Upgrading the furnace thermostat

05-10-2007, 09:07 AM

First time poster to this forum. Just took my brand new 2007 3023 on her maiden voyage last weekend to Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin (beautiful park, but that is a different post). I experienced what appears to be a common problem with the furnace thermostat preheater. When the furnace came on, it ran until we were run out of the trailer. I have read the incredibly informative posts by TC and others about adjusting it. I was wondering if anyone had solved the problem by replacing the factory shipped thermostat with a digital one. My thought was to try to find a heat only non-programmable digital thermostat and simply switch them out. I have done this in different houses I have owned, but I am by no means an electrician. If it isn't a simple take old off and put new on exchange, I might be in trouble.

Has anyone done this? Were you happy with the results? Was it relatively straightforward? What brand and model thermostat did you use?

TV: 2004 Chrysler Pacifica
TM: 2007 3023

**Bill** · 05-10-2007, 10:09 AM

A digital thermostat needs a small amount of operating power. This means it will either require a battery, or it will expect to get power from the wires that go to the furnace. In your home, the latter works fine. But in the TM, there is no power available from the wires. So make sure you get a battery-powered thermostat.

Bill

cali camping · 05-10-2007, 01:18 PM

It's a fairly straight forward process. Most new digital thermostats have a battery back-up for keeping time and temperature settings. I moved mine to the wall above the kitchen towel ring for ease of use and to move it a little further away from the heater vents to help reduce the cyclic tendencies. Check out the picture...

**Bill** · 05-10-2007, 01:37 PM

Nice installation, Chip & Kat. How did you handle the wires?

Bill

**wbmiller3** · 05-10-2007, 07:31 PM

Chip & Kat -
If you don't mind my asking, what is the round gage beside the radio and the black panel on left under the sink? Lots of displays, I like it!

Thanks-

cali camping · 05-10-2007, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbmiller3

Chip & Kat -
If you don't mind my asking, what is the round gage beside the radio and the black panel on left under the sink? Lots of displays, I like it!

Thanks-

Thanks!
I'm kind of a stickler for detail! To get the wires up to the thermostat I did the same thing TM did when they put the LCD TV up there...I came up thru the bottom. I had to use a drill bit extension (3' I think) and just dropped the panel on its side and drilled away then ran the wires under the sink to the locale the thermostat was originally. The "displays" below and next to the sink are (left to right):
-The factory installed solar panel controller (to which I added an additional 80 watt panel once I took delivery)
-The OEM "status" panel
-A propane bottle change indicator (turns on an amber LED when the first bottle becomes empty and it automatically switches to the other bottle-then I know its time to refill the first)
-Xantrex 10 battery monitor panel for really in-depth battery state information

We primarily boondock and use a lot of electricity so it's nice to know the state of the 220Ah AGM lifeline battery...

Some day I'll get around to posting pics of all the "mods" I've done to the TM...

05-11-2007, 08:33 AM

Thank you for the posted replies. Cali, you have serious skills (smile).

**commodor47** · 05-11-2007, 09:34 AM

We installed a Hunter Digital Thermostat Model 42999B ($19.95 at Wal-Mart) two years ago and have been very pleased with the result.

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/...wVt8An2do-f5bm

This model operates on a 14 volt or millivolt system (millivolt system requires two AA batteries to activate). It has the ability to run a fan and an air conditioner . . . but we only tied in the heating leg. No more 5 to 10 degree temperature swings. You do need to remember to turn the thermostat heat switch to the off position before closing down.

Leslie & Nick · 05-11-2007, 10:07 AM

Thanks cali camper and commodor47. I have wanted to replace the OE Suburban thermostat for a while. This looks like an easy and inexpensive upgrade.

Dick, I don't have the TM here to look for myself, but from your picture it looks like the original thermostat only has two wires (a red and a white), and you used a jumper wire to connect two terminals. Does this sound right?

Nick

**commodor47** · 05-11-2007, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leslie & Nick

. . .

Dick, I don't have the TM here to look for myself, but from your picture it looks like the original thermostat only has two wires (a red and a white), and you used a jumper wire to connect two terminals. Does this sound right?

Nick

Nick,

The jumper wire came with the unit. I don't recall which terminals were initially jumped. The directions said to jump Rh to Rc when wiring for heat mode (only). I believe the jumper wire connects the thermostat circuit to the millivolt (supplied by the AA batteries) power source, instead of looking for a 24 volt source (as is typical in a residential installation). All I did was attach the red and white wires from the old thermostat to the new unit (red to W and white to Rh). You will notice that I used two anchor screws to attach the new thermostat. I would recommend adding two more screws (top and bottom) to better secure the unit. I also carry a spare set of AA batteries.