BMPlus 5000 w/ Amana 2-stage HP / 2-stage Furnace

[Mr. T]

Just had an Amana 16 SEER 2-stage heat pump with a 2-stage 96% propane furnace installed. 4 zones using the BMPlus 5000 and Ultra-Zone dampers.

I'm not sure the system is operating correctly but need to understand what it's supposed to do before I call the installer back to check it out.

The zone board is set for heat pump, dual fuel, "O" type reversing valve, 50% rule is on and Staging is set to OAS with a changeover temp of 35 degrees.

If I understand the manual correctly, it doesn't sound like the heat pump will ever go to 2nd stage because of using the OAS for dual-fuel changeover.

Is that correct? If not, what conditions will kick the HP into 2nd stage?

Likewise, when the OAS locks out the HP and it goes into fossil fuel mode, I assume it starts on 1st stage. If so, what conditions causes the furnace to go to 2nd stage?

(I've got another question as to whether the BMPlus 5000 is the right zone controller or not since my system is ComfortNet compatible, but I'll post that in a separate thread...)

Thanks

[Erik W.]

The second stage on your heat pump defaults to a 30 minute run time, unless the outdoor air drops below the chosen set point. As for your furnace it will start in first stage but as for second stage that would be controlled by the furnace itself and you would have to reference your furnace information on the exact amount of time between stages for your particular furnace.

Erik Wnoroski
EWC Controls, Inc.
385 State Route 33
Englishtown, NJ 07726
800-446-3110 ext. 483

[Mr. T]

Thanks for the quick answer - I see now in the manual where it says that Y2 defaults to a 30 minute delay when OAS is chosen.

I'll check my furnace manual to see how it handles staging.

But it may all be moot, as I think I'm going to have the installer replace the BMPlus 5000 with the UT-3000 instead so I can take full advantage of the ComfortNet capabilities of the system...