# Weird thermostat problem



## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Not sure what you mean by "bypass stat".


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## Doc Holliday (Jan 2, 2012)

Connect problem stat to other system versus other stat to problem system. Bet system works fine.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

We already know that


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## Doc Holliday (Jan 2, 2012)

Sorry BT, ill shut up now.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

No no, please DON'T shut up. Bringing up different points from different views get my cogs turning and it may cause some good thinking. I will have to look into the book and see if there is a schematic. Maybe that might shed some light on things.


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## Dr Heat (Dec 25, 2008)

We assume the stat is good because of the swap.

So we move on 

A good stat will be effected by High Voltage (in excess of say 30 volts) not an issue here, Cold or Hot drafts from other sources causing bad temp reading not our issue and finally high amperage.

We are not looking for a short. That would fry the antiapater or blow the transformer. What we are looking for is a failing coil on a relay or a weak antisipater. My bet is a combo the gas valve is getting weak pulling high amperage causing the antisipater to over heat. 

Then again is the transformer Humming? :laughing: just a little humor


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## beenthere (Mar 5, 2009)

Dr Heat said:


> We assume the stat is good because of the swap.
> 
> So we move on
> 
> ...


On units that use TT terminals. A short after the anticipator won't burn up the transformer.


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## flashheatingand (May 3, 2008)

Ironic thing is, I wouldn't be surprised if the humming transformer is the canary bird of the problem. 

My thoughts for what it was worth is to bypass the stat, and, well we know the rest of the story. 27 volts is normal, .04 amps is normal, so, everything should be working alright. Fact is one needs to catch it malfunctioning, and then take the measurements.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Well catching it malfunctioning isn't hard at all. All I have to do is turn the anticipator up and then the bi-metal strip will heat up and the mercury bubble will start rising. You can watch it go up.


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## flashheatingand (May 3, 2008)

Leo G said:


> It's 17 feet up in the air and surrounded by machines on the ground. It could indeed hurt :laughing:


Welcome to our world!! Hey, did you figure out anything? Does the amp draw change when the fan comes on? 

I think your are going to need to get up there and take a look above. If you want to check the thermostat wiring, you could wire-nut red&white down below and check the resistance above.

Granted, my street cred is at risk with crazy talk like this, but....

The buzzing transformer is overheating because it is too close to the heat source and the laquer or iron sealant has worn thin.... Somehow this has thrown off the magnetism flux hyperbole principle which as a result has effected the ability of the transformer to handle the loads of the relays and coils.

Well, probably not. But, without being there It's hard to say, but topics like this are fun to read about, and, finding out the outcome would be beneficial to many of us heater dogs.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

The transformer buzzes because it does. And because it is attached to a large thin resonator to amplify the sound, the tin box of the heater. All 4 heaters have this buzzing sound, so I think it is safe to say it is not a problem. It has sounded this way for the 8 years I have been here, never changing.

Never checked the amp draw for more that a few seconds. I have tilted the stat a bit to favor staying on, only a few degrees and lowered the anticipator back down and it is working somewhat normal again. I guess I will have to get up there and check things out eventually. But as long as I can maintain a constant temp that is comfortable I will be happy with it. I think I will just get the digital stat for $40 and be done with it.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

I fixed it...

Well....

I got a non programmable digital thermostat. Cheap Honeywell. Tried to get the mounting plate off the 1st one and the whole stat just fell apart, circuit board, LCD screen everything just fell out. Put it back together and it didn't work. Returned it and got the same one and this one the mounting plate came off like it was suppose to. Red to R White to W and pop in 2 AAA batteries, fire up the breaker and we have heat. 

Stays within 3 degrees of setting. Starts up just a few seconds after it goes 1 degree below the setting and then goes off one degree above the setting. Then there is 1 degree of heat buildup. Overall much better than the 7-8 degree swings I had to endure with the anticipator settings I had to use to make it work.

Goes down to 40F so it is nice. Only complaint is no back light on the LCD. What do you expect for $25


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