fourbyford
Well-known member
We've been in our house for a few years now... basic forced air heat in the main portion of the house with a "programmable" thermostat. Long story short, this thing has a mind of it's own. It is using the "default" setbacks... heat (70°) from 6 - 8 am... drop to 62°... heat to 70° for 2 hours in the evening (6 - 8?? ...dont remember the times)... back down to 62° overnight. (when we first moved in I created a custom program but it was very similar to the default so, to simplify my life, I've just gone with the default program)
Anyways... to the problem... the furnace runs intermittently because of the thermostat.
A few mornings, the furnace will come on at 6, heat until reaching 70°, then shut down. Most times, it comes on at 7 (or so), heats for a few minutes, and then shuts down. Sometimes it will come back on shortly and heat to 70°... sometimes not. I've changed the batteries... twice... looked at the contacts... can't see any obvious problems. I want to replace it but realize that new thermostats can be expensive. I dont mind laying out the cash but, when I do, I want to make sure the one I buy will actually work.
In my previous house, I bought a non-programable thermostat... it worked ok as long as the heat was set to at least 68 degrees... any lower and the furnace would continually cycle on and off. I like the house cool when I sleep... that wasn't possible with that thermostat. (In fact, I had 2 of a similar type... thought the first one was defective so I replaced it with the same result)
In the current house, I simply want a thermostat that works. We're home pretty much all-day every-day... I dont need to control the furnace with my cell phone... not at all interested in the "internet of things"... dont mind doing the "set-backs" myself... just want a thermostat that works. If I could find one, I'd probably install an older one that contained the vial of mercury... although even owning one of those now is probably a federal offense ??
Sorry for the long post... just trying to get something that works!
Anyways... to the problem... the furnace runs intermittently because of the thermostat.
A few mornings, the furnace will come on at 6, heat until reaching 70°, then shut down. Most times, it comes on at 7 (or so), heats for a few minutes, and then shuts down. Sometimes it will come back on shortly and heat to 70°... sometimes not. I've changed the batteries... twice... looked at the contacts... can't see any obvious problems. I want to replace it but realize that new thermostats can be expensive. I dont mind laying out the cash but, when I do, I want to make sure the one I buy will actually work.
In my previous house, I bought a non-programable thermostat... it worked ok as long as the heat was set to at least 68 degrees... any lower and the furnace would continually cycle on and off. I like the house cool when I sleep... that wasn't possible with that thermostat. (In fact, I had 2 of a similar type... thought the first one was defective so I replaced it with the same result)
In the current house, I simply want a thermostat that works. We're home pretty much all-day every-day... I dont need to control the furnace with my cell phone... not at all interested in the "internet of things"... dont mind doing the "set-backs" myself... just want a thermostat that works. If I could find one, I'd probably install an older one that contained the vial of mercury... although even owning one of those now is probably a federal offense ??
Sorry for the long post... just trying to get something that works!
