Visit our Popular Forums

**jcanavera** · 04-04-2002, 08:01 AM

Hi all!
I started this thread on another list late last fall but I thought I would pass this by the folks here before I head for the store this weekend.

My new Safari was equipped with what must be the worlds worst Atwood heating thermostat. It has no adjustment for the anticipator and just drove us crazy during our October campout in the Smokies with its wide swings in operational temperature.

Rather than replace it under warranty with the exact same unit, I decided to go out and buy a digital unit. From what I have been able to find out Lux and Hunter make home thermostats that will also work in RV systems.

Have any of you made this changeout and what have been your experiences?

Jack

FrankR · 04-04-2002, 08:48 AM

My choise for a t-stat was the cheapest digital I could find. Kmart has a White Rogers unit that is very good. It is cheap, about $30, has many adjustments, reads constant temp and is a clock. A internal battery keeps the memory and time with any other electrical connections. The t-stat was relocated to the bed room area mid-trailer. These t-stats maybe used to control a/c or fans with a relay. Frank

**jcanavera** · 04-14-2002, 10:34 AM

Just as a followup I purchased a Hunter "Just Right" thermostat model 42995B. I found it at Walmart and the cost was about $20.
This is a low end model that will control heating and cooling. No clock, no timed setback, no lights. Just a digital screen that displays inside temp. and up and down buttons for temperature adjustment.

I pulled my Atwood mechnical thermostat off the wall and found two wires. I connected them to the proper terminals and mounted the thermostat and its backer plate over the area where the Atwood sat. The backer plate was larger than the Atwood so there were no holes to patch.

I popped in two AA batteries and switched the unit on. It works great, temperature contol is very good and the unit has an electronic anticipator on it so you can adjust run times if you wish.

Battery life is stated to be one year. The screen will give you about two weeks warning before the screen goes dark. For not much money its a great improvement and will fit the decor of your A/S very nicely.

Jack

**jcanavera** · 04-21-2002, 10:45 PM

Just got back today from a 4 day rally with the local WBCCI chapter. We had some cool nights so I got a chance to check out the performance of the new thermostat. It worked great and kept the trailer at a very even keel.

The only problem was one that was unexpected. While my wife was in the bathroom with the exhaust fan on when I noticed the digital temperature gauge was dropping even though the furnace was running. As it ended up the control wire hole behind the thermostat was not plugged up and the fan was drawing cool air from the refrigerator compartment through the wall into the thermostat. Needless to say the run time of the furnace was elongated considerably affecting the inside comfort level.

For those of you having poor thermostat performance, you might check the wire hole behind the thermostat and make sure it is sealed.

Jack

whitsend · 06-13-2002, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jcanavera
Just got back today from a 4 day rally with the local WBCCI chapter. We had some cool nights so I got a chance to check out the performance of the new thermostat. It worked great and kept the trailer at a very even keel.

As it ended up the control wire hole behind the thermostat was not plugged up and the fan was drawing cool air from the refrigerator compartment through the wall into the thermostat. Needless to say the run time of the furnace was elongated considerably affecting the inside comfort level.

For those of you having poor thermostat performance, you might check the wire hole behind the thermostat and make sure it is sealed.

Jack

Jack - This will probably sound silly, but .... When you speak of plugging the hole behind the digital theromstat, are you talking of the hole in the wall from which the control wirel protrude? Or the hole in the back of the thermostat into which the wires disappear?
I've followed your comments re this thermostat problem and have had the same dissatisfaction with mine. I think I'll try your Hunter.
But which hole should be plugged?
Jim

**jcanavera** · 06-13-2002, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jim whitworth

Jack - This will probably sound silly, but .... When you speak of plugging the hole behind the digital theromstat, are you talking of the hole in the wall from which the control wirel protrude? Jim

Jim,
Yes. The wires protrude through a decent sized hole that is drilled through the wall that is normally covered by the thermostat. Who knows, unless you have already seen this, yours might be plugged already. I did notice a small amount of calking material around the hole when I removed the old thermostat. It just wasn't sealed completely.

Jack

lbrodsky · 10-07-2002, 01:09 PM

Jack:

I, too, am dissatisfied with the wide temperature swings allowed by the Airstream-supplied Atwood. I also dislike the hard-to-push on/off slide switch on the Atwood. What kind of on/off switch does the Hunter have? I assume the two wires you found behind the Atwood and connected to the Hunter allow the thermostat to turn the blower and furnace on and off and that the furnace itself knows how to light the propane and cycle the blower motor. Was there any confusion about which terminals on the Hunter to connect the wires to?

Lew Brodsky
Springfield, VA

**jcanavera** · 10-07-2002, 02:08 PM

Lew,
No problem on a two wire hookup. The instructions on the Hunter tell you what terminals need to be connected. The furnace runs perfectly. The off and on switch for the thermostat is a small black button which slides to "Cool Off Heat" positions. That switch is located behind a hinged door on the thermostat.

The only issue regarding the thermostat is the temperature of the wall that the thermostat is mounted on. I found that in the summer, the wall warms to the touch due to it being common with the refrigerator compartment. You will notice that the digital thermometer may read 2 to 4 degrees higher than the actual inside trailer temperature. In cold weather (below 50 degrees) the compartment is cool enough not to skew the thermostat setting or thermometer reading.

Even if the reading is skewed, once you set the thermostat setting for your comfort level, the furnace runs on a much tighter swing keeping you from first freezing then sweating.

My suggestion is that you buy the Hunter from WalMart. If you aren't happy they will allow you to return it. Personally I'm happy with mine.

