Our thermostat is one of those very old ones w/ a dial and needle. It's not at all accurate (I have to put it on 75 to get 65 etc.) And I'm not really sure that it reads the temperature correctly either. How difficult is it to put in a new thermostat? What kind should I put in if I do it myself? I would like to keep this project as low cost as possable. Our house is small and one story, if that makes any difference. Thanks for any info you can give me. ~Kat
"help is on the way" ~John Kerry
I forgot to add, we do not have a/c at this time but may be getting a/c in the late spring.
~Kat
"help is on the way" ~John Kerry
"Jarkat2002" wrote
If John Kerry told you help is on the way, then just wait for him to install your thermostat.
Better get some extra blankets for the next 4 years......
It is easy to do. You can buy a Honeywell programmable stat for about $30 to $40. In your case, it will require just two wires. Most will handle the heating and cooling so when you add the AC it will be ready. Instructions are included. Yu will have to mount it with two screws.
idiot.
That's probably true, but the OP didn't tell us anything about his heating system. When I bought my house (only 6 years ago) the original system had a 110 volt thermostat. Hooking up *those* two wires to the programmable would have been disappointing, if briefly spectacular.
Greg Guarino
I didn't say, because I don't know. I can't get to the heater, it's in a crawl space and I have to have someone else go down there to check.
~Kat
"help is on the way" ~John Kerry
You don't actually have to get to the furnace to check the voltage. You can measure it at the thermostat terminals. You'll have to measure it when it is NOT calling for heat. (turn the thermostat switch to off, or set it for 50 degrees).
Measure with a multimeter. Just in case it IS 110v, set the multimeter to something like 200V AC first and be careful what you touch. If it measures essentially nothing, switch to DC Volts, maybe the 50 volt range. You'll probably find that it is 12V DC. If so, buy the programmable type of thermostat suggested elsewhere in the thread. There are several types, distinguished mostly by how flexible the programming is.
By the way, I don't think it's an acceptable situation that you can't "get to" your heating system. Even if you don't know anything about your appliances, a homeowner has to at least LOOK from time to time for leaks, rust, gas smell, etc. You also usually need to let a little water out of the boiler and water heater every week or so to get rid of sludge. Get someone to come over and show you the basics.
Greg
Ty for your info ... I'm going to replace it this weekend.
I agree, but I can't get down there ... I'm claustrophobic and there is just no way. The reason we have this house is that I didn't want a house w/ a basement .. I don't do those either.
Ty Greg, I'll ask around. My DH will go down there and check things out .. problem is, he isn't really all that sure what he is checking.
~Kat
"help is on the way" ~John Kerry
As someone else wrote, it's 24 volts DC that you will PROBABLY find, not 12 as I mis-remembered.
The first thing a homeowner can do, without any knowledge at all, is to get familiar with how the system usually looks. If you get in the habit of checking it every Saturday morning, for instance, you can see if anything CHANGES. I had a "back flow preventer" dripping (dripping seems to be designed in on these damned things) a small drop a few times an hour. I didn't feel like going to the trouble of replacing it, so I put a bucket under it. The drip was so slow that the water would dry up in the bucket.
After maybe 2 years, all of a sudden it was dripping every second or so. That was enough to overflow the bucket in just over a day. This is an example of a potentially costly problem that took no expertise to notice. Get someone to show your husband a few basic things to look for and do. You should be fine.
Greg
Hi Greg, hope you are having a nice day
On 06-Oct-04 At About 18:47:32, Greg G wrote to All Subject: Re: Thermostat
GG> From: Greg G
GG> GG> If it measures essentially nothing, switch to DC Volts, maybe GG> the 50 volt range. You'll probably find that it is 12V DC.
Furnace controls are 24 volts AC. about the only thing that is 12 volts is the mini splits such as mitsubishi.
-=> HvacTech2
Hi Greg, hope you are having a nice day
On 06-Oct-04 At About 17:47:22, Greg wrote to All Subject: Re: Thermostat
G> From: snipped-for-privacy@risky-biz.com (Greg)
G> As someone else wrote, it's 24 volts DC that you will PROBABLY find, G> not 12 as I mis-remembered.
Wrong again! It's 24 Volts AC
-=> HvacTech2
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.