Re: [A/S] Thermostats et al

[Jack Canavera <jackcanavera@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all!

I thought I would close up this thread which I started
last fall after coming back from a late fall trip to
the Smokies where my Atwood thermostat on my Safari
either froze me or broiled me. 

As a refresher to this, you may remember I removed the
thermostat cover only to find that it had an
non-adjustable anticipator.  I could have replaced the
thermostat under warranty but wanted something better.
 I asked the parts manager at my dealer about
obtaining a digital thermostat for RV use.  He said he
would look into it and later came back with no
answers.

Many of you replied with units that you had purchased
with success.  I found some common replies which
included Hunter and Lux.  I called Lux and their
customer support said that had heard from customers
that the Lux-500 unit worked in RV's.  

Since yesterday was my day to de-winterize the Safari,
I went to my local WalMart last week and purchased a
Hunter "Just Right" model 42995B digital thermostat. 
It was the low end of the digital product line but it
was labeled to work on all systems except base board
electric and some multi-stage heat pumps.  It has no
clock, no timed setbacks, no lights.  Just a digital
screen and controls.  Cost was about $20.

I pulled the Atwood thermostat off and found two
wires.  I hooked them up to the proper terminals on
the supplied backplate and mounted the backplate in
the area where the old thermostat occupied.  The back
plate is larger than the old thermostat so the old
screw mount holes were covered.  I drilled in two
small pilot holes and mounted the plate.  I popped the
Hunter thermostat body onto the mounting plate, put in
two AA batteries and within 2 seconds the current
temperature inside the trailer displayed.  

I turned the heat control to heat, pushed the button
to set the temperature to 1 degree above inside temp
and within seconds the furnace started running.  Once
the inside temp hit one degree over setpoint, the
thermostat cut the gas and the furnace eventually shut
down.  Very nicely controlled, no blast furnace or
cold shivers.

The unit also has an electronic anticipator so you can
adjust the heat cycles to suit your taste.  According
to the book batteries should last a year with a
battery warning displaying about two weeks before the
unit shuts down.

All in all I don't see any reason to stay with the
mechanical thermostat that A/S supplies in the Safari
trailers and would greatly recommend this product. It
looks quite nice and blends well with the wall and
ceiling coverings.

Regards,

Jack