When most thermostats die they have the decency to quietly give up and not create a scene. Sometimes we can tell that the thermostat is on it's last legs and replace it. Sometimes it just quits and we notice the house cooling off or we notice that the furnace isn't running.
Not my thermostat. Nothing quiet about it's demise. It went out kicking and screaming.
One night about six weeks ago my wife got up and hollered , "Red, the roof is caving in." It was at a time when there was much snow on the roof and some roofs were caving in. She said there was ticking and she was sure the roof was caving in. I ignored her as long as I could. I could not hear any ticking. If a roof was caving in there would be loud bangs. I finally turned over so my good ear was off the pillow. I could hear ticking, but it wasn't a roof caving in. I got up quickly to find the source of the ticking. I just stepped in the hallway and realized it was the thermostat. It was shorting off and on. I also noticed that it was quickly turning the burner off and on. That wasn't good so I raced downstairs and turned off the power to the thermostat.
Well, it was minus 30 C and the stores weren't open so I fiddled with the thermostat and finally got it set to keep the furnace on.
Now that was a lot of excitement for a 74 year old at four AM.
We checked with the company which thermostat would be correct for us and went out and bought it. I quickly installed the thermostat . I found the print on the new thermostat was very small...so small I had to use a magnifying glass. Well, what do you do? We kept the thermostat. About 6 weeks later a gremlin showed up in the new thermostat. "Return" would appear in the afternoon and turn the furnace off. I couldn't get rid of this gremlin. I could set the furnace to run but I wanted the automatic feature.
So I took my crazy thermostat back and bought one with big print.
Now I have a thermostat like my new car. It's a lot smarter than I am. This thermostat will tell me when the filter needs to be cleaned???
Needless to say, I've had a crash course on furnace thermostats and my wife has been given the nickname "Chicken Little."
Oh, Red you make me laugh! I too have one good ear and if that good ear is on the pillow, my husband has to shake me when the clock alarms...like he can't get up first! I have a magnifying glass in every room! Glad you now have the perfect thermostat! "Chicken Little"!
ReplyDeleteI think we'll have to start a movement to have printing a proper size.
DeleteIt's a good job you have got it sorted.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised how little pitch or slope you have on your roofs.
This area only gets an average of 14 in. of precipitation a year. Not to worry about steep slopes to run water.
DeleteOh, to have no heating at this moment must be terrible. Glad you are so handy to repair it all yourself and don't have to wait for a plumber.
ReplyDeleteOur houses won't get too cold for quite a while. We would have to put on extra clothes.
DeleteThis is not the winter for a thermostat to be shorting out - brrrrrrrr! Glad it's resolved :)
ReplyDeleteI can look back at it now and see the humor in it.
Deleteha,ha "Chicken Little" - will you live to write another post as you give her this name? Now the only thing I am doing at the moment, is rewiring a hanging lamp - its quite easy to do, now that I have seen how to do it on youtube. I have already done one lamp, and decided to update the wire on the other. I had fun collecting the stuff I needed at Kents, with the aid of a nice young fella - I can still see the smile on his face as this olde doll came in looking for parts. Have a wonderful day - we're in for a blizzard that is just starting :)
ReplyDeleteI live dangerously!
DeleteI showed my daughter how to change light fixtures. It was the wrong thing to do. She changed all the fixtures in her house.
When it's that cold and your furnace and thermostat stop working, it's time to worry, all right. I would be Aunt Chicken Little. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhen you are suddenly awakened in the middle of the night it takes a little time together your wits together.
DeleteLOLOL! I'm tellin' you, you need to publish a book of short stories, and memoirs. Your stories are so hilarious! My clothes washer crashed on Sunday. When it hit the final spinal cycle it sounded like someone was rapidly banging the side of a tin bucket with a hammer. Something broke to do with the tub. New washer was delivered and installed yesterday.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that was fixed in a hurry. Over much agonizing we changed our washer 3 years ago. The old one had run 37 years.
DeleteIt's pretty quiet here, so that would be a lot of excitement for us, too! Well, a broken thermostat sure beats a roof caving in!
ReplyDeleteYes, the lesser of two evils.
DeleteI do hate this new technology. I have had to remove two failed smoke alarms but cannot install new ones because the new plugs are triangular! I would have to call in an electrician and do not have the money right now.
ReplyDeleteThat's something to watch for...triangular plugs. I wonder what that's all about.
DeleteOh, yes! Mine does the same. I'm with you on the fine print crap!
ReplyDeletecheers
You'd think there would be regulations about the size of print on appliances.
Deletewell, i'm glad your roof didn't cave in AND glad the thermostat didn't start a fire! scary! good for you for being able to install your own. i hate that ultra-fine print!
ReplyDeleteWell, I knew my roof was not caving in. However, you see that for some people it is a possibility.
DeleteI suppose everything gets old sooner or later. Glad it wasn't the roof and it is good that your were home for the failure. My thermostat has nice sized type but I still need my reading glasses to see it. It was -13 F here this morning what is up with the cold air you are sending this way? :(
ReplyDeleteMinus 13 F is freakin cold! Now I'm sending lots more snow . We had 20 cm today. We don't get above 0 until Monday.
DeleteI wouldn't have a clue how to change a thermostat so you're waaaaay ahead of me when it comes to home maintenance.
ReplyDeleteChanging all this stuff is not rocket science.
DeleteOh too funny, you. I'm glad you were so adept at keeping your place warm when the sky was falling. And I had to laugh that the first comment was from Henny Penny. :)
ReplyDeleteGood one... the sky is falling in!
DeleteMy truck buttons and gadgets are a lot smarter than me too. But a thermostat? How smart does that need to be.? I swear more complicated everything isn't really always an improvement in function.....
ReplyDeleteSorry you've been having trouble; at least you resolved it!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.
Good job on repairing the thermostat...I wouldn't let Mac (my husband of 46 years) touch ours! He spent 30 years in the Navy and not a bit of it including anything useful around the house...my regards to Chicken Little...congrats on Post of the Week!
ReplyDeleteSandi
Red, old friend, it is a shame to waste all that accumulated knowledge. If I send you a plane ticket over can you come ans fix the thermostat on my central heating system? Even with the cost of the flight and a beer or three you will probably be cheaper than British Gas
ReplyDeleteThank god you soon found the reason for the sound is from thermostat and not from the roof! Nice to hear that YOU REPLACED IT WITH A NEW ONE!
ReplyDelete