I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.

Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.




Just buy a 120 volt thermostat like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Lux-LV2-Voltag.../dp/B0002QWXGQ

and wire it in series with the lamp.

Course if the cause of no heat is a power failure, then you're not in
very good shape, are you.

For a little more money you can buy low temperature alarms which will
dial a phone number, maybe your heating contractor, and deliver a message.

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10e12 furlongs per fortnight.

Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.




Just buy a 120 volt thermostat like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Lux-LV2-Voltag.../dp/B0002QWXGQ

and wire it in series with the lamp.

Course if the cause of no heat is a power failure, then you're not in
very good shape, are you.

For a little more money you can buy low temperature alarms which will
dial a phone number, maybe your heating contractor, and deliver a message.

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10e12 furlongs per fortnight.

On Dec 9, 5:00*pm, "Jim Sherman" wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.

And if the bulb burns out or power is out or the neighbor doesnt "see"
it or he wants to go to sleep, I use a freeze alarm that calls me if
temp gets near 45, battery operated.

On Dec 9, 5:00*pm, "Jim Sherman" wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.

And if the bulb burns out or power is out or the neighbor doesnt "see"
it or he wants to go to sleep, I use a freeze alarm that calls me if
temp gets near 45, battery operated.

One of my relatives just installed this one from Home Depot:
http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/%28...aspx?SKU=46433
He plugged some sort of strobe light into it so that the neighbors are
sure to see it. He said it worked fine except that it went off once
(while he happened to be in the house) - apparently the result of
plugging it into an outlet on an outside wall, which made the unit too
cold. So he plugged it into an interior wall and ran an extension cord.

I was going to get one for the house I've been trying to sell, but as of
1PM today it became no longer my problem, hurray.

Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.

One of my relatives just installed this one from Home Depot:
http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/%28...aspx?SKU=46433
He plugged some sort of strobe light into it so that the neighbors are
sure to see it. He said it worked fine except that it went off once
(while he happened to be in the house) - apparently the result of
plugging it into an outlet on an outside wall, which made the unit too
cold. So he plugged it into an interior wall and ran an extension cord.

I was going to get one for the house I've been trying to sell, but as of
1PM today it became no longer my problem, hurray.

Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.

Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.



be easy enough to make one using an old thermostat, an ice cube relay,
and some basic home electrical type stuff. Or just use a line voltage
thermostat.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.



be easy enough to make one using an old thermostat, an ice cube relay,
and some basic home electrical type stuff. Or just use a line voltage
thermostat.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so
my neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside.
Does such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.
That's fine, unless a power failure is the cause of the freeze. Do a search
for "freeze alert" and you'll find several units, some with battery
backups, that call phone numbers if there is a power failure or the temp
goes to low

"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so
my neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside.
Does such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.
That's fine, unless a power failure is the cause of the freeze. Do a search
for "freeze alert" and you'll find several units, some with battery
backups, that call phone numbers if there is a power failure or the temp
goes to low

"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so
my neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside.
Does such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.

How far away does the neighbor live? You could just get one of those remote
thermometers and put the sensor that you would normally put outside in your
living room and give the neighbor the inside unit. He could then check the
actual temp regularly.

"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so
my neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside.
Does such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.

How far away does the neighbor live? You could just get one of those remote
thermometers and put the sensor that you would normally put outside in your
living room and give the neighbor the inside unit. He could then check the
actual temp regularly.

