Hello - I have a Climatemaster tranquility heat pump with the iGate communicating thermostat. I have not had any problems with the unit since it was installed in 2014 and it has performed perfectly. Near the start of this heating season the thermostat displayed a "service needed" message. Operation of the heat pump did not appear to be impacted.
I checked the troubleshooting guide and it appears that what is triggering this "service needed" message is that the refrigerant temperature is getting higher than ideal. Th troubleshooting guide states that this condition indicates the heat pump isn't operating at peak efficiency. It states that the areas to check are poor water flow or poor air flow.
I have checked the basic items - there do not appear to be any air blockages and I replaced the filter. My loop remains pressurized, however I annually have to bump up the pressure. It falls to about 15 PSI over the course of the year and I pump it back up to about 50 PSI using a valve I installed in the manifold. I flush water through the re-pressuring system I have in order to get any air out of the re-pressurizing valve and hoses before opening the loop so I feel fairly confident that I am not introducing air into the loop.
As of now I think my problem is in one of three items. Either my blower fan is not moving as much air as it should through an issue with the blower, my pump is not moving as much water as it should through an issue with the pump, or I have air in my loops that is preventing the pump from operating as efficiently as it should.
My communicating thermostat reports on the blower RPMs and "Target CFM". The "Target CFM" is as it should be for stage 1 and stage 2 operation, however I think this is only a target and not the actual airflow. I am not able to locate a chart correlating RPM to CFM. Does anyone know of a chart or a way to measure the actual airflow?
My thermostat also reports my pump speed. Oddly, whenever I check the pump speed is always at 15%. I do not have any sort of override set, so the heat pump logic controller is determining 15% speed is the ideal speed. Does anyone know of a way to verify the water pump is functioning correctly? I can enter into manual operation and run the pump at speeds higher than 15%, but I don't have any way to verify that the pump is actually pumping water at a higher speed.
Last, can anyone describe the sound of air cavitation in the pump? I've been told the sound is obvious, but I don't hear anything unusual from the unit when it is running.
Any other thoughts or suggestions are much appreciated.
Where you live: Kent County, Delaware
2) Heat loss/gain calculations for your home: I can try to dig these up if anyone thinks it is relevant.
3) Brand, size (model), age and type of heat pump: Climatemaster Tranquility 22 Digital (TZ), 3.0 tons, 2014 vintage, with communicating thermostat.
4) Type of loop field (open/closed/vertical/horizontal) size and design parameters: closed horizontal raceway with 3 loops at 600' length each. 3/4" HDPE.
5) Average cost/Kwh of electricity and consumption: I can gather this info if anyone thinks it is relevant.
6) Entering and leaving air temperatures (EAT, LAT) measured immediately upstream and downstream of the heatpump: 71 deg/52 deg
7) Entering and leaving water temperatures (EWT, LWT) measured at the geo system: 79.3 deg/123.9 deg
8) Percent of load to be covered by geo and balance point: 100%, electrical resistance heater included in geo unit supplements geo when temperatures drop below ~25 degrees.
9) Installer's assessment of your systems operation. Self install.
10) Projected operating costs, actual operating cost and previous heating and cooling costs: I can try to dig this up if anyone thinks it is relevant.
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