Regards,

Jack

JaceBeck · 10-07-2002, 02:37 PM

FYI- I had the same extreme temp swings with my Atwood t-stat. I found the instruction manual and in it there was discussion about the "anticipator" which is adjustable. In short, it reduces the time between cycles significantly. So far it has been a major improvement over the factory setting.
Jace

Ruebel · 10-07-2002, 03:50 PM

My 2002 Safari 27B with the upgrade package came with a Duo-Therm Comfort Control Center (Digital Thermostat). I am very happy with how well the thermostat works. It keeps the temperature steady to within one degree.

http://www.dometicusa.com/products/r.../basement.html

Larry Ruebel
Bismarck ND

**jcanavera** · 10-07-2002, 03:53 PM

Jace,
Dependent upon the model thermostat installed, you may not have an anticipator. The Atwood thermostat in my Safari did not have one. Atwood makes two identical looking units, the only difference being the lack of an adjustible anticipator.

Jack

**jcanavera** · 10-07-2002, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ruebel
My 2002 Safari 27B with the upgrade package came with a Duo-Therm Comfort Control Center (Digital Thermostat). I am very happy with how well the thermostat works
[Larry Ruebel
Bismarck ND

Larry,
I'm assuming that your's controls the heating and air conditioning?

Jack

RoadKingMoe · 10-07-2002, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ruebel
My 2002 Safari 27B with the upgrade package came with a Duo-Therm Comfort Control Center (Digital Thermostat). I am very happy with how well the thermostat works. It keeps the temperature steady to within one degree.

http://www.dometicusa.com/products/r.../basement.html

Larry Ruebel
Bismarck ND

That's the one in my 34' Limited. It has four "modes" AC, Heat Pump, Fan Only (in the overhead AC unit, not the Fantastic Vents... they have their own thermostats), and Furnace. In the AC, Heat Pump and Furnance modes, you can set the fan in continuous High speed, continuous Low speed, or Auto, where the fan only comes on with the device. Fan only can be High or Low. Very little variance in temperature.

lbrodsky · 10-08-2002, 06:47 AM

Jack:

Thanks for the additional information, Jack. From the other posts, sounds like the newer Safaris have much more in the way of climate control, including thermostatic control of the A/C.
Using the Hunter Just Right thermostat on your Safari, I assume the "cooling" setting is non functional and the Hunter is only used to control the heat supplied by the Atwood furnace. Is this correct?

One thought about the warm refrigerator wall affecting the readout...might it help to put a piece of aluminum foil behind the mounted thermostat (shiny side facing the refrigerator)? This might serve to reflect some of the heat away from the thermostat.

Lew Brodsky

**jcanavera** · 10-08-2002, 08:33 AM

Lew,
You are correct, the cool side of the switch is inoperable. Thanks for the idea with the foil. There wasn't much slack in the thermostat wire so unless I spliced wire, I really can't add much standoff between the thermostat base and the wall.

One additional thought, make sure the wire hole in the wall is plugged up. A/S put a little caulk in it but not enough to close up the hole. This spring when the furnace was running Patty was in the shower with the vent fan on. It started to get hot in the trailer and I noticed that the vent fan on created enough flow to suck the outdoor cold air in the refrigerator compartment through the hole into the thermostat.

I plugged that up and all is well. As noted earlier the heat from the wall is non existant once it gets cool and I need to use the furnace. The issue only comes up in the summer, and at that point there is no use of the thermostat. Let us know it goes.

Regards,

Jack

**jcanavera** · 10-08-2002, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RoadKingMoe

That's the one in my 34' Limited.

I priced that one at my dealer and it was big $$. Especially when its only job would be to control the furnace. That's pretty much why I settled on the Hunter. At less than $20 I figured I couldn't make things much worse than the Atwood. Thankfully it ended up to be a good change.

Jack

Ruebel · 10-08-2002, 02:06 PM

Jack

Mine works exactly as described by RoadKingMoe (Maurice). My Safari also has the heat pump but I see the directions have information about using it with a heat strip. Maybe there are different models of the thermostat for heat pump verses heat tape.

Larry Ruebel
Bismarck ND

RoadKingMoe · 10-08-2002, 04:02 PM

There might be a separate hookup for a heat strip and the control knows which you have hooked up, heat pump or strip, by sensing voltage or ground on it.

I forgot to mention the zone button in each "mode" It can control up to 4 zones, allowing different temperature for each. The largest number of ACs or furnaces I could imagine in an RV would be two.

**jcanavera** · 10-08-2002, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ruebel
Jack

Maybe there are different models of the thermostat for heat pump verses heat tape.

Larry Ruebel
Bismarck ND

I'm sure there are. I would assume that your thermostat has more than 2 wires coming into it if it is controling furnace and A/C/heat pump. My heat strip and air conditioner are controlled by the knobs on the air conditioner itself. No wireing present in the wall thermostat area for this device. There are ways to wire an airconditioner like mine to the wall thermostat but it involves adding a relay and pulling wire....something that I don't plan to do at this time.

Jack

wyhjr · 12-09-2002, 05:24 PM

Hi Jack,
Looks like I'm getting into this thread kinda late, but what the hey.
I was curious because we too were dissatisfied with the temp control in our 2000 Safari 27.
After reading the various posts, I popped the cover on the Atwood thermostat and what should I find but a heat anticipator with adjustment from 0.2 to 1.0 amp. The factory setting was 1.0
I'm going to try a 0.5 setting on our trip to Fla. in Feb. before I switch to a Hunter.