On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 19:29:52 -0500, "RBM" wrote:


"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so
my neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside.
Does such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.
That's fine, unless a power failure is the cause of the freeze. Do a search
for "freeze alert" and you'll find several units, some with battery
backups, that call phone numbers if there is a power failure or the temp
goes to low

There used to be plug-in thermostats to control non-thermostat
controlled electric heaters. Don't know if or where they are available
today

On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 19:29:52 -0500, "RBM" wrote:


"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so
my neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside.
Does such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.
That's fine, unless a power failure is the cause of the freeze. Do a search
for "freeze alert" and you'll find several units, some with battery
backups, that call phone numbers if there is a power failure or the temp
goes to low

There used to be plug-in thermostats to control non-thermostat
controlled electric heaters. Don't know if or where they are available
today

On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 19:29:52 -0500, "RBM" wrote:


"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so
my neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside.
Does such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.
That's fine, unless a power failure is the cause of the freeze. Do a search
for "freeze alert" and you'll find several units, some with battery
backups, that call phone numbers if there is a power failure or the temp
goes to low

Found it. Ductstat from AprilAire or Suncourt - model DS100, or LUX
Win100. Also Thermocube (non adjustable)

On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 19:29:52 -0500, "RBM" wrote:


"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so
my neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside.
Does such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.
That's fine, unless a power failure is the cause of the freeze. Do a search
for "freeze alert" and you'll find several units, some with battery
backups, that call phone numbers if there is a power failure or the temp
goes to low

Found it. Ductstat from AprilAire or Suncourt - model DS100, or LUX
Win100. Also Thermocube (non adjustable)

On Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:01:14 -0500, wrote:
On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 19:29:52 -0500, "RBM" wrote:


"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so
my neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside.
Does such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.
That's fine, unless a power failure is the cause of the freeze. Do a search
for "freeze alert" and you'll find several units, some with battery
backups, that call phone numbers if there is a power failure or the temp
goes to low

There used to be plug-in thermostats to control non-thermostat
controlled electric heaters. Don't know if or where they are available
today

I think it can be done with X10 although that would be a serious
mistake given X10 open loop structure. I personally wouldn't trust a
nightlight to X10.

On Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:01:14 -0500, wrote:
On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 19:29:52 -0500, "RBM" wrote:


"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so
my neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside.
Does such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.
That's fine, unless a power failure is the cause of the freeze. Do a search
for "freeze alert" and you'll find several units, some with battery
backups, that call phone numbers if there is a power failure or the temp
goes to low

There used to be plug-in thermostats to control non-thermostat
controlled electric heaters. Don't know if or where they are available
today

I think it can be done with X10 although that would be a serious
mistake given X10 open loop structure. I personally wouldn't trust a
nightlight to X10.

Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.



Why involve the neighbors at all? Just get yourself a weather station, a
domain name, and a cheap hosting company and then let the weather
station upload to the Internet every couple of minutes. The weather
station is probably about $150 and the domain and hosting is only $35
per year. This way you can not only tell if your furnace stopped working
you can also tell if it stuck on for some unknown reason. Plus you can
find out how miserable it is back home.

Feel free to check mine out at http://www.crsales.com/weather.htm .

Don

Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.



Why involve the neighbors at all? Just get yourself a weather station, a
domain name, and a cheap hosting company and then let the weather
station upload to the Internet every couple of minutes. The weather
station is probably about $150 and the domain and hosting is only $35
per year. This way you can not only tell if your furnace stopped working
you can also tell if it stuck on for some unknown reason. Plus you can
find out how miserable it is back home.

Feel free to check mine out at http://www.crsales.com/weather.htm .

Don

On Dec 9, 6:00*pm, "Jim Sherman" wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.

Its called a Winter Watchman made by Honeywell, about 18.00
works great..

http://www.google.com/products?sourc...ed=0CB0QrQQwAA

On Dec 9, 6:00*pm, "Jim Sherman" wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.

Its called a Winter Watchman made by Honeywell, about 18.00
works great..

http://www.google.com/products?sourc...ed=0CB0QrQQwAA

On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 18:00:00 -0500, Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.


Have a plumber install a drain plug and drain the water before leaving and then
you can keep the heat completely off.
Why pay for something that you don't use?

On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 18:00:00 -0500, Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.


Have a plumber install a drain plug and drain the water before leaving and then
you can keep the heat completely off.
Why pay for something that you don't use?

..

