Ignoramus28269 wrote in message
...
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!

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