I'd like to replace my mechanical thermostat
( heating and cooling )
with a new-fangled electronic set-back unit.

I like the idea of automatically turning back the temp every night.

Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit ?
rj

wireless remote controlled ones too! programmable for 4 times a
day/weekend.
http://www.bryant.com/corp/details/0...l?SMSESSION=NO

--
______________________
Claudia
Totus Tuus
"RJ" wrote in message
...

I'd like to replace my mechanical thermostat
( heating and cooling )
with a new-fangled electronic set-back unit.

I like the idea of automatically turning back the temp every night.

Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit ?
rj

"RJ" wrote in message
...

I'd like to replace my mechanical thermostat
( heating and cooling )
with a new-fangled electronic set-back unit.

I like the idea of automatically turning back the temp every night.

Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit ?
rj

Yeah, Most people think they are both junk.....

"RJ" wrote in message
...

I'd like to replace my mechanical thermostat
( heating and cooling )
with a new-fangled electronic set-back unit.

I like the idea of automatically turning back the temp every night.

Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit ?
rj

This is Turtle.

Leave these Hunter and Rite-Temp thermostats alone. Look up at these stores or
other places for real thermostats that will hold up to time. Try to get these
names atleast wrote on them. Homeywell, White Rogers, Robert Shaw, or maybe even
a Maple-chase .

One thing for sure Hunter makes the worst proforming thermostats known to man.
Now I have seen some Rite-Temp last for a while.

TURTLE

snip

Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit
rj

Installed a Hunter from Lowes last month. Seems to do the job.
Easy enough to install. Not thrilled it needs 2 AA batts. Hunter
claims they last a year. (So change them same time as smoke alarms
??) Using the default 60/68 deg program right now. Seems to hold
the house temp more constant at either temp than the old Honeywell
round mechanical unit did.

--reed

"Reed" wrote in message ...
snip

Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit
rj

Installed a Hunter from Lowes last month. Seems to do the job.
Easy enough to install. Not thrilled it needs 2 AA batts. Hunter
claims they last a year. (So change them same time as smoke alarms
??) Using the default 60/68 deg program right now. Seems to hold
the house temp more constant at either temp than the old Honeywell
round mechanical unit did.

--reed

some units let you adjust the operating range. you can set it for a tighter
control (heater goes on and off more often for shorter periods of time) or
visa versa.

randy

As Turtle said get quality, I have 2 Lux stats and am not totaly happy
with a few problems

Set backs are ok in thewinter but hard to estimate the temps in the
summer.In the winter you can figure its going to be 30 degs for a high who
knows in the summer what the weather will do.

Tom

"Reed" wrote in message ...
snip

Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit
rj

Installed a Hunter from Lowes last month. Seems to do the job.
Easy enough to install. Not thrilled it needs 2 AA batts. Hunter
claims they last a year. (So change them same time as smoke alarms
??) Using the default 60/68 deg program right now. Seems to hold
the house temp more constant at either temp than the old Honeywell
round mechanical unit did.

--reed

On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 06:27:55 -0600, "twfsa" wrote:

Set backs are ok in thewinter but hard to estimate the temps in the
summer.In the winter you can figure its going to be 30 degs for a high who
knows in the summer what the weather will do.

What difference does the outside temperature make?

Tom

"Reed" wrote in message ...
snip

Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit
rj

Installed a Hunter from Lowes last month. Seems to do the job.
Easy enough to install. Not thrilled it needs 2 AA batts. Hunter
claims they last a year. (So change them same time as smoke alarms
??) Using the default 60/68 deg program right now. Seems to hold
the house temp more constant at either temp than the old Honeywell
round mechanical unit did.

--reed

Reed wrote:

snip


Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit
rj



Installed a Hunter from Lowes last month. Seems to do the job.
Easy enough to install. Not thrilled it needs 2 AA batts. Hunter


The batteries are to hold the settings in the case of a power failure,
else you would have to set them every time the power came back on.

