Thermostat "upgrade"?

[craig333]

I decided to go back to a manual thermostat after some issues with my old thermostat. Dead batteries at 3am just aren't worth the little bit of extra heat regulation.

I visited with Marty at ATC and he gave me a new Dometic thermostat.


Thanks Marty. Installed it and it worked well but then I ran across a Honeywell CT50K. The CT50K, for twice the price, allows operation down to 35 degrees versus the 50 degrees of the dometic. A bit low for comfort but perfect for keeping things from freezing when I'm away from the camper. On off switch is also nice and smooth.



Of course I have a few extra screw holes to cover up now



Also readjusted the ignitor gap and it seems to working better at low voltage. Need to go play in the new snow and confirm.

 

[pvstoy]

I put one of those Honeywell in the garage for the garage heater gas ceiling mount ( now since removed and looking for a nice electric one). I liked it for the low setting of 35 degrees to protect the plumbing in the garage. What I found was it was difficult to figure what temperature you were setting on the slider.

I'm considering putting it in the camper.

 

[rando]

If you are using the digital thermostat, it is highly recommended to spend the extra buck or two for lithium AAA's. They last about twice as long as alkalines, and more importantly they are less temperature sensitive, so they are less likely to poop out in the middle of the night.

 

[JaSAn]

^^^
And change them out every fall. They aren't that expensive and there are other non-critical uses for partially used batteries.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I decided to go back to a manual thermostat after some issues with my old thermostat. Dead batteries at 3am just aren't worth the little bit of extra heat regulation.

I visited with Marty at ATC and he gave me a new Dometic thermostat.

Thanks Marty. Installed it and it worked well but then I ran across a Honeywell CT50K. The CT50K, for twice the price, allows operation down to 35 degrees versus the 50 degrees of the dometic. A bit low for comfort but perfect for keeping things from freezing when I'm away from the camper. On off switch is also nice and smooth.

Also readjusted the ignitor gap and it seems to working better at low voltage. Need to go play in the new snow and confirm.

Craig’s experience is exactly like mine, and that’s why I have an ATC Bobcat. Marty, Jeff and the crew are the best!

 

[lactic]

Is there a consensus on a replacement thermostat for the FWCs? Several threads but no one option was jumping out.

I do like the ability to go down to 35° but would love the option to have a programmable thermostat provided the batteries don’t die during our Utah winters!

 

[pvstoy]

You could take the batteries out of the thermostat and keep them in your house. Put them in when you use the camper.

 

[Mthomas]

You could take the batteries out of the thermostat and keep them in your house. Put them in when you use the camper.

This, and try lithium supreme from ever ready. Supposed to be good to very low temps. I am thinking of this and adding in a manual switch to turn on the system if thermo fails.

 

[rando]

One other comment on the digital thermostat - make sure you turn the thermostat to 'off' (with the slide switch on the side of the thermostat) when you get back from a trip. Even with the 12V power to the furnace turned off the thermostat will still try to run the furnace, and it uses a relay that draws much more power when energized. If you leave it on "heat" and then pull the master power, and it is cold out, it will flatten the battery in a matter of weeks.

 

[Cayuse]

Had my Honeywell digital thermostat fail on me while camped at 7300' during a recent trip to New Mexico. Thought it was batteries but tried three alternate sets that I had with me and none of them got the thermostat working though their source devices worked just fine, so going back to the mechanical version, the CT50K should arrive this afternoon.

 

[craig333]

When its cold I want it to work. Mine worked great all weekend. So its not programmable. I don't mind.

 

[Cayuse]

When its cold I want it to work. Mine worked great all weekend. So its not programmable. I don't mind.

This is spot on. Mine digital Honeywell worked fine Thursday night and then quit working after that. Oh well, live and learn, if the new one is off by a couple degrees because it's mechanical rather than digital its not the end of the world.

 

[HJota]

"The CT50K, for twice the price, allows operation down to 35 degrees versus the 50 degrees of the Dometic."

I find the thermostat in my Eagle does not go low enough. Just before it shuts off i wake up because i am over heated. Even at the lowest setting. This CT50K might be the answer i am looking for. That or move the existing thermostat to a higher location in the camper.

 

[Stokeme]

I do not need programmable complexity. I want 35-40 low temp setting option at night. I may give this unit a go in either the vertical or horizontal configuration & Hope for the best.
https://www.amazon.com/ICM-Controls-FS1500L-Garage-Degree/dp/B002VKARIW/ref=pd_cp_328_2/139-3152468-2960039?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B002VKARIW&pd_rd_r=1bec0809-f848-44bf-b986-0f476b46447e&pd_rd_w=bXGuT&pd_rd_wg=S8pD2&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=E83B011WPJYESY54FD35&psc=1&refRID=E83B011WPJYESY54FD35
I will definitely also look into the CT50K as it is a manual thermostat. No battery required.

 

[Stokeme]

Purchased & just installed the CT50K. So far I think it is the answer, for my 2018 FWC furnace, to allow a temp setting below 50F. It is a manual unit needing no battery, which is a plus, but is non-programmable. I now have a good low temp option (below 50F) of 35F to 40F. Obviously it heats well above 50F if needed. Every digital unit I tried failed to perform.
It was slightly challenging to install as the FWC wall wire is a very stiff ~12awg wire. Maybe it’s so stiff as to prevent the wire from falling back into the wall & becoming irretrievable. The screw contacts in this thermostat though are quite tiny with no real entry point for a spade fastener. The wall wire is really too thick to attempt a wrap around with this tiny screw. I luckily had 2 tiny, open end, crimp ring terminals that were small enough to enable a fit with the screw in the contact point after a battle with the wire.

 

[Aussiedor]

Currently we have a Honeywell TH1100DV1000/U in our FWC. We've definitely had repair issues with our Dometic Furnace that came with the camper. Now I'm trying to figure out if we are having problems with the Thermostat. It seems to be having intermittent problems. Our last trip the thermostat was keeping out furnace on longer than it should. Anyway I went into setting mode and found that the "5" "function/mode" set on something other than "5". Does anyone have experience with these settings? I looked in the Manual obviously and found that the thermostat function "5" should be set on "5". I'm not sure if this was the problem. The other issue I'm having is the "Bandwidth" for temperature. It's very narrow. Only a few degrees. Does anyone know of a thermostat that has an adjustable temperature bandwidth ?

 

[Stokeme]

Aussiedor ...

My 2018 Grandby Shell came with a very simple analog, manual therm, 50-90F, the slider was the on/off. I wanted a lower temp option than 50F. I tried 3 different very basic digital units. They all failed miserably causing the heater to cycle erratically. I inquired at a FWC rally & was told they stopped using a digital therm 2-3 years ago.
I went back to the original unit. It works consistently & adequately, but the temp slider setting is admittedly vague. I saw this thread about the Honeywell CT50K & wanted the 35F minimum. I installed it last Fall & it is working well. It is great to set a lower night time temp. It has a separate on/off switch. It is still vague but the Camper is so small it’s not really a meaningful issue to me. It’s simple, effective, & requires no batteries. I can not help with digital settings or bandwidth issues. You might consider a manual therm.

 

[wandern]

I've used the LuxPRO PSD010BF in several campers. I like them better than the Honeywell (backlighting, buttons, and accuracy), and they've been very reliable. Their minimum temperature setting is 40 deg F.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FYNCJW

 

[Stokeme]

What vintage FWC, what heater brand(s) was compatible? Looks like a nice simple unit. My “newer” FWC Atwood did not gel well with digital units from Honeywell or Emerson. I did not try LuxPro. Would really enjoy digital choices for therm temp setting.