DOMETIC on 110v no heat. Ideas?

Losangeles · 11-21-2018, 02:42 PM

Hi all

Last night we had 110v

In our newish 21’

Not sure if we ever used heat on 110 from DOMETIC HVAC

so it just blew air when thermostat set to 75.

I know it does do cold on demand.

Eventually had to disconnect 110v at pole (switch on power pole) to get Eacape to switch to gas for furnace. Worked fine as always.

Thoughts? I am stumped.

Boondocking next nights so cant check Now.

Thanks. 🙂

John.

Kent · 11-21-2018, 03:19 PM

Make sure Thermostat is set to "Auto"

Brian B-P · 11-21-2018, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Losangeles

Eventually had to disconnect 110v at pole (switch on power pole) to get Eacape to switch to gas for furnace.

I would say instead that you had to disconnect to get the thermostat to use the furnace (which is always and only on gas) rather than the air conditioner (which can only operate on 120 V AC power). It's a thermostat operation issue (getting it to switch to the furnace), not a furnace issue (getting it to use gas).

Kent · 11-21-2018, 03:26 PM

Link on YouTube on how to operate the single zone thermostat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ0rBMtU9rE

Talks about the fan always running and why.

Losangeles · 11-21-2018, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kent

Make sure Thermostat is set to "Auto"

Thanks.

However the thermostat only offers low fan, cool, and furnace.

The word AUTO never appears at all

I am confused.

Thx. :-)

Kent · 11-21-2018, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Losangeles

Thanks.

However the thermostat only offers low fan, cool, and furnace.

The word AUTO never appears at all

I am confused.

Thx. :-)

Press Mode and you should see screen go from off to fan. At this screen if not on Auto you should see High or Low. Press arrow button on right and it will toggle between Auto, High and Low.

Eggscape · 11-21-2018, 06:34 PM

My take on the question is... Losangeles can not get the 110 volt heater strip in the over head A/C unit to work which it should do when set at 75.
I am not sure if our A/C units come with a 110 volt heater strip installed. I know with some A/C units this is an option.
Maybe some one can confirm that our units do not have a heater strip installed.

steve dunham · 11-21-2018, 06:41 PM

The OP use to own a Casita . Casitas come with the strip heater in the A/C as standard equipment
He may be assuming that his current trailer is similarly equipped.
We miss not having the built in strip heater and will add one if it is at all humanly possible .

Rrgramps · 11-21-2018, 08:43 PM

I love the heat strip on my Casita SD, down to almost freezing. Although it may not do so much on an Escape 21, I had Melisa put one on my build sheet. Hopefully, it makes enough noise to satisfy my wife, who has to have noise in order to sleep. Go figure.

https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-Brisk.../dp/B00EWX3Y2C

steve dunham · 11-21-2018, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rrgramps

I love the heat strip on my Casita SD, down to almost freezing. Although it may not do so much on an Escape 21, I had Melisa put one on my build sheet. Hopefully, it makes enough noise to satisfy my wife, who has to have noise in order to sleep. Go figure.

https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-Brisk.../dp/B00EWX3Y2C

We’ve used our heat strip down to 17 below zero F .
It got our trailer warm enough (40 to 50 Deg) to sleep comfortably
I may just buy a new A/C with heat strip and replace my existing A/C
Our local RV dealer thinks he can sell my old A/C so it’s not a total loss

PS : We also find the fan noise kind of relaxing !

cpaharley2008 · 11-22-2018, 06:41 AM

I remember when heat pumps first came out, was told not to play with the thermostat as anything more than a 2 degree change would activate the electric heat, then your bills would be extremely high. Heat pump heat was a cool heat, never really felt warm. The heat strip in your a/c was intended for those shoulder days where it is not too cold, but not to be used as the only source of heat, that correlates to using an iron on high with a fan blowing across it, very inefficient. Your propane furnace is a lot more efficient using propane to heat than your iron is.

Losangeles · 11-24-2018, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eggscape

My take on the question is... Losangeles can not get the 110 volt heater strip in the over head A/C unit to work which it should do when set at 75.
I am not sure if our A/C units come with a 110 volt heater strip installed. I know with some A/C units this is an option.
Maybe some one can confirm that our units do not have a heater strip installed.

Aha - yes - perhaps I dont have a heat strip in the HVAC unit. This would explain it.

I had assumed (silly me) that it had a heat strip.

I wonder.... Hmmmm.....

has anyone used 110v for heat - a heat strip in their HVAC - in their escape?

thanks.

steve dunham · 11-24-2018, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I remember when heat pumps first came out, was told not to play with the thermostat as anything more than a 2 degree change would activate the electric heat, then your bills would be extremely high. Heat pump heat was a cool heat, never really felt warm. The heat strip in your a/c was intended for those shoulder days where it is not too cold, but not to be used as the only source of heat, that correlates to using an iron on high with a fan blowing across it, very inefficient. Your propane furnace is a lot more efficient using propane to heat than your iron is.

Assuming one has a propane furnace which our Scamp did not have

cvanzan · 11-24-2018, 08:43 PM

I don't believe that it's possible to add the heat strip to the HVAC that's in my 2017 21'.

The Mach II in my 2003 Scamp had controls for fan, heat and cool on the HVAC unit itself. I really liked it. We do a fair amount of camping during the NW's rainy season (9 months a year), and the Mach II moved a lot of air, which really aided in drying out wet clothes, etc.

steve dunham · 11-24-2018, 09:09 PM

Escape offers so many options , it’s just a shame that the heat strip is not one of them !

Kent · 11-24-2018, 10:42 PM

Dometic offers the Penquin II with Heat strip, but would require either separate controls on the AC unit itself or Multi Zone thermostat to operate separately from the furnace. I would bet ETI does not offer as it would complicate the build and wiring during the build.

sclifrickson · 11-25-2018, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Escape offers so many options , it’s just a shame that the heat strip is not one of them !

The heat strip has been an off the menu option in the past, and it sounds like it still is, as Trent indicated in post 9, above, that he just had it added to his build sheet.

cpaharley2008 · 11-25-2018, 06:33 AM

It is not shown on the option list, so unless you asked specifically for one, you do not have it. Check your paper work that came with the trailer, it will specify your options. I'm betting you do not have a heat strip.....but you have the answer in your hands.

Vermilye · 11-25-2018, 09:40 AM

If noise is any consideration for you, the furnace Escape currently provides is much quieter than running a heat strip in the AC. I prefer a small cube heater for the cold nights I have hookups.

steve dunham · 11-25-2018, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vermilye

If noise is any consideration for you, the furnace Escape currently provides is much quieter than running a heat strip in the AC. I prefer a small cube heater for the cold nights I have hookups.

If we eventually get our furnace to work , I will test your theory .
We are currently using a small portable electric heater as our only source of heat , which our dog has managed to knock over on two occasions .

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