??) Using the default 60/68 deg program right now. Seems to hold
the house temp more constant at either temp than the old Honeywell
round mechanical unit did.

--reed

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 09:35:18 -0500, willshak
wrote:

The batteries are to hold the settings in the case of a power failure,
else you would have to set them every time the power came back on.


Actually the Hunter uses battery power for the clock and relays. They
do this to avoid the need for a C or common wire back to the
transformer as mechanical thermostats don't need one and many homes
don't have an extra wire to use.

Steve B.

I just bought a Honeywell CT3600 "smart" thermostat, which I thought
would be an improvement on our current White-Rodgers 1F81-261.

BUT when I looked at the wiring diagram and compared it with the current
connections, I concluded that our present system has two-stage heating,
for which the CT3600 is not suitable.

Looking at the installation instructions for the furnace, I see that it
is possible to configure it for use with a single-stage thermostat, but
am I correct in thinking that this would be a bad move?

Honeywell does not seem to offer any of its "fancier" thermostats for
DIYers, and AFAICS White-Rodgers does not sell to DIYers at all.

Is there anything that would be an improvement on our current 1F81-261?
I see that it is a comparatively recent model. It was in the house
already when we moved in a year ago, but I thought perhaps we could
improve on it.

MB


On 11/03/04 10:15 pm TURTLE put fingers to keyboard and launched the
following message into cyberspace:

Leave these Hunter and Rite-Temp thermostats alone. Look up at these stores or
other places for real thermostats that will hold up to time. Try to get these
names atleast wrote on them. Homeywell, White Rogers, Robert Shaw, or maybe even
a Maple-chase .

One thing for sure Hunter makes the worst proforming thermostats known to man.
Now I have seen some Rite-Temp last for a while.

In the winter the temp is more constant, in the summer one day it may be 72
degs, the next 92, so you would be programing the stat every other day
unless you want to maintain a constant 75 degress in the summer.If the high
for the day is 98, and the stat is set at 75 the A/C will most likely run
and never shut off not to mention never maintain 75.

I keep the stat usually 7-10 degress cooler than it is outside in the
summer, unless the high for the day is somewhere in the mid 70's I turn off
the A/C.

Tom


"Alan" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 06:27:55 -0600, "twfsa" wrote:

Set backs are ok in thewinter but hard to estimate the temps in the
summer.In the winter you can figure its going to be 30 degs for a high who
knows in the summer what the weather will do.

What difference does the outside temperature make?

Tom

"Reed" wrote in message ...
snip

Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit
rj

Installed a Hunter from Lowes last month. Seems to do the job.
Easy enough to install. Not thrilled it needs 2 AA batts. Hunter
claims they last a year. (So change them same time as smoke alarms
??) Using the default 60/68 deg program right now. Seems to hold
the house temp more constant at either temp than the old Honeywell
round mechanical unit did.

--reed

"Minnie Bannister" wrote in message
...
I just bought a Honeywell CT3600 "smart" thermostat, which I thought would be
an improvement on our current White-Rodgers 1F81-261.

BUT when I looked at the wiring diagram and compared it with the current
connections, I concluded that our present system has two-stage heating, for
which the CT3600 is not suitable.

Looking at the installation instructions for the furnace, I see that it is
possible to configure it for use with a single-stage thermostat, but am I
correct in thinking that this would be a bad move?

Honeywell does not seem to offer any of its "fancier" thermostats for DIYers,
and AFAICS White-Rodgers does not sell to DIYers at all.

Is there anything that would be an improvement on our current 1F81-261? I see
that it is a comparatively recent model. It was in the house already when we
moved in a year ago, but I thought perhaps we could improve on it.

MB

This is Turtle.

The F81 series is about the best the DIYer"s will get to play with. You may know
all there is to know about correctly installing it but the other 99 DIYer's will
send them to school.

TURTLE

To get a White Rogers programmable a few years ago I had to take a
DEEP breath and go to a Sears store. Unfortunately it has the store
name embossed on the case. Works well though.

