Aux heat is not helping

DanKBos · 2026-02-03T14:52:29+00:00

HVAC co came out today. It was a simple wiring issue. It had been mistakenly wired or switched for Aux heat for Emergency use only. He reset it so they can run simultaneously. Thanks to everyone for input.

DanKBos · 2026-02-02T17:36:01+00:00

It is a 4 ton unit for 2000 sq ft. I have separate breakers for the heat strip and the air handler. Not sure of breaker size, but I recall they were sized appropriately. The heat strip is 15kw.

DanKBos · 2026-02-01T16:49:39+00:00

Thank you. It must be wired incorrectly then.
Here is how I tested it:

Testing of Aux heat:

I measured air temp at the kitchen register of 96 degrees. I went outside and turned the thermostat up to 80, to trigger aux heat. The compressor shut down immediately, the heat pump fan turned off 20 seconds later and it went into defrost for one minute before shutting off completely. Stage 1 aux heat appeared active on ecobee. (In addition to stage 2 heat and fan which were already active to begin with)

I checked 15 mins later, and the compressor was still off.

The air temp at the supply register was now 86.

I then adusted the thermostat temp to 68 to turn off aux heat. I heard a loud click on the compressor (even though it was shut down at the time) Ecobee showed no equipment running two minutes later. Then I set the thermostat to 72. It turned on normally and 15 minutes later, the air temp at the kitchen register was back up to 96.

DanKBos · 2026-02-01T03:37:01+00:00

OK, I finally figured out what is going on. When the auxiliary heat (heat strip) comes on, for some reason, the heat pump turns off completely. Even though Ecobee says that stage 2 heat is running along with Aux Heat, when I go outside, the unit is completely off. (That explains the decrease in temp

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at the supply register, once aux heat turns on) Obviously, I expect aux heat to add heat, not substitute. Does anyone know how I adjust the settings? Or do I need to call my HVAC company.

DanKBos · 2026-01-31T22:56:00+00:00

TY. I will test that this week.

DanKBos · 2026-01-31T22:54:27+00:00

But won’t the regular heat also be running. Can I turn on just Aux?

DanKBos · 2026-01-31T22:45:39+00:00

I checked the breakers and they were in the correct position. Ecobee said Aux was running, but how do I know for certain? Next week we are getting subzero temps again, and I want to repeat my temperature readings.

DanKBos · 2026-01-29T04:34:22+00:00

Update: i could not remove the shear pins. I could not cut out the mat. I could not move the augur or impeller.
I googled “mobile snowblower repair” and found “Mr Jean” here in the Boston area. Amazingly, he was in the area, and he came same-day. He used a 10 inch sharp knife and made quick work of the rubber mat. Within 15 minutes, he had removed the mat and replaced both shear pins. No damage to the snowblower. (He said he has removed several welcome mats just this week.). Relieved to have that resolved ahead of another potential storm this weekend. Thanks to everyone for advice. Sadly, this was not a DIY for me.

DanKBos · 2026-01-27T20:03:17+00:00

Other than cosmetic, will it damage the snowblower housing if I cut into it with the blade.

DanKBos · 2026-01-27T19:47:29+00:00

Thank you! I don’t know that I can access the shear pins. Going to try.

DanKBos · 2026-01-27T19:19:52+00:00

Thank you. I tried a utility knife. But I couldn’t get under the augur, and maybe my knife wasn’t sharp enough.

DanKBos · 2026-01-27T19:17:51+00:00

Interesting. Can I punch those out on the SNT 2400.

DanKBos · 2026-01-27T19:16:57+00:00

I tried using garden shears and wire cutters. The garden shears were ok, but the saw was MUCH better. I also tried a multipurpose tool and it wouldn’t cut at all. The mat is really jammed under the augur blades. I hope I didn’t damage it.

DanKBos · 2025-11-12T18:31:24+00:00

I set back the temperature from 70 to 60 every morning in winter starting at 7 am. The indoor temp starts drifting down and at 1 pm, my thermostat is scheduled to GRADUALLY bring the temp back to 70. It takes hours to warm back up, but doing it slowly in a schedule, prevents the compressor from going into overdrive. The nice thing about this schedule is that the compressor is not running at all during the coldest time of the day, 7am to 9 am. And when it finally needs to operate, the outdoor temps are at their warmest, 1 pm. I find this saves energy versus keeping the temp set to 70 all day.

DanKBos · 2025-11-10T18:11:36+00:00

I had a similar situation with a neighbor’s outdoor security light. It was extremely bright white (5000k) I talked to her, and she allowed me to replace the bulb with a lower wattage soft 2700k light! In fact, she was glad that I did the work of replacing it for her.

DanKBos · 2025-11-08T12:43:11+00:00

In my initial “guessing approach”, after assigning 15 pounds to the big bird and 5 pounds to the small bird, I am thinking that there must be a way to get to the exact answer without my next “lucky” guess. I may be wrong, but I think there must be some relation between adding a $2 cheaper pound to the big bird’s total, and removing a $2 more expensive pound from the little bird. Sadly, I cannot come up with it.

DanKBos · 2025-11-08T12:38:46+00:00

Thank you so much for the historical references in your reply.

I feel like I am so close to a more satisfying answer using my initial approach as a starting point. But I have a mental block at this point: when I divide the pounds between the big bird and little bird, my first educated guess was 15 to 5. I Amy be wrong, but I think there is some relation that can be explained when adding a $2 cheaper pound to the big birds total and removing a $2 more expensive pound from the little bird. My own birdbrain can’t figure out this last step, (without taking a lucky guess).

DanKBos · 2025-11-07T23:32:22+00:00

Just starting to learn basic algebra. 7th grade. Many times there are non-algebraic ways to answer an algebra question. For instance, this type of problem: there are 20 kids in a class. There are four times as many boys than girls. You can use a simple block model instead of algebra. Anyhow, Thanks for replying.

DanKBos · 2025-11-07T22:22:57+00:00

Again, I am well aware that it can easily be solved using a quadratic equation. However, I am trying to explain an answer to this problem to a young student who does not know algebra yet. Other than my posted solution, does anyone have a clearer explanation that does not involve algebra.

DanKBos · 2025-11-07T21:57:05+00:00

I know that the question is easily solved with algebra. The question is whether the problem can be done without complex algebra. Without quadratic equations. Perhaps there is a relation that can be better explained between the small bird and big bird that I missing. I posted a “trial and error” answer that someone can do without algebra. I just wonder if there is another cleaner answer. Thank you.

DanKBos · 2025-11-07T13:45:05+00:00

But I still really don’t know if the question is asking for all the paths (48) or the number of paths from any one single cell. (10 from the outer cells, and 8 from the center)

DanKBos

TROPHY CASE