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Heat pump malfunction

 
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The second story of my house is heated and cooled by a heat pump. We had it replaced about four months ago, so this is a brand new Carrier unit.

The day before yesterday we had an exterminator come in, and they were spraying in the attic, so I shut down the whole ventilation system at the breaker. I left it off for about 8 hours. It was a hot day, so by the afternoon the second floor of the house got up to about 85 degrees.

At 4 o'clock, I turned the breakers back on. The thermostat quickly clicked on and the inside fan started running. But the heat pump just sat there. It didn't come on. By 4:50 I was desperate and called the repair man -- but it's August in Maryland -- goot luck talking to an AC repairman! They didn't call back, and so as bedtime approached, it was still over 80 degrees in the master bedroom.

Then, suddenly, for no apparent reason, the heat pump came on, and the house cooled down quickly to a comfortable temperature. And it's been working fine since then.

So what happened? Why did the thing just sit there for so long? I know they have protective circuitry that stop them from cycling too quickly, or from trying to operate when they frost in them, etc. But none of those things apply here, that I can see; and I didn't think that circuitry would keep it turned off for more than 6 hours.

Anybody know anything about these infernal devices?
 
Trailboss
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My heat pump kicked the bucket last spring. A few weeks ago we decided it was too hot in the house so we would get it fixed. $450 and it worked for a day. They came back out and said "Oh yeah, the compressor is shot. $2200 more".

After some net research, I decided I don't like heat pumps. Will stick with wood heat as the primary heat. We have a portable A/C unit to cool in the summer and will plant some trees and add some porch to cool the house a bit.
 
Ernest Friedman-Hill
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Originally posted by Paul Wheaton:
$450 and it worked for a day. They came back out and said "Oh yeah, the compressor is shot. $2200 more".



Damn, that's quite a heat pump. My new one cost $1750, installed.

They don't seem to be as reliable as air conditioners, that's for sure.
 
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Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:

Then, suddenly, for no apparent reason, the heat pump came on, and the house cooled down quickly to a comfortable temperature. And it's been working fine since then.

So what happened? Why did the thing just sit there for so long? I know they have protective circuitry that stop them from cycling too quickly, or from trying to operate when they frost in them, etc. But none of those things apply here, that I can see; and I didn't think that circuitry would keep it turned off for more than 6 hours.

Anybody know anything about these infernal devices?



A thermostat set at a particular temperature or a not very sensitive thermostat. Or a 24 hour 7 days a week 6 months of the year timer?
 
Consider Paul's rocket mass heater.
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