Thermostat changeover?

[carver 1]

Has anyone changed the original equipment thermostat for the furnace to a more modern and convenient one? Every time that I push the on-off lever I fear that I'll cause breakage because it is so stiff. It sure would be nice to have a temperature readout. All help appreciated.

Thanks,

>>ron<<

[HowieE]

Not sure what you are asking for will be available. The thermostat used in an RV is nothing more than an on/off switch. It does not have an anticipater. In order to get a readout you would have to supply a return line for the current driving the readout and not sure you would find a thermostat that has that function and runs at 12 volts.

You might try applying a small amount of dielectric grease to the friction point of the current switch that you find stiff.

[Skater]

If you have the simple brown thermostat or something similar: Yes, we bought a cheap digital one and love it. It's really just like any other thermostat - note what terminals the wires come off on on the original one (they're marked with one or two letters), then put those wires to the same places on the new one. Generally you don't need a programmable 7-day thermostat or anything like that. It requires two AA batteries, but they last for years. The thermostat we got also does A/C, but our A/C isn't controlled through it, so we just ignore that side of it.

If yours is already nicer than our original one was, then I can't help you - it may be more complex for various reasons.

[idroba]

If you are looking for a heat only thermostat for the furnace, you can get any household one which has a battery to operate it. They have a relay inside which does the actual switching of the furnace on and off and will work well with the 12 volt furnace operation.

When you connect it up, wire the two furnace wires to the red and white terminals on the thermostat for proper heat operation. The Heat/cool/off switch can be set from heat to off when you want positive off when in storage.

If your thermostat operates the AC unit all bets are off and I have no advice as some of the AC units require a special thermostat and telephone wire and connector systems.