Need a programmable thermostat. LUX or Honeywell.

beenthere

When that Lux stat's buttons stop working a couple years down the road. You'll wish you got the Honeywell.

As far as swing. Are you looking for a thermostat that keeps you comfortable. Or one that lets you have chills between heat calls.


All upper Honeywell stats (Vision pro) have fan circ ability that you asked about.

yuri

Thats the trouble with the online shopping comparisons. They don't survey all the unhappy people who threw or had to throw away their el cheapo thermostats.
LOL

yuri

If you have a newer furnace with an energy saving ECM motor (you don't) you may be able to afford to run the fan continuosly. If not it costs at least a $1 a day to do so ($365 a yr) or more.

Scuba_Dave

I have a Lux 9000 that I have had for around 12 years - no problems
Heat only, no AC, no Touch screen

My mom, MIL, wife's grandmother do not want a fancy thermostat
On, Off - dial set point = that's all they want

beenthere

Statistics say, at least one out of every 10,000 made has to last more then 10 years.

ROFL

yuri

Theres always the exception to the rule. Saw a 40 yr old gas valve the other day, works fine. 28 yr old Lennox G8E with original parts, works fine. Not something you can count on though. Now if I could just figure out which auto manufacturer I want to buy from. If I could just find someone who could plot charts and statistics I won't go wrong.

beenthere

Can't imagine where to find someone like that.

Just heard, Toyota has a 3.8 million car recall.

APJ

Getting back to heating, My furnace is 36 years old , forced air , gas . My neighbor had a new one installed , cost him over $3000 for everything . His gas bills are still higher than mine. We both have good insulation and windows plus the square footage is the same. But thats not the kicker , his furnace has broke down twice since the install . It has needed parts two differnt times . Like they say they don't make them like they used too ... In the past twenty years I've lived here I have replaced the motor once ! I get it cleaned every other year !

Home Air Direct

Your neighbor's issues are probably not the fault of the furnace (regardless of brand). The installation is as important as the product.

As far as the compared fuel bill is concerned, sounds like your neighbor's furnace could be oversized. Also keep in mind that lifestyles and temp tolerance can be big factors in the comparison.

Your statement about "they don't make them like they used too" is flawed. Basically, you are correct. They do not make them like they used too. They used to be 60% efficient. They are now 95%. Because of that difference alone, they used to last 30 years. They now last 14 years. That is not all related to "how they build them". It is more a matter of physics. In order to attain a 95% burn efficiency, the unit has to operate at a much higher fire rate. Heat is a killer of all things mechanical. We also need our furnaces to be much smarter then they used to be, henceforth, more technology and more things to break. Again, i don't see this as a problem, just a shift in the how we need to view comparison.

__________________
Settle down! If you were that important, the city would give you lights and a siren for your car

Home Air Direct

I want to respectfully disagree that some brands are "Junk" and others reign supreme. Sometimes the perception of quality is clouded by personal comfort. That is not a bad thing, just a thing. As to honeywell being superior to Lux, that may be a true statement, but keep in mind that apples to apples comparisons may not be taking place.

My point. When Been or Yuri speaks to the Honeywell, they are talking about the product that they purchase and install. So they are comfortable with the history that they have had. That is a good thing. But, you need to understand that there are two different lines of stats on the market with the same brand name. Honeywell, Braeburn, Lux, White-Rodgers all have parallel product lines that are marketed into two different arenas. There are contractor/pro grades that are marketed through distribution to the pros, and the homeowner line that is usually marketed through home centers and box stores. In most cases, these are not identical products. Lux is good example. I sat with Gary Bosma (National Sales Manager for Lux) and we discussed this very issue. He showed me the quality and warranty differences between the two lines. The LUX line is in the box stores. The LUX PRO line is usually not. Different product, different quality.

Do your research. Take the recommendations of the pros to heart and make your decision based on that along with a personal comfort level about who will be there to back up your choice if something should go wrong. Good luck.

__________________
Settle down! If you were that important, the city would give you lights and a siren for your car

yuri

The Honeywell and White Rodgers pro grade have 5 yr warranties so are built well. Not sure about the consumer grade.

Home Air Direct

You are correct. They are built better than the consumer grade. Why they would ever do that is beyond me, as I would think that would erode the brand, but they are smarter then me, so what who am I to say?

The warranty thing is a game. All the stat manufacturers play follow the leader, and added quality is probably not at the top of the list when it comes to "how long" a warranty should be. In and around the year 2000, most stat warranties were in the 3-5 year range. Around 2003, almost all the manufacturers went to 1-2 year. Now we are seeing 5 year warranties. This is a combination of marketing and actuarial science.

And then to add to that, you have the division of contractors. Half love the 5 year warranty, and the other half hate it because it cuts into their service income. There are always more than one way of looking at something. Half empty? Half Full?

__________________
Settle down! If you were that important, the city would give you lights and a siren for your car

yuri

You know your stuff man. At 15 yrs old most people do a cost of replacement vs repairs scenario. Most of my customers don't want to spend $1000 on repairs for a furnace that may last 5 more years. In a harsh climate like mine a 15 yr old unit may have 18 yrs of actual running hours. Reliability, comfort of a 2-3 stage unit. Better filtration capabilities with an ECM motor and high grade filter are what sells a lot of high end G71s in my area. Plus my good looks.LOL

Home Air Direct

Of course

__________________
Settle down! If you were that important, the city would give you lights and a siren for your car

beenthere

Probably used a contractor that just put in the same size furnace as was there.
Newer units need to move more air per BTU of output.
This can cause lots of trouble when they are installed on old duct systems.

Including part failure and high heating bills.