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Old 02-27-2010, 01:06 PM   #1
jerry snell
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Question adjustment of heater thermostat

Is there any way to adjust the heater thermostat to minimize the interval between turning off and then on again? A previous thread discussed this but I can't find it now
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Old 02-27-2010, 02:52 PM   #2
Wavery
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I replaced mine with a digital "Smart" thermostat. It made a big difference.
http://www.amazon.com/Lux-DMH110-Non.../dp/B002SWLOTY

It's super easy to install. 2-wires. Red wire goes to "R" (on the thermo) white wire goes to "W". Doesn't take a genius......
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Old 02-27-2010, 04:28 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jerry snell View Post
Is there any way to adjust the heater thermostat to minimize the interval between turning off and then on again? A previous thread discussed this but I can't find it now
Here ya go: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...read.php?t=933
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Old 02-27-2010, 04:47 PM   #4
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I did that to our thermostat when we 1st bought the camper. It did help but that thermo is such a pain to use that we decided to buy the Lux digital ($25).



The Lux digital looks much nicer, it's easier to read and use and it is far more accurate. IMO.....good investment. You can even get a Lux progamable. It looks basically the same but you can program it so that the temp is lower while you're sleeping and automatically turn on/off at a certain time, which would conserve propane and electric. ($40)

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Old 02-27-2010, 05:36 PM   #5
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One word of caution. Most of the low to mid range digital thermostats have one degree of accuracy ( +/- 0.5 F) that is not variable. This will result in the heat turning on and off very often. Check the specs on the packaging to determine this. Although the standard thermostat is not real user friendly, it does have the ability to change the delta between on and off. In this case increased accuracy is not always better.
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Old 02-27-2010, 05:49 PM   #6
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Wow, that was an old old thread. Congrats to MtnGuy just for being able to find it!

The thermostat that was pictured in that thread hasn't been used in TMs for several years. It was perfectly good - TM just began using another. I recognize the new one by the fact that it has rounder edges on the cover. However, if you pop the cover off the new one, you will find the same circular cycle-adjust mechanism inside that is pictured in the old thread.

I haven't been able to understand the lure of a digital thermostat (other than programmability, which can be useful). It senses air temp in the same place in the TM, using effectively the same type of sensor, and responds just as fast (or slow) as a mechanical unit. Why is it better? Dunno. When the air conditioner in my house died a couple years ago, the new air conditioner came with a sexy digital thermostat, to control both heating and cooling. If it works any different than the old round Honeywell, I haven't been able to detect it. Of course a digital thermostat for the TM does require a battery which, if it dies, will leave you with no heat.

Just my thoughts.

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Old 02-27-2010, 06:06 PM   #7
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The biggest advantage to the digital thermostat is that you aren't "guessing" at what temp you are setting. The old thermostat is very hard to read.

The digital thermo also displays the inside temp and you don't have to get down on your knees to read the analog needle that may or may not be accurate. The needle has about a 1/8" travel for every 5 degrees.

The other big advantage is that the "on/off" switch is much more user friendly. That little switch on the old one is hard to switch and I can never remember which way was on or off so I had to get on my knees and look under the thermostat to see which way to push the thing.

The Lux "Smart" thermostat seems to control the heater much better. When in bed, we don't feel the temp variance that we used to. I used to push my covers off at night, then wake up freezing. We don't experience that anymore. It's more like being at home.

The thermostat does take 2-AA batteries but they last for years. Ours has been in there for over a year. Now that you brought it up, I may change the batteries before next winter.
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Old 02-27-2010, 08:57 PM   #8
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Well, the cold-hot-cold is the reason you are supposed to adjust the cycle adjuster inside. It comes from the factory set on ZERO. You just rotate the little arm a bit. Try halfway up as a starting point.

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Old 02-28-2010, 07:28 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill View Post
Wow, that was an old old thread. Congrats to MtnGuy just for being able to find it!
I cheated some on that find. I remember that I had been in a discussion on this before, so I typed in "thermostat" and my user name, and came up with only a couple of threads that applied. I found the link to your thread farily quickly.

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Originally Posted by Bill View Post
The thermostat that was pictured in that thread hasn't been used in TMs for several years. It was perfectly good - TM just began using another. I recognize the new one by the fact that it has rounder edges on the cover. However, if you pop the cover off the new one, you will find the same circular cycle-adjust mechanism inside that is pictured in the old thread.
I had the circular kind.

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Originally Posted by Bill View Post
I haven't been able to understand the lure of a digital thermostat (other than programmability, which can be useful). It senses air temp in the same place in the TM, using effectively the same type of sensor, and responds just as fast (or slow) as a mechanical unit.
Our factory thermostat worked great after the adjustment. I set the thermostat to the general temperature that we wanted, then adjusted accordingly after a cycle or 2.

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Of course a digital thermostat for the TM does require a battery which, if it dies, will leave you with no heat.
Bill
Good point.
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