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Author:
electricpooper (MA)
I check a few houses for people who arent here in the winter, and noticed the window thermometer said 30 degrees on one. Homeowner came right down and in process of troubleshooting, found his new digital thermostat was dependent on 2 batteries. He assumed that the thermostat was hard wired, and it was not. He was very angry. Replaced them and the furnace came right on. Then another house on the same street, same problem, we caught that one in time too.
Was a 15 degree daily colder than normal winter here in New England.
So I checked our new digital thermostat, yes indeed, NOT hard wired either.
I called Honeywell, and they admitted that the failure of the batteries would shut the entire heating system down. Unless we call the installer and have them come back and properly wire it. This can happen even if you dont lose your power! How many people have new heating systems installed and are unaware of this issue?
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Many electronic thermostats require a ground/neutral/common wire to operate, and unless there is an extra wire in the cable to it, which is not always the case, the thermostat has to operate on batteries. To be hard wired, you need one that uses the "inactive" wires to complete the circuit.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
packy (MA)
you pick up a plain old T87F round thermostat, mount it in a convenient location and hard wire it to the boiler/furnace control. set it at 50 and forget about it.
if dead batteries in the digital thermostat cause it to fail the T87F will call the heat on when the house drops to 49 degrees and keep the house from freezing.
you can hard wire a thermostat in everyroom in the house and the one set at the highest temperature will call on the heat while the others will just sit there.
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Author:
BigReg1500 (CT)
I replace my Tstat batteries every 6 months, when the clocks change, along with the smoke/CO batteries and the filers in my air-bear units. For things like these that many people will forget about, I find it easier to just do them on a set schedule to prevent problems.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Our clocks do not change.
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Author:
BigReg1500 (CT)
Yeah, yeah, you are out there in a desert paradise. No snow, always warm & sunny, no time changes. If only there weren't snakes, coyotes, and scorpions I would move to AZ also.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
You left out Javelinas, vultures, and Gila Monsters
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Author:
BigReg1500 (CT)
Javelinas - I love those stinky little pigs.
I have an uncle out in Tucson who throws his dinner scraps out back for them, and they come in packs right up to the house to grab it. Good entertainment for the kids.
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Author:
electricpooper (MA)
Anybody want snow, I will send you some, trade you for a javalina.
[www.jcdouglass.net]
run the mouse over the small pix to see them bigger
Thank you for the suggestion for the fail safe idea, its a good one.
Seems scary to think a house can freeze up with these new battery t-stats, is that bad engineering or not.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
I had a friend who did that and she got in trouble for feeding them. They don't want them getting too friendly. Was at a house last week and a "herd" of javelinas were demolishing their prickly pear cacti.
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Author:
electricpooper (MA)
We used to go to Belize a lot many years ago, as we had friends who lived there. And one of their other friends was off wandering thru the jungle looking for moths and butterflies, and got treed by a group of these little razor sharp tusked little guys.
He learned a lesson, and we were very careful and always went in the middle of the day, when these javalinas were not about that much.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Yes they can be nasty if you get them upset, especially the big boars.
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Author:
m & m (MD)
Tell the snowbirds to buy a 'nest' or similar wifi t'stat. They can monitor the temperature of the house and determine if there is a heating problem that way and they also can raise or lower the temperature if they choose.
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Author:
Fixitangel (NC)
Quote: How many people have new heating systems installed and are unaware of this issue?
The ones sitting in cold houses, for sure
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Author:
bernabeu (SC)
All the ones who settled for:
"That's what the contractor gave me."
as opposed to
"The contractor met my specifications (which were based on good practice)."
==============================================
"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
Same problem........"Nest" and other wi-fi thermostats all require a common wire. And on a different note..."Nest" is now owned by Google. Google is in the information business. Like when no one is home..when you get home...when you go to bed.Who knows?
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Author:
hj (AZ)
The ones who ignored the "low battery" message in the display.
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Author:
electricpooper (MA)
Its the people who go to FL, Arizona, or retreat to their city houses in the winter, who have this problem here.
They dont see their Low Battery message, but the security guy does, and he carries a box of batteries in his truck now.
He now has keys to all the houses, except the ones that my husband and I watch. These people are within an hour or 2 drive(Boston area), so I dont want to get involved with keys and fixing stuff. Getting too old for all that stuff.
Thank you all for the info!
Maybe I will decline the Javalina for a pet, and stick with our Yellow Lab, who is out in our back yard and woods chasing the crazy bunnies.
And we have plenty of foxes and coyotes, who are harmless around here. Plenty of rodents for them to eat.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
I guess I could take one of your foxes and send you a bobcat, or two. At least a fox would not stare down my daughter when she went out to the chicken house in the morning.
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
Coyotes are not so harmless when they've depleted the supply of small critters to eat. They will then move on to cats, and dogs, or anything else they figure the pack can handle.
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Author:
bernabeu (SC)
The Lab may eat the Javelina for breakfast.
A good Lab could only be taken by a Raccoon.
From personal experience.
==============================================
"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638
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Author:
hj (AZ)
It must never have encounered an angry Javelina. Anything that can eat a cactus would not have a problem with a lab.
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Author:
bernabeu (SC)
Labs were bred to be hunting dogs.
==============================================
"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Javelinas are born to be killers of hyenas and coyotes, and Labs.
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Author:
bernabeu (SC)
I stand corrected
:0
==============================================
"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638
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Author:
electricpooper (MA)
Yes, coons can be very dangerous.
Years ago, our Lab/mix got tangled up with a rabid coon. Took me an awful 3 minutes to disentangle them, I cant even describe it, luckily I had a big bucket handy to hit the coon on the head with. And picked up my Lab, who was about 55 pounds. Ran into the house and both of us got in the shower, as we were covered with coon fur and blood. Neither of us were bitten, but I had a nasty burn on my hand from our oven, and the fur was all over my hands.
Our dog officer found the coon about half mile from our house, had it tested, and I had to have the Rabies series shots. Ouch!
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Author:
ev607797 (NC)
What Packy said. The T87F is perhaps the most reliable and long-lasting thermostat out there. Just one wired in parallel with the heat (red and white) will ensure that there won't be any freezing. It doesn't matter where it is located.
---Ed---
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