We set our thermostat down to 63 at night, set to heat up to 70
(tropical, I know) starting at 6am. On most days everything works
normally. However, on occasion, I will come downstairs at 7:30 am and
find that the thermostat is reading only 61 degrees-- 2 degrees colder
than the coldest temperature, and 90 minutes after the heat was
supposed to come on!

The furnace appears to be working; the house does heat up eventually.
But it's weird to me that the room would be colder than the thermostat
setting. In the past that has never happened. It's also strange that
this problem does not occur consistently.

For what it's worth, I noticed that it appears that only one of the 2
wires from the thermostat are attached to the furnace. But it must
have been that way for the past few years, because the wire looked to
be cut and it's something I have never messed with.

I have called the furnace people to come have a look, in case it's the
blower or something. But if others think it's the thermostat, I may
cancel the appointment and try to fix myself. Any thoughts?

Any help is much appreciated. This forum has always been a great
resource.

Thanks,
Doug

On 5 Feb 2004 08:27:48 -0800, (Doug) wrote:



I have called the furnace people to come have a look, in case it's the
blower or something. But if others think it's the thermostat, I may
cancel the appointment and try to fix myself. Any thoughts?

Any help is much appreciated. This forum has always been a great
resource.

Go and replace the thermostst anyway. Its a very cheap and easy way
to find if that is the problem. You end up with a new controller in
any event.

"Doug" wrote in message
om...
We set our thermostat down to 63 at night, set to heat up to 70
(tropical, I know) starting at 6am. On most days everything works
normally. However, on occasion, I will come downstairs at 7:30 am and
find that the thermostat is reading only 61 degrees-- 2 degrees colder
than the coldest temperature, and 90 minutes after the heat was
supposed to come on!

I suggest the thermostate controling the furnance may not be in the same
location (or may not be calabrated the same) as the one you are looking at.
(see below about one wire)

I also could be an anticapater set far too high.

With the two problems, (wire and temperature control) not appearing to
be connected, I suggest you call in the professional and they should be able
to fix you up quickly.


The furnace appears to be working; the house does heat up eventually.
But it's weird to me that the room would be colder than the thermostat
setting. In the past that has never happened. It's also strange that
this problem does not occur consistently.

For what it's worth, I noticed that it appears that only one of the 2
wires from the thermostat are attached to the furnace. But it must
have been that way for the past few years, because the wire looked to
be cut and it's something I have never messed with.

Something is not right. A thermostate can't work with just one wire.
My guess is you are not looking at what you think you are looking at.


I have called the furnace people to come have a look, in case it's the
blower or something. But if others think it's the thermostat, I may
cancel the appointment and try to fix myself. Any thoughts?

Any help is much appreciated. This forum has always been a great
resource.

Thanks,
Doug


--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

"Doug" wrote in message
om...
We set our thermostat down to 63 at night, set to heat up to 70
(tropical, I know) starting at 6am. On most days everything works
normally. However, on occasion, I will come downstairs at 7:30 am and
find that the thermostat is reading only 61 degrees-- 2 degrees colder
than the coldest temperature, and 90 minutes after the heat was
supposed to come on!

The furnace appears to be working; the house does heat up eventually.
But it's weird to me that the room would be colder than the thermostat
setting. In the past that has never happened. It's also strange that
this problem does not occur consistently.

For what it's worth, I noticed that it appears that only one of the 2
wires from the thermostat are attached to the furnace. But it must
have been that way for the past few years, because the wire looked to
be cut and it's something I have never messed with.


Then you are NOT looking at the thermostat that is controlling the
furnace...


Period.







I have called the furnace people to come have a look, in case it's the
blower or something. But if others think it's the thermostat, I may
cancel the appointment and try to fix myself. Any thoughts?

Any help is much appreciated. This forum has always been a great
resource.

Thanks,
Doug

"CBhvac" stephenaddressscfrewedonpurpose@carolinabreezehva c.com wrote in
message ...

"Doug" wrote in message
om...
We set our thermostat down to 63 at night, set to heat up to 70
(tropical, I know) starting at 6am. On most days everything works
normally. However, on occasion, I will come downstairs at 7:30 am and
find that the thermostat is reading only 61 degrees-- 2 degrees colder
than the coldest temperature, and 90 minutes after the heat was
supposed to come on!

The furnace appears to be working; the house does heat up eventually.
But it's weird to me that the room would be colder than the thermostat
setting. In the past that has never happened. It's also strange that
this problem does not occur consistently.

For what it's worth, I noticed that it appears that only one of the 2
wires from the thermostat are attached to the furnace. But it must
have been that way for the past few years, because the wire looked to
be cut and it's something I have never messed with.


