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Do not like my home A/C control box Ignoramus2318 12-24-2007
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Posted by Ignoramus2318 on December 24, 2007, 6:38 pm
I have a wall mounted A/C control box. It has a few whizbang
programming/scheduling features, which we do not use. We just set
temperature, because someone is always home anyway.

This control has two AA batteries inside and when the batteries run
out of juice, it just dies.

To me, this is very bad, since if it happens when we go on vacation,
in winter, the house is going to freeze, resulting in expensive
damage.

I am really livid that someone could design a control like this,
actually.

In any case, I am looking for a replacement that is designed for
reliability, and not for selling to suckers.

Any suggestions? I am personally totally open to the old style round
controls that just have a temp dial and heat/cool switch. I would
further prefer something that is smart enough not to need a heat/cool
switch and would maintain temp inside a band.

i

Posted by Zyp on December 25, 2007, 5:01 pm
Ignoramus2318 wrote:
>> Just for fun, let's call it a thermostat.
>>
>> Calm down, lower your "lividity" and get over the fact that you
>> aren't in love with it.
>>
>> The "low battery" indicator comes on about 10 days before the
>> batteries actually die, so it isn't that big a deal. Many Honeywell
>> models are "power stealing" where the batteries are just there to
>> hold the programming, and the power from the wires going to the
>> furnace provides power to run the electronics. Batteries in these
>> last for several years.
>>
>> Round thermostats are still available and widely used. Your local
>> hardware store can help, or you can continue to rant about it on the
>> internet.
>
> Thanks. Regarding 10 day warning, I have to admit that I do not check
> it that often. I have looked at thermostats on various websites and it
> seems that many thermostats are of "dual power" type, which means
> battery plus wire power is used. I think that I will look for one of
> those.
>
> i

Ignoramus;

If you find that you do not have enough wires to provide power to an
electronic thermostat [why the batteries], you can try asking your HVAC
technition about a product called "add a wire" by Totaline. Not somthing
you can find at HD Store. But it might be an answer to your limited wiring
[if running a new cable is not in the future.]

--
Zyp



Posted by Noon-Air on December 25, 2007, 5:22 pm

>I dont trust our whiz bang thermostat either so I added a cheap simple
> regular thermost in the basement. Leave it set at minimum temp 50
> degrees......
>
> If whiz bang flakes out the backup in the basement will keep things
> from freezing.
>
> although its a good idea to yearly replace all batteries, smoke
> detectors, thermostat, emergency flashlights etc.
>
> do it every spring when time change is spring forward

If it had been done right in the first place, it wouldn't be an issue. There
are now Honeywell controls with *all* of the bells and whistles that only
need 3 wires to connect the head unit on the wall to the actual control box
at the furnace or air handler. The only thing is that its only available
through your local dealer.



Posted by Dave on December 26, 2007, 9:28 am

> hall...@aol.com wrote:
> > I dont trust our whiz bang thermostat either so I added a cheap simple
> > regular thermost in the basement. Leave it set at minimum temp 50
> > degrees......
>
> > If whiz bang flakes out the backup in the basement will keep things
> > from freezing.
>
> > although its a good idea to yearly replace all batteries, smoke
> > detectors, thermostat, emergency flashlights etc.
>
> > do it every spring when time change is spring forward
>
> Many battery operated thermostats have an emergency lock on at 55ºF
> When the battery gets so low it can no longer display the LO battery
> signal that it has been displaying for 2 months. Also some thermostats
> will sound a peep from time to time to attract your attention to the
> lo battery display. Another old fashioned alternative is to keep your
> woman at home! She will bitch and nag constantly if it gets too cold or
> too hot. In fact she will gladly provide this service just at the
> thought of having to stay home. ;-) Ummm.. I think the W/R 9400 cheapo
> does all of the above..


I also was going to mention the fact that many electronic models have
a failsafe mode where a mechanical switch closes for heat at 45 or
so. I'd also wonder why anyone would be so annoyed at having to
change the batteries. Perhaps the unit in question uses too much
power compared to the typical electronic thermostat today? The
batteries in mine can last for several years and give weeks, if not
months worth of warning to replace.

In any case, if all that is wanted is a mechanical, they are still
available.

Other option!


Move house.



Posted by =?ISO-8859-15?Q?Tekkie=AE?= on December 26, 2007, 8:44 pm
Don Ocean posted for all of us...

> hallerb@aol.com wrote:
> > I dont trust our whiz bang thermostat either so I added a cheap simple
> > regular thermost in the basement. Leave it set at minimum temp 50
> > degrees......
> >=20
> > If whiz bang flakes out the backup in the basement will keep things
> > from freezing.
> >=20
> > although its a good idea to yearly replace all batteries, smoke
> > detectors, thermostat, emergency flashlights etc.
> >=20
> > do it every spring when time change is spring forward
>=20
> Many battery operated thermostats have an emergency lock on at 55=BAF
> When the battery gets so low it can no longer display the LO battery=20
> signal that it has been displaying for 2 months. Also some thermostats
> will sound a peep from time to time to attract your attention to the
> lo battery display. Another old fashioned alternative is to keep your=20
> woman at home! She will bitch and nag constantly if it gets too cold or=
=20
> too hot. In fact she will gladly provide this service just at the=20
> thought of having to stay home. ;-) Ummm.. I think the W/R 9400 cheapo=
=20
> does all of the above..
>=20
What keeps da wimmin at home? Dang i don't want that! I want all of em ou=
t=20
workin da streets wear day belong.
--=20
Tekkie Don't bother to thank me, I do this as a public service.

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