Digital furnace thermostat upgrades?

[Beatty1950]

Sent: 12/19/2004 11:29 AM

I recently upgraded all of my room Thermostats in my home to a digital version. They work great with a quick exact view of the temp. The model device I used in my home were for 220 volt and are programmable and track hours of operation (daily and weekly). They are made by EPM (THM311A) and cost $38 each. It was amazing to see the difference between the 1985 thermostat (non-digital) which was full of dust and the 2004 thermostat (digital) which are sealed with easy to read lcd display.

I am considering a similar upgrade of the thermostat in my 1975 D19 to make temp control more positive and accurate..

See link below that describe the process used by others in their RVs.

http://www.rverscorner.com/articles/hunterstat.htm

The Hunter thermostats suggested by other RV Owners run on batteries. They are designed for both Heat and AC but I would only use for the heat side. They cost around $21 each and in the past were available from Walmart.

Question:

1) How anyone tried to do this sort of Thermostat upgrade ?
2) Which thermostat did you use ?

Thanks for the help

Dave Beatty
Proud owner of MISS TANK

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Sent: 12/19/2004 12:17 PM

I installed a Hunter model 44110 programable thermostat (battery version) in mine.  It is bigger than than the original thermostat so one may have a location problem if using the original location.  Not hard to install and works well.  About the only things I have noticed are:
1.  Heat naturally rises so the floor region may always be cooler than the upper areas however that is not really a thermostat issue except for mounting height.
2.  The 'cool down' mode of the furnace can last a fairly long time resulting in distribution of the colder floor area air being mixed in.  This can make the thermostat trigger on more frequently.  I reduce this by closing off the front of my rig so that the bedroom area stays nice and comfy (less area to heat and reduces propane usage).  The front section air register still keeps the front of my rig above freezing (heating zones in a winnie?  LOL) so pipe bursting is not an issue. 
3.  Air register outlet locations affect thermostat operation.  An air register outlet close to the thermostat can fool it into thinking the desired tempp has been achieved.  Results in warme/cold regions in the rig.
4.  Bring extra batteries for the thermostat.  Real bummer when they die at the most inconvient time.

I have a Coleman DSI furnace.  I have also installed a dinosaur control board (old board was bad).  I rewired mine to also implement the fan shut off feature of the new board.  Can really save your house battery if you run out of propane or there is a problem in the furnace because the original board in an RV furnance will keep the blower motor runnig if the furnace does not light.  The new board will try to light the furnace 3 times then shut off the blower if it fails to light.  It also waits one hour and trys again.  I have had the propane regulator at the tank freeze up (moisture) and stop gas flow so I know the new board works as advertized.

Dave

[Froggy1936]

I also have installed a Hunter (44155C Battery operated) I think 2 yrs ago have not had to replace batterys yet . I have mine controlling both Heat & A/C  Though you have to select wich one you want . I mostly use electric heat (Lasko Tower W remote control) If temp is lower than it can handle i have DSI furnace set to 65o so i dont wake up to cold R/V This is a 35000 BTU furnace about 5 yrs old and works perfectly I had to add a deflector to A/C outlet to blow cold air on thermostate or it gets way to cold set at 76o as most of A/C outlet is to the rear Love all this control Frank

[rnbenson39]

I used a Honeywell RTH2300B, homedepot sells them for around $25. Installed on my 89 Winnebago Chieftian.