cold home

[eric]

I have a 2001 16X80 Friendship home. I live in SD and to keep this place somewhere close to 70 degrees my furnace run all the time. I have contacted the manufacture and they seem to be very little help in trying to figure out why it runs all the time and why it is cold most of the time. On Febuary 9th I wrote down when it kicked on and off in a 3 hour period it ran 55 total minutes during that period kicking on and off 6 times. I have plastic over the 3 windows in the living room to top it off. My funace is 56000 BTU which I think is smaller than it should be, the insulation in the roof is R25, walls R19, and floor R14. Is that normal for a funace to run that much and is that normal type of insulation for the walls floor and ceiling?? I'm about broke trying to heat this place.

[Eugene]

Hi Eric. Almost sounds like your airflow is not enough to keep up with the heat loss.
Are the ducts under your home straight, well insulated, not leaking? I noticed almost all A/C ducts are "suspended" by strapping material attached to the frame. This always leads to the "roller coaster" effect of the ducts. I did something different. I ran all my ducts on 6" thick styrofoam runners that completely support the ducts from the ground. This way no duct can become kinked or restricted. This keeps airflow at a maximum. If after you're sure that air flow is good in all rooms, it's time to look at the unit itself. Hope this helps.

[rmurray]

You have not mentioned the outside temperature when you did your experiment..Some of us picture very cold when you mention SD..

Running 1/3 of the time does not seem unusual when the outside temp is very low..

All manufactured homes have some sort of vent system that is required by HUD...They are so tight that air has to be exchanged with the outside air..If I remember correctly the air is fully changed about once every 2 or 3 hours..Some homes have mechanical systems that are always on..usually roof vents that might rotate with the wind..Other homes have fans systems built in and few even have on and off switches..Some of the cheapest homes have nothing more than a hole in the wall...Check you owners manual for info...or call the factory that built the home and ask about yours...

The other common problem is skirting...wind under the home can cause lots of heat loss...All skirting has to be vented...but these vents can be covered or closed in the winter months....

Last culprit for large heat loss is a fireplace..If the flue is left open..large amounts of room air escape up the chimney..

[chllcrb]

Not sure about your area but some of the Nordyne furnaces around 2001 had some kind of faulty switch that was recalled due to the fact that it allow the unit to kick on and off to much. If you have a Nordyne furnace you might try to contact them with your furance serial number to see it that is one of the ones that they had a recall on.

[eric]

When I did my experiment it was right around 0 degrees out side. I just talked to my neighbor today and he has a 95 Friendship and he keeps his thermostate right in the 68-70 area and his bill last month for a 95 with no plastic on any of the windows was 224.00 mine was 217.00 and I have a 2001 home???? Don't sound right to me does it anyone else??

[Eugene]

Have you checked your ducts
or any of the things Mr. Murray suggested? I live in FL and I had R-30,19,19 installed in my home. If I was living in your neck of the woods, I would have maxed everything. You are gong to have to crawl and put in a little work to make your system is the best it can be. Please keep us posted......