couch67
Well-known member
I ended up replacing a 2 pole thermostat in the garage that had failed (20 yrs old, contacts were sticking). Replaced with a Dimplex 2 pole, rating at 240v is 5200 watts. Its controlling 3 baseboards totaling 4000 watts.
What I'm seeing is the thermostat setpoint needs to be turned up quite a bit higher to get the temperature I want. Say to get the garage to 15C (60F), I need to set the t-stat to 22C (72F).
While double checking all my connections are tight, I noticed the inside of the box was warm, measured about 72F with an infrared thermometer. Its on a shared wall to the house (2x4 insulated), so I thought it could be heat from the house. So I turned off the heat in the garage for 30 min, taped off the hole and then measured the temperature in the cavity. It was back down to the garage temp, more or less.
Next thing I checked is the thermostat self-heating? Well, when its on and supplying power to the baseboards, The wires supplying the thermostat do get warmer - about 72F. Its 12-2 NMD90 throughout, and not a long run to the panel - about 20 feet. Current at the panel is 16 Amps, which jives with the baseboard wattage.
I know there would be a slight raise in wire temperature with 16 Amps, but was surprised this much. Anyone run into this before, and would this be considered normal for a t-stat installation? Turning the setpoint higher isnt a big deal, but just checking if I'm overlooking something unsafe.
What I'm seeing is the thermostat setpoint needs to be turned up quite a bit higher to get the temperature I want. Say to get the garage to 15C (60F), I need to set the t-stat to 22C (72F).
While double checking all my connections are tight, I noticed the inside of the box was warm, measured about 72F with an infrared thermometer. Its on a shared wall to the house (2x4 insulated), so I thought it could be heat from the house. So I turned off the heat in the garage for 30 min, taped off the hole and then measured the temperature in the cavity. It was back down to the garage temp, more or less.
Next thing I checked is the thermostat self-heating? Well, when its on and supplying power to the baseboards, The wires supplying the thermostat do get warmer - about 72F. Its 12-2 NMD90 throughout, and not a long run to the panel - about 20 feet. Current at the panel is 16 Amps, which jives with the baseboard wattage.
I know there would be a slight raise in wire temperature with 16 Amps, but was surprised this much. Anyone run into this before, and would this be considered normal for a t-stat installation? Turning the setpoint higher isnt a big deal, but just checking if I'm overlooking something unsafe.
