Heat Pumps and Electric Heating - Heat not blowing warm air

I bought a new home in Sept. 08 and the heat was O.K. Temp coming out of the vents was 100 deg. It really didn't keep the whole house warm enough, I had to use my woodstove and elec. heaters. After it warmed up in March we didn't need the heat untill the other night when temp's dipped. The unit kept running and blowing cool air. Does anyone have any ideas?

What type of heating system exists in the home?

The only info I can get from the unit is it's a Carrier High Efficiency. All the metal info tags on it are well faded and I can't read the serial or model numbers. It has both air and heat.

Is it a heat pump with auxillary heat strips or a gas (propane or natural gas) furnace with AC? Need more information to proceed.

It must be a heat pump with strips not gas. The whole unit sits outside my house. I know some Heat/AC's have two units one outside and one in the attic or garage, It's heat and air.

You said the whole unit sits outside? so it should have ductwork going inyo the house? Before you look further you should turn power off not knowing what you may find. Have you looked inside unit? Is there a filter? a belt drive motor? You may be able to find a mod# inside main control cabinet.

I took the top off the unit and there are four compartments, the two closest to the house are the intake and the blower. The other two house the compressor and fan in one and the wiring in the other. In between the intake side and blower side there is a radiator like device I suppose gets cold for the A/C, It was filthy, see photo. I'm assuming the heating element is under the blower. There are two breaker boxes alongside the unit, the first one has two breakers, one a 30amp breaker labeled 5kw heaters the second a 40amp labeled heat pump. The second box has a single breaker, 30amp labeled 5kw heaters. I gave the unit a good cleaning and turned on the power then ran the heat. The outside temp was 60deg. inside it was 62deg. I used a meat thermometer in the floorvents and got a reading of 80deg.
So now I'm wondering, whats the normal temp a heat unit should blow? Before I got a reading of 100deg. While I'm asking, How cold should an AC blow? Maybe the unit was overheating? I did notice that the air is moving with more force now that it's been cleaned. Hopefully we may have solved my problem, what do you think? Well, I guess I can't add my photos. When I click on insert image it asks me to enter the URL of my image. Their not on a URL there on my hard drive. Oh well.

I'm not sure on air-to air heat pump specs -but 80 does not sound like very good, or very logical, output temp, considering you have relatively warm outside air temp. 80* air blowing would give you windchill, and feel uncomfortable in the house.

I'd presume you have some problem.

If everything is clean now, maybe you are low on refrigerant or have a reversing valve that partially opens?

I'm just throwing stuff out there, as ideas, in case nobody answers soon. I'll be learning more about such heat pumps in near future myself as recently purchased duplex has them.

Only call I had, so far to date, is briefly looking one over, and to replace the capacitor on blower motor to get it up and running again. Other than that, I have no history with these. With water to air heat pumps, I do.

O.K. your right I have some problem. I just turned on the heat and the blower is running, temp out of the vent is 70* . I went out to check the unit and the fan isn't running????? Anyone got a clue cause I sure don't. Inside temp is 62*. At least it's not going below 40* tonight. I'll start a fire.

I have no history with these. With water to air heat pumps, I do.

Ec, same thing. Except water to air will not fluctuate capacity depending on outdoor ambient. Also air to air gets dirty condenser coil, condenser fan issues, etc.

This unit needs a service tech. Probably low charge. Which fan isn't running?

The blower that circulates air throughout the house is blowing, the huge fan in the ac/heat unit is not. What do you mean by "Probably low Charge"? Only the air needs charging right? I'm having problems with heat.

Only the air needs charging right?

You have a heat pump. A/C and Heat are provided by the same unit.

Carrier is very good at lockout circuits. Meaning if the unit is low on charge it will not run. When the unit sees that the compressor "should" be running and is not due to a safety switch, the unit will not allow the compressor to start until the situation is resolved.

You are not in DIY land. This unit needs a service tech with gauges etc..

Information provided thus far indicates (to me) a problem with the sealed refrigeration system. Which is not DIY.

As stated in an earlier post, there maybe a model, serial sticker inside of the electrical box. Would help with proper charge, ratings, etc..

Thanks Jarredsdad, I didn't realize that the compressor "should" be running while trying to run the heat. I thought the compressor only ran for air. I checked inside for the info you requested and there was only a wiring diagram sticker with no info. Thank you Carrier for "Lockout curcuits". LOL

Thank you Carrier for "Lockout curcuits". LOL

Car a/c's often utilize this also, to stop the compressor when pressure is low. No sense trying to work compressor with nothing in it.

And with belt-driven car compressors, it may look like the compressor is always running, since the pulley is always turning. But unless the pressure switch says it has pressure, only then will the compressors clutch engage. Some people misdiagnose, presumbing that if the compressor is not engaging, it must be shot. When here it is only low on freon.