What to do if your heat pump ices up in the winter 

Absolutely thought my unit tore up in the winter and was not defrosting. Thank you so much!!!

Thank you for your video. I'm a 76 yr. lady and my heat pump was doing exactly what you described and now I know its normal. Not worrying now!!!!

The water hose with soft spray worked great for us. Thank you for sharing your knowledge sir!

Thank you! I had severe ice buildup after several days of cold and rain. I have an older heat pump unit. After spending some time outside with a hair dryer, your video inspired me to fire up the AC! (Totally counter-intuitive to this novice.) 20 minutes later, it was completely thawed.

Outstanding video!! Thank you. You saved me from totally freaking out when I felt cold air blowing during heat mode. My instinct was to shut off the unit and start emergency heat. Which I did. Big mistake! Found your video and understood that was the defrost mode and normal. Man you really helped. Thanks again.

Good explanation.

Thank you for the great explanation of how the defrost cycle works! I thought my unit was on fire until I realized it was steam. Searched RU-vid for an explanation and found your video. You saved me a service call from a local AC guy.

To prevent the fan blades from freezing up I sat a lawn table on top of the unit. The table top is about 4' in diameter so it has enough overhang to keep it dry. The legs are about 30" tall so the airflow is no problem. This is my second season using it with no problems.

Good to know about the fan not running periodically. I came home and noticed the fan not turning but the compressor humming away. It’s -7 celcius, I thought it froze stiff

Thank you. We woke to 64 degrees, this morning and the air handler blowing cold air. It was 25 degrees outside. I turned off the air handler and let the heat pump warm up with the outside temperature.

Best thing I did was building a shed roof over mine to keep rain and snow out of unit,, but this was best discription I've heard

This is all new to me on what you're saying on the defrost. I just got hit real hard with snow in This year, how can I prevent this from happening every year? Or is there really no real solution for this? Since I probably will get snow every year

Hey man. Cool video. And it was nice to meet you in Fla. Keep on fishing and making videos. Got back to N.C and I'm trouble shooting my em heat strip. Since it's 18 here.

That sucka be SWISHIN'! This guy is the BEST!

Good info, great video. I always enjoyed hearing the outdoor unit going in and out of defrost mode. I've got a 2.5 T heat pump that turns 30 years old in a couple of months. I'm thinking about changing it out. What would you recomend as a replacment that will last maybe 20 years??? Going to check out some more of your videos now. Thanks RG

I have a question. If the temp is below the cut off temperature outside and the unit freezes and when the temperature gets above the cut off, will the unit know not to run if the fan is now frozen and just hasn’t had a chance to ever defrost. Maybe I don’t understand my dual fuel propane TRANE XV 18

I use salt water in a pump up garden sprayer when freezing rain buildup happens to me.May not be the professional way but it has always worked.

I have two identical American Standard Side discharge HP units in my new home in NC near the ocean which were intstalled in February 2022. The one for the lower level of the house has frozen up badly since it was installed, with the fan continuing to run while it is frozen over whenever when temps near freezing and humidity is high. It doesn’t seem to affect the ability to keep the floor it services at 71° but that may be because it is using aux heat more than it should. The company which installed it has checked it three or four times now since it was installed saying freon, control board and the ambient and coil sensors are nominal and it switches to defrost mode as it should when they check it but they have never been here when it is still frozen over because daytime temps here eventually melt it. It happened most recently last week with temps in the high 30s I turned the unit off and defrosted the coil with the garden hose and called for service. Again it checked out OK. I have another routine service check coming up so do you have any suggestions I might pass along for things to check. Based on my limited knowledge of heat pumps but lots of computer programming experience I’m guessing it is some sort of miscommunication between the compressor unit and the aux heat controller in the blower unit. One tech, since retired from the company spend several hours consulting with tech support at America and discovered the installer had miss-wired the connection between the two.

You could build a shed roof over the outdoor unit, be sure to look at the clearances for the fan to work properly.

Do you think putting a Heat Trak mat under the heat pump would add some protection to the unit(s) during winter? Heat rises.. helps keep unit warm and aid in defrosting?

Thanks for the video! Is it normal that the fan takes for ever to kick on? Temperature here is 40 degrees.

I have a Honeywell thermostat and replaced it with a wifi version. Thank god I was easy easy to replace.. But I have noticed lately it hasn't make that loud swish noise. Which it has me thinking lately. Should it be doing it? The temp at night at times does get around 30ish.. My inside house is at 70f. Could it be in the thermostat settings? I do have it as heat pump or is show "compressor heat"

how do I activate it? is it automatic? my unit is freezing from frozen rain? I had to scrape it off every 2hrs. American standard AC/ heat pump 2019 .

