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thermostat that reduces on/off switching frequency?

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thermostat that reduces on/off switching frequency? peter 12-26-2007
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Posted by peter on December 26, 2007, 8:27 pm
I have a thermostat/furnace combination that results in a hyper system --
sometimes the furnace turns on for a minute or less, turns off for a minute
or less, etc. This gets annoying.

I would like to reduce the frequency of switching on and off. In other
words, if it turns on, stay on longer. When it turns off, stay off longer.
This may results in more temperature fluctuation, which is ok.

So, is there a thermostat that allows me to control either: minimum on/off
duration or the on-temperature and off-temperature independently?

My temporary hack is to cover the thermostat with a box. This delays the
temperature change at the thermostat and lengthens the on/off cycle
duration. But I'd rather not have a box on the thermostat.

The current thermostat is a honeywell low voltage system, bought some 10
years ago.



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Posted by CJT on December 26, 2007, 8:35 pm
peter wrote:

> I have a thermostat/furnace combination that results in a hyper system --
> sometimes the furnace turns on for a minute or less, turns off for a minute
> or less, etc. This gets annoying.
>
> I would like to reduce the frequency of switching on and off. In other
> words, if it turns on, stay on longer. When it turns off, stay off longer.
> This may results in more temperature fluctuation, which is ok.
>
> So, is there a thermostat that allows me to control either: minimum on/off
> duration or the on-temperature and off-temperature independently?
>
> My temporary hack is to cover the thermostat with a box. This delays the
> temperature change at the thermostat and lengthens the on/off cycle
> duration. But I'd rather not have a box on the thermostat.
>
> The current thermostat is a honeywell low voltage system, bought some 10
> years ago.
>
>
It might be defective. They shouldn't short-cycle like that.

But there is one thing you can check -- is there solid wall and
insulation behind the thermostat on which it is mounted? If not, plug
up any holes (as the installation instructions, if you still have them,
tell you to do).

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.

Posted by on December 27, 2007, 7:05 am
>peter wrote:

>> My temporary hack is to cover the thermostat with a box. This delays the
>> temperature change at the thermostat and lengthens the on/off cycle
>> duration. But I'd rather not have a box on the thermostat.
>
>But there is one thing you can check -- is there solid wall and
>insulation behind the thermostat on which it is mounted? If not, plug
>up any holes...

And plug some holes in the thermostat enclosure to make it more like a box?

Nick


Posted by Bob on December 26, 2007, 9:05 pm
peter wrote:
> I have a thermostat/furnace combination that results in a hyper system --
> sometimes the furnace turns on for a minute or less, turns off for a minute
> or less, etc. This gets annoying.

It could be a defective or misadjusted thermostat. Some mechanical
thermostats have a heat anticipation feature which must be set once for
the current going through the thermostat. If it's not set properly, the
thermostat may show the symptoms you described. Some modern thermostats
have electronics that avoid short cycles.

Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on December 26, 2007, 9:34 pm

>I have a thermostat/furnace combination that results in a hyper system --
>sometimes the furnace turns on for a minute or less, turns off for a minute
>or less, etc. This gets annoying.
>
> I would like to reduce the frequency of switching on and off. In other
> words, if it turns on, stay on longer. When it turns off, stay off longer.
> This may results in more temperature fluctuation, which is ok.
>
> So, is there a thermostat that allows me to control either: minimum on/off
> duration or the on-temperature and off-temperature independently?

It should function much better than that. You can tinker with the
anticipator if it can be adjusted, but you may do as well just replacing it
with a new one with other features you may want, such as programmability.
Does it short cycle if you were to turn the thermostat up say, four or more
degrees? Or only when near the setting you have?

It is also possible there is a problem with the limit switches in the
heater. It may cut out on the high limit well before it should. The only
way to know is to watch a full cycle to see what is happening. The burner
should be coming on, then once a certain temperature is reached, the blower
should come on and stay on as long as the thermostat calls for heat.



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