Then you are NOT looking at the thermostat that is controlling the
furnace...

Maybe the anticipator in the thermostat is screwed up. So the thermostat
thinks the room is approaching the right temp and cuts off early to avoid
overshoot.

Another possibility is the contacts in the zone valve are shot and can't
start the burner&circulator.

"William W. Plummer" wrote in message
news:UsCUb.182644$Rc4.1353160@attbi_s54...

"CBhvac" stephenaddressscfrewedonpurpose@carolinabreezehva c.com wrote in
message ...

"Doug" wrote in message
om...
We set our thermostat down to 63 at night, set to heat up to 70
(tropical, I know) starting at 6am. On most days everything works
normally. However, on occasion, I will come downstairs at 7:30 am and
find that the thermostat is reading only 61 degrees-- 2 degrees colder
than the coldest temperature, and 90 minutes after the heat was
supposed to come on!

The furnace appears to be working; the house does heat up eventually.
But it's weird to me that the room would be colder than the thermostat
setting. In the past that has never happened. It's also strange that
this problem does not occur consistently.

For what it's worth, I noticed that it appears that only one of the 2
wires from the thermostat are attached to the furnace. But it must
have been that way for the past few years, because the wire looked to
be cut and it's something I have never messed with.


Then you are NOT looking at the thermostat that is controlling the
furnace...

Maybe the anticipator in the thermostat is screwed up. So the thermostat
thinks the room is approaching the right temp and cuts off early to avoid
overshoot.

Could be....but...
The thermostat he is claiming to look at, has ONE wire hooked up...and every
single one ever, needs at LEAST 2.
A thermostat is nothing but a switch. Power in, power out. One wire, with a
cut wire hangin back...wont work, not at all.


Another possibility is the contacts in the zone valve are shot and can't
start the burner&circulator.

Sounds like your furnace guy is going to earn his keep today. That doesn't
sound right, 90 minutes to get up to temp..... and it's even colder?

--

Christopher A. Young
Jesus: The Reason for the Season
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Doug" wrote in message
om...
We set our thermostat down to 63 at night, set to heat up to 70
(tropical, I know) starting at 6am. On most days everything works
normally. However, on occasion, I will come downstairs at 7:30 am and
find that the thermostat is reading only 61 degrees-- 2 degrees colder
than the coldest temperature, and 90 minutes after the heat was
supposed to come on!

The furnace appears to be working; the house does heat up eventually.
But it's weird to me that the room would be colder than the thermostat
setting. In the past that has never happened. It's also strange that
this problem does not occur consistently.

For what it's worth, I noticed that it appears that only one of the 2
wires from the thermostat are attached to the furnace. But it must
have been that way for the past few years, because the wire looked to
be cut and it's something I have never messed with.

I have called the furnace people to come have a look, in case it's the
blower or something. But if others think it's the thermostat, I may
cancel the appointment and try to fix myself. Any thoughts?

Any help is much appreciated. This forum has always been a great
resource.

Thanks,
Doug

Thanks again for all your help. To recap the problem: it sometimes would take 6
hours for house to heat up 6 degrees, and occasionally the house would be colder
than the lowest programmed thermostat setting. The problem was compounded because
it was intermittent-- sometimes no problems, sometimes problems.

As a first fix, I replaced the batteries in my thermostat. Turns out they were low
on juice, but not so low that the "lo batt" indicator came on. The first two days
after I changed the batteries I had no problems. Then (on a weekend, of course),
the house took 6 hours to heat up, with the furnace blower staying on for at most
a minute or so at a time.

The repair guy came on Monday. I have a Trane furnace, about 12 years old,
everything original. Repairman turns the thermostat from 70 to 75 degrees. Of
course, the furnace works like a charm, heating up the house a degree every 10
minutes or so. Furnace guy says it's the dreaded intermittent problem, which is
hard to diagnose. He suggests 4 possible causes:
1) Dirty flame sensor (we had not had ours cleaned in a few years)
2) Problem with condensate pump. He said the flow of condensate from the furnace
was very slow, and possibly there was a clog there that caused the furnace to shut
off.
3) Bad thermostat. He thought this was not likely, but possible.
4) Bad control panel.

He suggested that he try to fix (1) and (2), since they were likely culprits and
not too expensive to fix (unlike the control panel). Fortunately, the furnace shut
down when the house was only at 74 degrees, and he said it seemed like some kind
of pressure problem (over my head-- I had no idea how complex the furnace was).
Anyway, he cleaned the sensor and flushed the pump, and everything has been
working well the past few days. Here's hoping that was all it was.

Thanks again, all! If I have any more problems, I'll post.

Doug