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Ormston · 09-06-14, 03:30 PM

I quickly spotted another issue with the ASHP, the lower 2" of the evaporator had iced up and wasn't defrosting during a defrost cycle.
When i opened the heatpump lid i could see the whole base of the heatpump was frozen solid in 2" of ice, the condensate drain was under this ice and not letting anything out.

A few kettles of boiling water later and i restarted the heatpump and adjusted the defrost settings to prevent it happening again.

Got up the following morning to find exactly the same issue

It appears to be a rubbish design, air is drawn in through the evaporator into the heatpump housing and exhausted out the other side of the housing.
This means all the cold wet air from the evaporator has to pass through the entire heatpump dropping it's moisture on the way through.
Also as the inside of the housing is at negative pressure (the only fan blows out the back of the heatpump), water is not very keen an falling through the small drain pipe at the bottom.

The solution has been a trace heater curled up in the bottom of the heatpump across the bottom of the evaporator and poking out through the drain pipe.
I,ve also had to pack the feet of the heatpump to encourage water towards the drain pipe.

Whilst these fixes work, it does add a constant 60w load during the winter to run the trace heater.

Steve

09-06-14, 03:30 PM	#16
Ormston Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: UK Posts: 131 Thanks: 13 Thanked 35 Times in 32 Posts	I quickly spotted another issue with the ASHP, the lower 2" of the evaporator had iced up and wasn't defrosting during a defrost cycle. When i opened the heatpump lid i could see the whole base of the heatpump was frozen solid in 2" of ice, the condensate drain was under this ice and not letting anything out. A few kettles of boiling water later and i restarted the heatpump and adjusted the defrost settings to prevent it happening again. Got up the following morning to find exactly the same issue It appears to be a rubbish design, air is drawn in through the evaporator into the heatpump housing and exhausted out the other side of the housing. This means all the cold wet air from the evaporator has to pass through the entire heatpump dropping it's moisture on the way through. Also as the inside of the housing is at negative pressure (the only fan blows out the back of the heatpump), water is not very keen an falling through the small drain pipe at the bottom. The solution has been a trace heater curled up in the bottom of the heatpump across the bottom of the evaporator and poking out through the drain pipe. I,ve also had to pack the feet of the heatpump to encourage water towards the drain pipe. Whilst these fixes work, it does add a constant 60w load during the winter to run the trace heater. Steve Last edited by Ormston; 09-06-14 at 03:33 PM..