On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 22:25:09 -0500, bargaindealsman
wrote:

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.

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.

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).

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


"bargaindealsman" wrote in message
...
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.

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.



--

Christopher A. Young
Learn More about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"bargaindealsman" wrote in message
...
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.

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

"bargaindealsman" wrote in message
...
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.

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