Which thermostat to buy

[bargaindealsman]

We are having a company come over and inspect our gas furnace for safety next week. Our current thermostat is old and the house is heating very unevenly. It gets pretty cold before the heat kicks on and then warms too much. I wanted to get a new thermostat installed while he/she is here. Can someone please suggest a high quality thermostat you are familiar with. I am still debating if I want a programmable thermostat or not, so I would appreciate suggestions of both types. When I looked thru the Honeywell web site, I saw some thermostats don't require batteries and are powered off the furnace, so I would prefer that because a pro will install it.

Thank you for any suggestions.

[Phisherman]

There are adjustments on most thermostats to correct the on-off cycle. Your exisiting thermostat probably already has that adjustment. Heating unevenly won't be cured with an expensive thermostat. I have Honeywell Magic programmable thermostats, but there's nothing really "magic" about them. They are good, and very easy to install. A battery is no big deal--they tell you when the power is low when they don't show the correct time of day.

A poor-man's idea...Plug in a timer connected to a 1 watt bulb fastened under your thermostat that turns on at night. You can cover the bulb with electrical black tape if you want. The heat from the bulb will "fool" your thermostat and save heating costs. I did this in an apartment years ago and it worked great.

[Joseph Meehan]

If you are away from home on a schedule (like work) or if you like to reduce the heat or increase the air at night, I suggest a programmable. They make the process easier, more comfortable and efficient. You will save the additional cost.

As for your problem, it is more likely a problem of mis sized furnace or a mis adjusted thermostat. If the furnace is over sized, a new thermostat is not going to help much. If the thermostat needs adjusting the new one may help, but only because it is now better matched to your needs.

There are a number of high quality thermostats. If you decide to upgrade, then I suggest letting your professional make the choice. They know which ones cause problems and will not suggest one.

Right now if I had to replace mine I would choose the same one Phisherman suggested. It may not be the most reliable, but I like it (actually it is several different models with different features and specifications).

[Stormin Mormonn]

While you have your heating guy there, he oughta run your furnace through a couple heating cycles to check for delayed ignition.

Also, but less common. If the thermostt is on an exterior wall, sometimes cold air coming through the wall can affect the thermostat, so the temperature swings are more extreme. I had this problem in one place awhile back.

[m Ransley]

Instead of just replacing it try adjusting the anticipator first, That regulates the swing in temp.

[TURTLE]

This is turtle

Take these three names and look at what you want out of them.

honeywell.com white-rogers.com Robertshaw.com

Here is the three best quality manufactors and make anything you may want.

TURTLE

[barry martin]

B > We are having a company come over and inspect our gas furnace for B > safety next week. Our current thermostat is old and the house is B > heating very unevenly. It gets pretty cold before the heat kicks on B > and then warms too much. I wanted to get a new thermostat installed

If your old thermostats is one of the mercury switch types I think those had a 5ø or so knee ==> took around 5ø for it to switch on and off. The electronic ones can be set for as little as 1ø - maybe tighter tolerances now.

Have a battery-operated replacement thermostat here and the battery lasts a couple of years. Has a "low battery" indicator. Being able to have a thermostat operate from the furnance's transformer may depend on the number of wires in your wall, or if they can run a new wire to your theromostat.

- ¯ barry.martinþATþthesafebbs.zeppole.com ®

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