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ASHP in cold well

heat-pump-newbie · 2021-12-11T21:28:31Z

Having just read on this forum about a cold well, I think my heat pump is in just that situation. I haven't found the details about taking temperature measurements though, suggested by @derek-m, just the blowing smoke comment. Please could you tell me more Derek ? Our outdoor unit is in the 'back yard' which is a triangular space on the north side of our bungalow, with a 6 foot fence and tall hedge above one side, and the side of our garden room on the third side. The fan blows out towards the fence + hedge. There is a wide but solid gate on the inlet side of the pump, about 6 foot away from it, also a small shed away on the other side. The pump is the required distance from the house wall. I'm thinking we should replace the solid gate with a slatted one as a start to get more airflow. Does this sound like a good idea ?

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Adam C

(@adam-c)

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28/12/2021 11:25 am

Great experiments!

I know it is a more extreme option but you could raise the heat pump. Either wall mount or more easily build a 1m ish high foundation for it. Maybe store something under it to make space useful.

👍

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heat-pump-newbie

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Topic starter 28/12/2021 1:42 pm

@adam-c Hi - yes, I think that could have been considered at the design stage, though I wonder if we'd have heard the fan running if it was attached to the wall ? Now it's there I'm not going to ask the installers to move it.

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Mars

(@editor)

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28/12/2021 4:59 pm

The new video has been added to the post from @heat-pump-newbie above.

Pre-order: The Ultimate Guide to Heat Pumps

Subscribe and follow our Homeowners’ Q&A heat pump podcast

👍

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heat-pump-newbie

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Topic starter 08/01/2022 12:16 pm

@derek-m No smoke today but I've been monitoring the temperatures at the outdoor unit and comparing to well away from it as you suggested, they are generally the same 👍 So that's a great result. However, the shed is really in the way where it is now, so I'm going to dismantle it and replace it with a much smaller storage unit which I hope will do the same job of blocking the cold air.

We haven't had much in the way of calm weather, when the cold well would show up more. When I've got the new store in position and it's a calm day I'll light up another smoke pellet!!

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Mars

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20/03/2024 11:04 pm

@heat-pump-newbie we never got a conclusion to your trials and experiments. Whatever happened and what conclusions did you end up coming to?

Pre-order: The Ultimate Guide to Heat Pumps

Subscribe and follow our Homeowners’ Q&A heat pump podcast

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Toodles

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21/03/2024 11:23 am

@editor Should the music not have been ‘Smoke gets in your eyes’? Toodles.

Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.

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heat-pump-newbie

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Topic starter 21/03/2024 11:57 am

Hi Mars

I did remove that little shed altogether. There are two gates enclosing the triangular shaped yard and I always leave the inner gate open to let the cold air escape. The other gate is usually kept bolted so to improve the air flow entering the yard I might move the slats on it, or get a new double slatted gate.

I might well get the unit raised up as suggested. I have another problem: the concrete surface of the yard is breaking up, there is a retrofitted drip tray under the unit with a too-small drainage pipe which has no fall to the nearest drain, so blocks with ice in sub zero temps. It won't last more than a couple of winters before it's just a mess out there. I think raising it up would mean a proper drain pipe could be installed, with a decent fall (soakaways don't work on our clay), with the added advantage of letting the cold air dispurse.

However, watching the HeatGeek video about air recirculation it seems it's not such a problem as I first thought.