. Always something...
Sorry you had such a mess. As far as the fancy electronic gadgets.....ADD A COMPUTER.....Guaranteed to screw up....And when ya need it most. Wood stove baby.....Gotta love the ancient technology....
Might be better to just move it into the DIY room and keep it seperate so we don't muck up that thread? Thought??
That's crummy but at least you got er whooped. Kinda reminds me when i first moved into this house. With cold like this the fuel oil line would freeze right outta the tank outside. Would wake up to the furnace blower running and the house in the lower 60s. Get up outta bed first thing in the morning and go outside to take the line off the tank and fish a coat hanger in the line to remove the blockage. That was my first push to heat solely with wood. Just being a smart guy here but don't chya know to defrost the outside unit, you just gotta run the ac.
I thought about that, but at 7* outside I really didn't want to blow cold air around in the house. Defrost mode keeps the air handler from moving air during the cycle. Our woodstove can't keep up with the house below 20*, that's why we keep it set at 71. It adds the extra warmth the wife demands when the woodstove can't keep up, we are away for the day, or I can't get to the stove when it needs wood. I try to keep it fed well, but it's not my main focus in life, and I fall behind occasionally. As far as moving this post. Please put it where you feel it is most appropriate. I didn't know there was a "heat pump" thread and wasn't really sure where to put it. Just trying to pass along that a "com error" may just be loose wire somewhere in these newer systems.
No water from roof here. The roof slopes the other way. The last few days here have been very cold and humid with light flurries. I'm really not sure how long it had been running without defrost mode. It must have been longer than I realized.
