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Honey, well. . .
27 Aug 07
Last year over xmas Jodi and I spent three or four days visiting family out of town. When we got back, we discovered that the thermostat had been stuck on for probably half that time. Now, I had been procrastinating on replacing it for at least two winters. It no longer gave an accurate temperature reading, but I’d say it was between 35 and 40°C in here. We turned the furnace off (’cause, you see, you kind of had to open up the thermostat and flick the mercury to get the furnace to go on or off, only it had never before gotten so stuck that it wouldn’t turn off, it was more like if you set it for 18 it would turn on at 12 and turn off at 24) and spent a fitful night sweating in our underwear in what should have been a too cold bedroom. When we rose in the morning and the house had cooled, it was as though the house had had a fever and we had nursed its delirious soul through the night.
Well, no more of that!
Now I have a question which it’d be great if someone could answer. The installation instructions for the thermostat look super easy. They even say something on the box about it being super easy (or some such equivalent). But nowhere does it say anything about turning off any power. Shouldn’t you have to turn off some power somewhere? Instruction one is, “Take your old thermostat off the wall and carefully label the wires.” I’m thinking there should be some power to turn off. Or is there just not enough power running through these things to do any damage? Maybe I should get in there and lick those wires to get that delicious, 9 volt battery tingle.
Posted by pzed on August 27, 2007 at 9.17pm
Categories: every day
Comments on "Honey, well. . ."
Raven changed ours into one of those back in London, and you know I’m not sure he did turn off the power? They really are teeny tiny wires. Personally. I would shut the breaker/remove the fuse/whatever choice is applicable Just In Case. And then you could write Honeywell and criticize them for encouraging unsafe behavior in children. (which sounds more exciting than “in homeowners”)
Posted by kelly on August 28, 2007 at 7.12am :: link
That night was so horrible. I remember lying there listening to all of the strange creaks and groans the house emitted, wondering with each new sound whether the poor thing would make it through without collapsing.
Raven is the sort of person who can do something totally crazy and come through it unscathed. I’d still be turning off the power if I were you.
Now, how long is it going to take me to learn how to use this thing? You know me and things with buttons. . .
Posted by jodi on August 28, 2007 at 7.31am :: link
Sorry, Jodi, they didn’t have any with zippers.
Posted by pzed on August 28, 2007 at 8.00am :: link
I changed a couple of thermostats last winter. It’s one of the easiest home repairs I’ve ever done. You shouldn’t need to worry about any circuit breakers; the thermostat should draw its power through the furnace, so if the furnace is off, the thermostat shouldn’t get enough power to matter.
Posted by Jonathan on August 28, 2007 at 9.04am :: link
