Suitable for mobile home use?

[doc havoc]

Can anybody tell me specifically what makes a unit suitable or not suitable for mobile home use? I know the factory installed gas models had a special vent design. However, the Lennox Pulse was a suitable unit and that was just vented in pvc. Does it have something to do with blower design due to the often restrictive ducting found on mobile homes? Combustion air requirements? Fire? Thanks in advance.

[woody19]

Can anybody tell me specifically what makes a unit suitable or not suitable for mobile home use? I know the factory installed gas models had a special vent design. However, the Lennox Pulse was a suitable unit and that was just vented in pvc. Does it have something to do with blower design due to the often restrictive ducting found on mobile homes? Combustion air requirements? Fire? Thanks in advance.

Usually it has to do with how the furnace is tested and approved for that installation. They don't test and approve every model because there isnt the demand for it. Those that are tested must meet certain standards for combuston,venting and in some cases the gas valve has to be replaced with one that can be natural or lp by use of a switch on the valve. Also they only allow 90% furnaces due to the temp. difference compared to 80% furnaces for safety.

[targetman]

Usually it has to do with how the furnace is tested and approved for that installation. They don't test and approve every model because there isnt the demand for it. Those that are tested must meet certain standards for combuston,venting and in some cases the gas valve has to be replaced with one that can be natural or lp by use of a switch on the valve. Also they only allow 90% furnaces due to the temp. difference compared to 80% furnaces for safety.

I'll agree with the first part of your answer.

[BigBacardi]

umm...yah....the last part of anwer is pure jibberish...

the only reason a mid is not approved is the possiblity of downdraft...not power vented

temp has got nothing to do with it...period.

[surenuff]

yes, some units from rheem are made with high static blower setup specifically for use in mobile homes. They do not have any split sytems this way, only package units. Other manufacturers have either had their units UL listed for use in mobile homes or not. If it is not UL listed to use in a mobile home, then I would not use it. There is a neat trick I have learned to help out on the restrictive ducts of mobile homes.

[woody19]

umm...yah....the last part of anwer is pure jibberish...

the only reason a mid is not approved is the possiblity of downdraft...not power vented

temp has got nothing to do with it...period.

LOL, you are correct. What was I thinking!!! lol

[54regcab]

Ran into one last week that had the heat/cool switch on the unit and a simple 2 wire 24v heat only stat in the living room. He wanted us to install a digital stat, is there one that's compatible? Even if we ran the 5 wire thermostat cable, what to do about the crazy heat/cool rocker switch right on the unit? Rewiring the homeowners furnace is something I'm not interested in doing...

[billygoat22]

I do know that any fuel burning appliance has to be direct vented/ make up air supplied.

So a gravity vent w/ open hood is not allowed, or drawing air for combustion from the room. Every w/h or furnace I've seen in a mh is in a closet, which would have combustion air issues regardless of where it was installed.

You can even get clothes dryers with a m/h kit that allows air makeup for the exhausted air.

Not sure how you'd handle the condensate issue on high eff furnaces- there's no drain in the closet and you'd have to drain outside through a non-conditioned space.

[mark beiser]

Ran into one last week that had the heat/cool switch on the unit and a simple 2 wire 24v heat only stat in the living room. He wanted us to install a digital stat, is there one that's compatible? Even if we ran the 5 wire thermostat cable, what to do about the crazy heat/cool rocker switch right on the unit? Rewiring the homeowners furnace is something I'm not interested in doing...

I've never seen a programmable mobile home thermostat that would work with the 2 wire heat/cool setup.

The way those systems work, when the heat/cool switch on the furnace is in the heat position, the heat comes on when the thermostat contacts close, and turns off when they open.
With the furnace heat/cool switch is in the cooling position, the AC turns on when the thermostat contacts are open, and turns off when they close.

[54regcab]

Exactly why we didn't install the stat. Getting the digital stat to "open on rise" while in cool mode is impossible. I suppose the stat could be left in heat mode and the HO uses the heat/cool switch on the unit. A setup like that is just asking for a callback, I'll pass. Going through the schematic of the furnace to rewire to use a conventional 5 wire stat instead of the switch on the unit is more than I want to mess with. Really, why couldn't they have just used a 5 wire stat to begin with ??

[mark beiser]

Yeah, you could tell them to leave the thermostat set to heat, and adjust the temperature to where they want it, but then you don't get any of the recovery options, or algorithms that prevent under/overshoot of the set point.

[billygoat22]

Some of the mobile home equipment had a conversion box- you pull the old molex plug w/ pigtails and plug in the box and wire the tstat wires to it. It had some relays and other stuff that changed the wiring setup in the unit.

[mrlighturfire]

Carrier has 92% and 95% furnaces that are suitable for residential and manufactured homes now. All you need is a kit for manufactured homes. Since Carrier or united technologies owns ICP they are available in those brands as well. Do they consider mobile homes as a manufactured home now?