Heat coming from floor registers? 2004 Sunrise

[EwBraun]

I own a 2004 Itastca sunrise. I think I have basement heat. But my question is this...there is heat blowing out of the floor registers. It's 90+ degrees out, is there a way to.shut it off? New to RVing
Only runs when we are driving

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by EwBraun

I own a 2004 Itastca sunrise. I think I have basement heat. But my question is this...there is heat blowing out of the floor registers. It's 90+ degrees out, is there a way to.shut it off? New to RVing
Only runs when we are driving

Ok EwBraun,
We need to clarify some stuff here. First, you "Think" you have basement heat? You're not sure? Well, in your era and brand of coach, many, if not most, Itascas and Winnes had what's called "Basement A/C". And, they also had a 12V furnace. Typically, the basement a/c units were both air conditioning units and also heat pumps.

When using either heat or a/c from that unit, the heat or air conditioning air is dispersed from the CEILING ducts ONLY. But, if and when the 12V furnace is used, the heated air dispersed from that unit, is emitted from the FLOOR DUCTING ONLY.

In either case, the wall thermostat controls BOTH UNITS. There are switches on that wall thermostat to control heat and cold. You only get COLD air from the basement a/c unit and the control switch for that is the one that states" COLD/OFF.

Does your thermostat look like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Therm...38177348&psc=1

If it does, you have a switch on there that controls HEAT from two different sources. One selection is GAS and one is ELECTRIC. If your switch is selected to GAS, and your thermostat is set to a given temp, it is possible you're actually feeling the heat from that furnace while you're driving due to the system being ON. To be sure neither one of the units, gas (furnace) or electric (basement a/c) is ON, switch that switch to OFF. Then, you'll be assured that neither unit will work, no matter what the thermostat is set at. Let us know if any of this info helps.
Scott

[imnprsd]

A couples weeks ago it was 50F outside, and I put my basement AC thermostat in the "elec heat" position, to turn on the heat pump.

Note: Your thermostat also monitors inside air temperature so you can't forget this part.

What happened is that my Suburban floor heater came on; and in about 20 minutes the Suburban heater turned off and my basement heat pump started working and the basement AC blower was passing heat out of the ceiling vents.

I thought that was odd so I started researching this. What I found were other owners who explained it this way.

* When you select the "Elec Heat" option -- and you set your digital thermostat more then 4 degrees from the OAT, then the Suburban heater will come on until your OAT is within 4 degrees, and then the the thermostat will switch over to basement heat pump.

* When you select the "Gas" heat option, only your Suburban heater will come on.

So I tested this theory out and I found it was true.

What I don't know is if the thermostat is smart enough to know when it's too cold to operate the heat pump?

Maybe that "exclusion relay" in the wire diagram below has something to do with this?

That said, it sounds like if you only want your heat pump to come on initially, then you need to set your thermostat within 2-3 degrees higher than the inside air temperature as shown on the thermostat, before you started pushing the buttons.

Further, I understand heat pumps do not work on the fringe of 38-40F and/or if your basement AC blower does start you will NOT get any heat out of your ceiling vents.

Without a doubt, your basement AC (and heat pump) only delivers air thru your ceiling vents; and the Suburban heater only delivers air thru the floor vents.