Have a plumber install a drain plug and drain the water before leaving and then
you can keep the heat completely off.
Why pay for something that you don't use?

because freeze thaw can do damage to furniture and espically plaster
walls.

homes arent designed to be frozen. they are likely the most expensive
thing anyone buys.

as such they need some level of care

On Dec 10, 7:09*am, " wrote:
.



Have a plumber install a drain plug and drain the water before leaving and then
you can keep the heat completely off.
Why pay for something that you don't use?

because freeze thaw can do damage to furniture and espically plaster
walls.

homes arent designed to be frozen. they are likely the most expensive
thing anyone buys.

as such they need some level of care

I have a summer home in upstate NY near Albany. I close it down every
winter. I've had this house for 30 years. I have yet to see any
considerable damage inside due to freeze thaw.
Where is your house? What kind of damage have you gotten already from
previous winters?

On Dec 10, 6:09*am, " wrote:
.



Have a plumber install a drain plug and drain the water before leaving and then
you can keep the heat completely off.
Why pay for something that you don't use?

because freeze thaw can do damage to furniture and espically plaster
walls.

homes arent designed to be frozen. they are likely the most expensive
thing anyone buys.

as such they need some level of care

I dont know where you live but here alot have summer lake homes and it
goes to -25f, shutting down is common sence, Plaster goes bad if you
have a roof or wall leak, freezing hurts nothing and kills termites,
my local music store has over 100 wood instruments kept unheated, Heat
and water kills wood furniture, and yes my lake house is unheated now,
its zero out today and furnished. Take a trip to Europe where 2-500
yrs old buildings dont get replastered every year, if they did plaster
would not be used.

On Dec 10, 7:27*am, Mikepier wrote:
On Dec 10, 7:09*am, " wrote:

.

Have a plumber install a drain plug and drain the water before leaving and then
you can keep the heat completely off.
Why pay for something that you don't use?

because freeze thaw can do damage to furniture and espically plaster
walls.

homes arent designed to be frozen. they are likely the most expensive
thing anyone buys.

as such they need some level of care

I have a summer *home in upstate NY near Albany. I close it down every
winter. I've had this house for 30 years. I have yet to see any
considerable damage inside due to freeze thaw.
Where is your house? What kind of damage have you gotten already from
previous winters?

I do the same, its stupid to rely on a heating system at cold temps to
protect an investment, in 5 minutes I can have pipes drained, I use
1/4 turn ball valves to drain, and open all faucets. One broken pipe
from a broken heating system can cost tens of thousands in damage.

On Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:27:33 -0600, AZ Nomad wrote:
Have a plumber install a drain plug and drain the water before leaving and then
you can keep the heat completely off.
Why pay for something that you don't use?

How cold does a house get with no heat, relative to the outside? Will it
eventually cool to match (with a bit of time-lag) the outside air, or will
it always keep a few degrees above whatever the outside air's doing?

Personally if I wanted some kind of warning setup, and the stakes were
high, I'd make sure I had two different systems in place - preferably with
one of them not relying on AC power. And make darn sure I test that they
actually work before going away, of course :-)

cheers

Jules

On Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:06:44 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 19:29:52 -0500, "RBM" wrote:


"Jim Sherman" wrote in message
news
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've
heard that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp
if the house gets too cold.
-snip-
Found it. Ductstat from AprilAire or Suncourt - model DS100, or LUX
Win100. Also Thermocube (non adjustable)

They are pretty & all- but can't you do the same thing with a $10 line
voltage thermostat?

Jim

On Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:08:49 -0600, Jules wrote:
On Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:27:33 -0600, AZ Nomad wrote:
Have a plumber install a drain plug and drain the water before leaving and then
you can keep the heat completely off.
Why pay for something that you don't use?

How cold does a house get with no heat, relative to the outside? Will it
eventually cool to match (with a bit of time-lag) the outside air, or will
it always keep a few degrees above whatever the outside air's doing?

