Pissed off at th thermostat

[Ignoramus28269]

Recently, one day before we had to go on vacation, our house thermostat quietly stopped telling the furnace to turn on and quietly displayed a LOW BATTERY warning. We noticed it because it started getting cold. A change of battery took care of it.

I am mad as hell. What if such a thing happened while we were on vacation? The house would freeze! (we are in northern IL) And then pipes would burst!

So.

My question is, are there replacement thermostats that are more reliable than that POS. Perhaps a thermostat with a solar battery built in (like my watch), or some such thing.

I want my house to be more proofed for things like temporary power outages, etc, in case we are not around.

Any ideas will be appreciated.

i

[Jonathan Kamens]

Lighten up and change your thermostat's battery once a year.

[Joe Bobst]

Do what everyone else does with these thermostats - put in new batteries when Daylight Saving time rolls around. Why get all worked up about something that is your own responsibility? You can get control systems that are fail-safe and fool proof, but unless you have a seven figure income they may be priced beyond your budget. Odds are your batteries had gone way beyond their stated effective life, so if you tend to be forgetful, get the highest quality replacements on the market. Maybe a warning tag on your furnace filter compartment would be helpful for next year. HTH

Joe

[m Ransley]

How would a power outage affect you , No Heat right, So get an automatic backup generator, And if you are on vacation and your furnace breaks down , then what. I guess you shouldnt go on vacation in winter unless someone can check on your house. But they sell freeze alarms that will call a # if it gets below 42, and dont forget the smoke alarm batteries

[Doug]

Ignoramus28269 wrote in news:bs9qob $4n5$ [e-mail]:

There are thermostats that are "power stealing". They get their power from the furnace. Honeywell T8600, for example:

It also looks like they have a T8601 that can be wired directly to an AC power source. There may also be other options out there.

Changing the batteries regularly is probably a less expensive and just as reliable option.

You're going to need an automatic standby generator and a reliable fuel source (or one amazing UPS and a huge bank of batteries). The generators start at around $3000 + installation and go up from there.

Doug

[kjpro]

Oh Shit!!

You mean there is a filter, to be changed??

LOL

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[John Hines]

The old round reliable one?

You could set a standard thermostat, at a lower temp, so that it would only kick on in the event the main one failed.

[Phisherman]

It's always a good idea to have someone check up on your house while away. We have someone water the plants and feed the fish once a week. A quick check covers a host of emergency situations. Having trusted neighbors makes a good place to live.

[Michael Daly]

Read the fine print in your insurance too. Some policies require periodic visits while you're away; ours requires one every 24h.

Mike

[Ignoramus28269]

Thanks. I am not looking to buy a standby generator, at this point, as I already have a generator-like solution that works for me (a truck with a big alternator and a UPS that's wired to convert 12V to 125V).

What I meant is, apparently some devices that are essential for proper functioning of the home are not really as reliable as they should be. (and most could be made much more reliable by making a few inexpensive alterations).

The thermostat that can fail without warning where in fact a few $$ would get it a small solar recharger, or one like you mentioned with a power stealing mode, is one such example.

It could ruin my house during our absence.

i

[Punch]

news:bs9qob

now if the thing beep'd to tell you it was low/dead you would be posting here telling us this damn thermostat won't shut up ........

[m Ransley]

and so could any component on your heating system fail and " ruin " your place.

[Bert Hyman]

[e-mail] (Ignoramus28269) wrote in news:bs9qob$4n5$ [e-mail]:

Sure. Here's the one you want:

[jtees4]

I could be wrong, but I thought most thermostats stay at a certain temp when the batteries go out...maybe 55....cold yes, but won't break anything.

[cwe]

I have a heat thermostat wired in parallel with the digital thermostat, and a AC thermostat in series with it. This way if the temperature goes above 24C the furnace will shut down (provided it's a control fault), or below 10C the furnace will fire up.

Also, when we go away for more than a few days I shut off the pump, and drain the pressure system. I then throw a couple thick blankets over the pump and pressure tank. Down in the basement, it'd take a couple of weeks to freeze anyways. (Basement is usually the last place to freeze up)

-- Charlie

[David W.]

"Punch" wrote in news:%Y1Gb.7254$d%1.1600823 @news20.bellglobal.com:

And that still doesn't help when it starts beeping the day after you've left, when the rechargable battery fails because it has never been replaced, or the thermostat just plain fails.

All of the programmable/setback thermostats I've seen were powered from the furnace control 24V power, with a 9V battery to save the clock and settings through a power outage. I'd never buy (or keep) one that was battery only, for just the situation the OP described.

[Eric Tonks]

If you read your house insurance policy, you will most likely find a clause that says you MUST have the house checked at least once every 48 or 72 hours to ensure that there are no leaks and that the heat is still running. If you don't have the house checked by someone, and you cannot prove you did, the insurance company will walk away from you, refusing to pay any claims if there is any damage caused by the things that they say must be checked.

[George E. Cawthon]

Work for a battery manufacturer do you. I just replaced my thermostat battery when a problem with my furnace appeared. The battery had no affect on the problem and was still functioning. But it was 28 months old. Replaced the battery in my battery operated smoke dector last week thinking the tweet came from it. Nope it was a CO monitor I forgot about, but left the new battery in the smoke detctor anyway. The old battery was dated 01/24/01. The previous battery last well over 2 years also. Several years ago I started putting a piece of masking tape on all batteries with the replacement date, so I would have some idea how long they lasted. Well, know I know. Changing ever year is a waste of time, and changing every 6 months is a waste of resources.

If the guy is worried, he should change the batteries >

[George E. Cawthon]

I'd dump that insurance and buy something reasonable. More reasonable insurance isn't sold for your area? Then, there are probably all sorts of idiotic regulations and I would move to a state that has a least some intelligent legislators.

[George E. Cawthon]