On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 21:15:35 -0600, "TURTLE"
wrote:

Homeywell, White Rogers, Robert Shaw, or maybe even a Maple-chase .

On 11/05/04 01:04 am TURTLE put fingers to keyboard and launched the
following message into cyberspace:

Is there anything that would be an improvement on our current 1F81-261? I see
that it is a comparatively recent model. It was in the house already when we
moved in a year ago, but I thought perhaps we could improve on it.

The F81 series is about the best the DIYer"s will get to play with. You may know
all there is to know about correctly installing it but the other 99 DIYer's will
send them to school.

Thanks, Turtle.

I just thought of something else: now that our son starts school at
different times on different days, we ought to have a 7-day thermostat
rather than the current 5+1+1. Is there something at least as good as
the current White-Rodgers 1F81-261 -- and available to a DIYer?

MB

On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 16:00:04 -0600, "twfsa" wrote:

In the winter the temp is more constant, in the summer one day it may be 72
degs, the next 92, so you would be programing the stat every other day
unless you want to maintain a constant 75 degress in the summer.If the high
for the day is 98, and the stat is set at 75 the A/C will most likely run
and never shut off not to mention never maintain 75.

I keep the stat usually 7-10 degress cooler than it is outside in the
summer, unless the high for the day is somewhere in the mid 70's I turn off
the A/C.

I program it once and leave it that way regardless of the outside
temperature, occasionally overriding it temporarily.

Tom


"Alan" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 06:27:55 -0600, "twfsa" wrote:

Set backs are ok in thewinter but hard to estimate the temps in the
summer.In the winter you can figure its going to be 30 degs for a high who
knows in the summer what the weather will do.

What difference does the outside temperature make?

"Minnie Bannister" wrote in message
...
On 11/05/04 01:04 am TURTLE put fingers to keyboard and launched the following
message into cyberspace:

Is there anything that would be an improvement on our current 1F81-261? I see
that it is a comparatively recent model. It was in the house already when we
moved in a year ago, but I thought perhaps we could improve on it.

The F81 series is about the best the DIYer"s will get to play with. You may
know all there is to know about correctly installing it but the other 99
DIYer's will send them to school.

Thanks, Turtle.

I just thought of something else: now that our son starts school at different
times on different days, we ought to have a 7-day thermostat rather than the
current 5+1+1. Is there something at least as good as the current
White-Rodgers 1F81-261 -- and available to a DIYer?

MB

This is Turtle

I would have to go look up the F-80 Series if I can remember right has a 7-7 and
alone with the 5-2 . Now where you get the F-80 from you should be able to get a
F-90 series with a 7-7 feature. Here is a sight to look at the features at.
http://www.white-rogers.com/contract...alog/index.htm This is the page to
look at them and the features. Your looking for the 7-7

Now with a little thinking you can get the 5-2 do what you want it to do also.

If you like E-Mail me and discuss it. The email address here on the group is
good.

TURTLE

"Reed" wrote in message ...
snip

Home Depot has a "Rite-Temp"
LOWES has a "Hunter-Energy Star"
Both in the same price range.

Has anyone had any experience with either unit
rj

Installed a Hunter from Lowes last month. Seems to do the job.
Easy enough to install. Not thrilled it needs 2 AA batts. Hunter
claims they last a year. (So change them same time as smoke alarms
??) Using the default 60/68 deg program right now. Seems to hold
the house temp more constant at either temp than the old Honeywell
round mechanical unit did.

--reed

This is Turtle.

On the batterys. Everyready and other last about 12 to 14 months. The New
Duracell's i have seen will go as much as 2 years under normal use. I know this
sounds like a Duracell salesmanship ad but this is what I've seen.

As you said No Mechanical thermostat will work as good as a digital type for
they all have a program in them that will estimate the run time [ it thinks and
runs longer at times to keep a even temp. in your home ] and will adjust the run
times to keep the house at the right temperature. The Round Honeywell does not
think and just does what you tell it.

TURTLE