It would probably hold some heat from absorbing sunlight, but I
wouldn't count on it to keep the pipes from bursting. If it gets
below 20 degrees F, you need to either heat the house or drain the
plumbing.

wrote:

Found it. Ductstat from AprilAire or Suncourt - model DS100, or LUX
Win100

Looks like the low temp stops at 40F. Would be nice to have something like this
to go down to 30F for a freeze prevention application.

On Dec 10, 9:54�am, Robert Neville wrote:
wrote:
Found it. Ductstat from AprilAire or Suncourt - model DS100, or LUX
Win100

Looks like the low temp stops at 40F. Would be nice to have something like this
to go down to 30F for a freeze prevention application.

set heat to 50, if it gets down to 40 you have a problem, and some
time to respond.......

On Dec 9, 5:00*pm, "Jim Sherman" wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.


Rather than bother the neighbor, get a sensaphone that will call you
up when temperature or anything else changes.

By the time the neighbor drives by, the pipes could have frozen.

http://www.sensaphone.com/sensaphone_400.php

" wrote:

Looks like the low temp stops at 40F. Would be nice to have something like this
to go down to 30F for a freeze prevention application.

set heat to 50, if it gets down to 40 you have a problem, and some
time to respond.......


This is a little different. It's a backup solution for a buried well house. The
well house goes below the frost line, so the pipes should never freeze, but
occasionally it gets really cold and penetrates enough to freeze up. I could
just put a 60w lightbulb in there, but would like to have it on a thermostat so
it isn't running continuously. Probably just be easier to use heat tape.

Robert Neville wrote:
....

just put a 60w lightbulb in there, but would like to have it on a thermostat so
it isn't running continuously. Probably just be easier to use heat tape.

Yeah, particularly since they're self-limiting whereas the bulb is a
constant drain the heat tape is cheaper in the long run. Plus, being in
contact it is more efficient preventing pipe freeze than trying to heat
the whole volume to maintain the air temperature.

--

AZ Nomad wrote:

On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 18:00:00 -0500, Jim Sherman wrote:
I'm a snowbird and worry about a furnace failure while I'm away. I've heard
that there is a temperature sensing switch that will turn on a lamp if the
house gets too cold. I'd like to set a lamp in the front window so my
neighbor can check the place as he drives by without coming inside. Does
such a switch exist? Who sells it? Thanks in advance.

Have a plumber install a drain plug and drain the water before leaving and then
you can keep the heat completely off.
Why pay for something that you don't use?

A pretty good reason to pay for maintenance level heating while you're
away is the rapid deterioration that is experienced in unheated,
unoccupied buildings.

On Dec 10, 10:46*am, Robert Neville wrote:
" wrote:
Looks like the low temp stops at 40F. Would be nice to have something like this
to go down to 30F for a freeze prevention application.

set heat to 50, if it gets down to 40 you have a problem, and some
time to respond.......

This is a little different. It's a backup solution for a buried well house. The
well house goes below the frost line, so the pipes should never freeze, but
occasionally it gets really cold and penetrates enough to freeze up. I could
just put a 60w lightbulb in there, but would like to have it on a thermostat so
it isn't running continuously. Probably just be easier to use heat tape.

The well house goes below the frost line, so the pipes should
never freeze, but occasionally it gets really cold and penetrates
enough to freeze up

Many of the web definitions, such as this one from the US Army Core of
Engineers, say something similar to this:

http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/emrrp/.../glossary.html

frost line - The limit of penetration of soil by frost.

Doesn't that mean, by definition, that the well house isn't *really*
below the frost line?

Perhaps the published frost line, either now or when the well house
was installed, is/was incorrect.

DerbyDad03 wrote:

frost line - The limit of penetration of soil by frost.

Doesn't that mean, by definition, that the well house isn't *really*
below the frost line?

Perhaps the published frost line, either now or when the well house
was installed, is/was incorrect.

I think the problem is that the well house isn't undisturbed soil. About 75% of
the metal well house is exposed above grade, including an uninsulated manhole
cover. The floor of the house is below the frost line where the booster pump and
pipes are below.