Derek Cole from One Hour Heating and Air explains why heat pumps steam and smell during defrost cycles. Most heating failures come from skipped maintenance and dirt buildup. Test your system now before temperatures hit the 30s, and call 910-534-4462 for 24/7 emergency service.
Rich, Derek Cole is in the studio with us this morning from One Hour Heating and Air. It's about time to turn on the heat, Derek.
It is.
I noticed this morning, I thought, oh, it's a little cold, gonna have to turn the heat on.
It is. We've gotten a few calls already about the, uh, units not heating, and probably the most common thing is, what's the burning smell? Is my unit on fire? And why is it on fire outside with the steam?
Yeah, what's with that?
Uh, so you have to explain it to them. If you have a heat pump, it has to go in what's called a defrost cycle. So it's going to burn off that frost that's on the outdoor unit. So you see that steam when it's a nice 30-degree morning like this morning. Right. So that's completely normal. You should get a light little frost on that heat pump. Nothing like ice, just frost. So when it goes in defrost cycle, it's going to burn that off and the steam will rise.
I always look into the top of the heat pump outside And you know, if there's pine needles on top of the thing, or if it's pouring rain and I'm looking into it like, boy, are you okay in there? These things seem to be pretty weather resistant.
Yeah, it's made for it. It's made for it. It's completely normal. I mean, if you want to run up the temp inside to 68, 70 degrees, I mean, it could take it.
It's fine.
Okay, so what's the most common problem people have with their heat not working this time of the year?
Uh, it's maintenance. Maintenance goes back to dirt. Uh, I think I talked about that before, dirt in the system. So if you don't run that unit for— what's been like 9 months since we needed heating, right? So if you wait that long before you even test it out and it's 30 degrees outside and the first time you run it, there's a chance it might not work, uh, because it hadn't been tested and cleaned and maintenance and checked. And so that's probably the biggest problem.
So we're going to see weather tomorrow in the 60s and close to 70 on Thanksgiving Day, but then it drops back down in the 50s. Perhaps not wait until it's 30 degrees before you turn your heat on. Maybe go ahead and test that bad boy out now, so if there is a problem, you're not freezing until the guys can get over there.
And what about when we're in the holidays? What if it were going to get really cold and it's, you know, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day or New Year's Day? Can I still call?
Absolutely, 24/7. We've come out in the snow, Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving afternoon, whatever the customer needs, we're there. You can call us anytime.
How can people get a hold of you?
Uh, our phone number is 910-534-4462, or Facebook, or online at 1houraircarolinas.com. Whichever way you're comfortable, we'll respond.
1 Hour Air Carolinas, you put that into Google, they'll pop right out.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Derek, have a Happy Thanksgiving.
You too, have a great holiday.
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