Help with Thermostat! Gah.

[papp101]

Hey guys. Long time lurker, first time poster.

I wired a 5000w farenheit heater from Northern tool the other day. Didn't have enough room in the pipe to fit 10ga, so ended up having to jumper it down to fit the amps requirement of my circuit. Oh well, better some heat than no heat!

However, here is the issue. I wanted to run mine on a schedule that will turn on every morning from 4:30 to 7:30 until I leave for work. I wired in a 24v thermostat controlled relay that kicks on and off the 240v circuit. The relay works flawlessy.

When I tried to program my Honeywell thermostat, I wanted to set the schedule for 4:30 to 7:30 and then have it turn off. I was thinking I could just set the temp to 0 degrees for the rest of the time. However, the lowest temp I can set it for is 41!!! In MN, that means it will be running 24/7 for almost 3 months. Not what I'm looking for.

So, here is a short take on my wiring. I'd like suggestions that are less than 20$ if possible.

240v line ---- Relay ------Heater
T-stat 24v------|

Ideas?

Thank you in advance,
Phil

 

[hardhat]

Need a low temp tstat

 

[wedge40]

Not sure if this would work, but why not set the thermostat to some temp and put the heater on a timer that only comes on between 4:30 and 7:30.

Wedge

 

[papp101]

Hardhat: Thank for the heads up! I'll look into it!

Wedge40: We're on the same page - that was my original idea, but I was discouraged when I saw 240 v timers were 40-100$.

 

[rlitman]

You could get a 120V timer, and have it power a 120V relay that switches the 24V thermostat line in series with the thermostat.