On Feb 4, 10:27 pm, Red Green wrote:
hibb wrote :



On Feb 4, 9:04 pm, Red Green wrote:
hibb wrote in news:23e3ba03-0926-4361-b948-
:

On Feb 4, 8:36 am, " wrote:
Anybody know about geothermal heat pumps? I looked at a house
with three of these things and I really dont know much about them.

I have one.

You have one what? Since subject is geothermal, you have a
geothermal? But below you say you have an Air Transfer heat pump. You
have both? Just what are you saying?

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I have an Air Transfer heat pump
that my idiot nephew in law talked me into letting him install 3 years
ago.

I guess the waste of money on this thing has made it a bit of a hot
button issue for me so I must have seen "heat pump" and jumped right
in.

I was brought up in the northeast and never even saw a heat pump until I
was 39 (errr, correction, 50). First time I owned a place that had one
was NC. I swore the thing was broke. Frikkin air is not even a hundred
degrees coming out! :-) Takes some getting used to.

Heat pumps have their place and can be a money saver providing they a

- Used in the right climate.
- Properly sized
- Have a properly matched coil
- Have a proper air handler.
- Have proper ductwork
- Been properly maintained.
- Not being used when it's near it's last leg.

If any of these are out of whack the whole thing will appear to be a
lemon. I've seen units where the air filter is never/rarely changed.
Thing just burns itself up overworking. Then there's the ones who run it
without a filter. Frikkin coil is like so crudded up you can grow veggies
in it.

I am no HVAC guy by any means. I'm more HAC(k) when it comes to this.
Just passing along what I've learned from an experienced 25yr HVAC
company owner. There's some experienced HVAC people in this group who
would be quick to correct anything I've said that is BS though.

Where are you located? Other people around have heat pumps that seem to
work OK?


I'm in lower Michigan about 30 mile north of Indiana.

I don't know if anyone around here has an air transfer heat pump. My
niece's husband (now ex husband) had a reputation for being a good
heating/air conditioning guy. They lived down in Indiana and I was
getting tired of paying so much for heating oil for the old stove. He
recommended a heat pump. Due to all the crap he has pulled on my niece
after she caught him with the neighbor lady, I don't think I want him
around any more.

What I really need is a good back-up system for when it gets under 40
degrees. I think the air transfer heat pump will work fine at higher
temps than that. My plan right now is before next winter to get the
local guy out that always worked on my old oil furnace and see if it
can be hooked back up in the system or at least see what he
recommends.

BTW, here is exactly what I have. I live in an old farm house that was
first built in 1910 but has been added on to several times since. The
downstairs has a great room with the living room and kitchen. Off that
is the bed room and off that is the bathroom/laundry room.

The pellet stove does a good job heating the living room and kitchen
but not enough heat gets to the bedroom and bathroom. Also, the pellet
stove need service from time to time. I moved the thermostat for the
heat pump to the bedroom so the heat from the pellet stove would not
effect it.

If I could depend on the pellet stove all the time, I would not have
as much of a problem. But it breaks down sometimes when I am not home
or in the middle of the night. Last night I came home about 7:30 to
find that the pellet stove had malfunctioned. It was about 7 degrees
outside and only 58 degrees in the living room and 63 degrees in the
bedroom where the heat pump thermostat is. By the time I got the
pellet stove running again and got the house back up to a comfortable
temp, it was after midnight.

The think I like about the heat pump is that it is a damn good and
efficient air conditioning unit. Which is why I want to keep it so I
don't lose my investment in that end. I think that if I had my oil
furnace working again, it would keep the pellet stove from having to
work so much and the pellet stove would help keep the furnace oil
usage down to an affordable level.

David