Good advice Just moved into a new home, then it snowed with freezing rain my fan stop and started to make a loud noise, the aux light on thermostat click on, the noise continued, Should I turn the power off to the outside heat pump or just let it run???

Instead of manually defrosting the unit by spraying water on it.....why not spray automotive windshield washer fluid ( the blue stuff) over it to defrost?......I get it how customers can freak out applying water in a freezing atmosphere.....but this water you apply will ultimately freeze again even if it's not on the coil anymore. Don't know how much you would need but some sort of sprayer?

So i dont need to go into emergency heat? My thermostat is set to 72 but my inside temperature is like 64. I also its like 32 degrees outside and my unit had frost all in the inside and outside but not to where the fan wouldnt turn

Hey brother great video 👍 my outside heat pump until get about 3 inches of ice in the bottom of it around the compressor in the freezing months. The until get the normal frost on the outside coils and it goes through defrost like it should. Any idea why this is happening? I keep everything clean in and round the coils and unit. Thanks.

My outside unit is on, high noise when start, but I have been looking the fan for over 3 hours, and the fan doesn't turn on... 28° outside, no ice or snow... is a problem, or is it normal???

OK good info BUT what type of climate do you work in? How cold dose it normally get in the winter

Should I turn off my a/c unit on freezing temperatures an run the emergency heat as a preventive method?

Thank you this explains a lot !

Mine sides are iced up and inside enough to wear now the blades stopped moving. Do i put thermostat on emergency heat?

Tonight we’re are expecting a big ice storm. Would it work to cover the unit with cardboard, in a a frame shape? Or would that be to restrictive

Question how long should the system run before tge defrost mode kicks in?? Here in S Texas and combo of freezing rain and cold weather have my outside unit not working @30 mins some small buildup build-up ice on heat pump unit is a 4 ton Rudd 3 years old.... Ty..

In the situation I'm dealing with now I've never had an issue with my heat pump. During the summer had some issues with the AC or so I thought. The freon level was good. Issue seemed related to circuit board and defrost cycle. Replaced circuit board and AC worked fine. Now it's winter and on cold rainy or damp times the unit will not defrost there's just a build up of ice all over the unit. That hadn't happened in years past. Anyone have suggestions on cause? Thanks.

Got a heat pump?? Better have a back up plan for heating your house. I installed a wood heater not long after I had my new heat pump installed. When the weather gets stupid cold here in south Mississippi, the heat pump will sometimes take on a mind of its own. Not a problem. Just throw on another log. LOL!!!

❤thank you

My whole unit was shaking I was scared and turned it off we got freezing rain ain’t then snow the same night when we woke up it was good so I tried to turn heat on so I turned it off hopefully the temp will get better and melt the ice

Honest question: Why not just put a roof over the thing, keep the freezing rain away from it in the first place?

Usually I would say "call me". A sensor or the defrost board bad.

I start searching for videos on why my outside unit is Iced Up. and all I see is guys giving HVAC classes. Way too much talking, tell us exactly whats wrong with my unit

thank you, it work.

I smell the new equipment are a nightmare bcz i saw a computer with a bunch wires under rain ,snow, wind, etc in state with heavy winter and snow I think is a bad option

I wonder why heat pumps are even allowed in homes. They sound like they are a real pain in the butt in 5hr winter.

I put mine in an oversized dog house. Never had a problem.

My unit is pretty old. The sound it make from time to time can be best described as the sound of rushing air out of it. Sounds like a tire with a big leak. Is this something I should call someone about?

Sounds like allot of work going outside every-time it’s icy out to make sure there’s no ice on the fan blade. I don’t get it. I’m replacing my 28 year old ac unit this year because it’s time not because it died. It’s a Lennox and in 28 years I’ve never called for service or repair. I only change the filter twice a year and clean the coils. Everyone that has given me estimates is trying to sell me theses hight end units with a heat pump. So the researched begins. The money it costs you, it will take twenty years to get your money back that’s if it doesn’t break down. Repairs can cost up to 3 time more then a conventional unit. If you live somewhere we’re it snows you gotta worry about ice buildup and shovel around the unit so snow doesn’t buildup around the unit. And parts are harder to find. Ya I want one not.

Meh - just have the wife use her hair dryer to thaw the ice.....