wasser@rainbo.DEC (John A. Wasser) (01/08/86)
> QUESTION FOR THE NET: Does a typical house thermostat switch 110 VAC or > can it be made to do so? > -Ed Greenberg No. Typical home thermostats are designed for 24 Volts AC. You could get a 24 volt transformer and 24 VAC relay from Radio Shack and have the thermostat control the relay which would control the heater. The relay should have 115 volt (at least) 15 amp (at least) contacts. Most home thermostats have a little heater wire that heats up when the thermostat is on. This causes the thermostat to shut off a little before the room gets to the right temperature so that the heat will coast up to the right temperature and not overshoot too much. This wire usualy has a sliding contact so it can be adjusted for the current draw of various control relays. The control is usualy marked in Amps so the easiest way to get a good initial setting is to measure the current draw of the relay and start there. You might try an electrical supply store for a thermostat used in electric baseboard heating. You might have trouble finding a set-back model, though. -John A. Wasser Work address: ARPAnet: WASSER%VIKING.DEC@decwrl.ARPA Usenet: {allegra,Shasta,decvax}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-viking!wasser Easynet: VIKING::WASSER Telephone: (617)486-2505 USPS: Digital Equipment Corp. Mail stop: LJO2/E4 30 Porter Rd Littleton, MA 01460
begeman@milano.UUCP (01/10/86)
Ok, I can't keep quiet after reading 25 almost alike articles which keep missing the trivial solution: There are thermostats that switch 110 VAC. They are called "line voltage" thermostats, and run $10-$15 at your local electrical supply or hardware store. They are meant to turn major appliances on/off based on room temp - you can wire them for the heating or cooling side of the cycle (i.e. switch closed when [warmer|cooler] than preset temp). These things are cheap, easier than a thermostat to install (if you can install a wall switch, you've got the skills), and they work (I've been using one daily for 4 years). As was said in another posting, *please* be careful when handling electrical stuff. If you're not sure what you're doing get a friend to help who does (if you're in Austin call me - I love this stuff!). Cheers. ------- Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. Michael L. Begeman Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp Software Technology Program Austin (where the sun always shines) Texas uucp: {ihnp4, gatech, seismo, noao, ctvax}!ut-sally!im4u!milano!begeman arpa: begeman@mcc.ARPA