Snow Inside heat pump!

[Rabbler]

Hi all,
This is my first winter with a heat pump, so far I'm pretty happy with it.
Nobody warned me about the noise during a defrost shift though...

I've been pretty good about clearing the snow off it but we've had larger than normal snow amounts so far. There is probably 1-2" of snow inside the outdoor unit. Is it still OK to operate like this? Were approaching the temps where I've set it to lock out the heat pump and switch over to the gas furnace (-7C) so it shouldn't be on much anymore.

Thanks.

[SBKold]

Hi all,
This is my first winter with a heat pump, so far I'm pretty happy with it.
Nobody warned me about the noise during a defrost shift though...

I've been pretty good about clearing the snow off it but we've had larger than normal snow amounts so far. There is probably 1-2" of snow inside the outdoor unit. Is it still OK to operate like this? Were approaching the temps where I've set it to lock out the heat pump and switch over to the gas furnace (-7C) so it shouldn't be on much anymore.

Thanks.

Im not a Infinty guy but some of my products have a quiet shift defrost mode that can be enabled.

It can pause the unit a minute or two then shift and its much quieter then.

Personally, I wouldnt think its good for the compressor to be under snow and ice.

Id turn mine off at that point.

But then again what do I know about snow in a unit?

[chrispitude]

Do you mean there is snow sitting on top of things inside the unit? That's okay, the designers knew that when the fan isn't running, snow would fall inside. But if you mean there is 1" to 2" of a snow/ice mixture crusted on the condenser coil, that's bad. The defrost cycles should be melting all the frozen stuff off your coil so it can do its job of absorbing heat from the outside air.

[Rabbler]

Yes, the snow is inside having fallen in through the top grill.
The fins on the coil are clear and it appears to be defrosting normally.

[hvaclarry]

sounds ok to me

[hvactalk123]

Yet another example of a crappy system design. If the design was right, no rain or snow or any other thing would get in there!!! The manufacturers all use open top, propeller fans with the motors exposed to the weather so that the motors and everything inside fail on a regular basis. Just to keep the service guys in business. Planned obsolescence good luck.

[jackintheboxtec]

Yet another example of a crappy system design. If the design was right, no rain or snow or any other thing would get in there!!! The manufacturers all use open top, propeller fans with the motors exposed to the weather so that the motors and everything inside fail on a regular basis. Just to keep the service guys in business. Planned obsolescence good luck.

What are you talking about? I don't think I have seen one

that is enclosed. My condenser fan motor has been working

fine in the rain and snow for 14 years now! probably

just jinked myself.