Honeywell UtilityPro Programmable thermostat problem
Lee B
I had this thermostat installed by my utility company several weeks ago.
It's the kind where they can cut back the air conditioner during peak
demand. I get money off my utility cost and a free installed thermostat.
Let me mention here that I have no ability to install anything electric,
so buying one and installing it myself wasn't an option.
I used it on the A/C mode for about a week, and then it became cool
enough that it wasn't necessary. Last night I turned it to the heat
setting. It ran fine for a while, although I noticed that on several
occasions it said "hold" which according to the manual has something to
do with protecting the compressor by not restarting it too soon. I have
a forced hot air oil furnace. Do they have compressors? I thought those
were found on A/Cs. (See - non technical here). Anyhow as I was looking
at the display, it suddenly went completely dark. I don't mean the back
light dimmed, I mean it was black with no on screen menu. That freaked
me because if the thermostat isn't working, how would the furnace know
to turn off. I walked to the other end of the house to see if it was
still running, and yes at least the fan part was. When I got back, the
back light and menu were back on again. I was concerned and took that
opportunity to turn the heating system back off.
Any thoughts? I've called the utility company and they can't look at it
until Tuesday. I'm afraid to turn it back on in case something is wrong
with either the thermostat or wiring.(Local newspaper blog had a comment
from someone who claimed the utility had mis-wired her thermostat and it
damaged her A/C). The guy who installed it didn't seem to know much
about the unit; when I asked how it worked, he handed me the guide and
said it's all in here. AFAIK, the furnace itself was functioning
properly - the oil company did its annual PM 3-4 weeks ago (actually an
hour or so after the thermostat was installed) and it was
OK.
Any thoughts on what I should look for or ask? I'm starting to wish I
had the original thermostat back.
Tony Hwang
Hold means hold the current temp. for certain number if hours or days
depending on what you do. Display darkens if there is no activity on the
panel. If you touch any button, it'll come on again.
Just READ the manual. Even if 'stat goes bad your furnace won't run
forever. It has bult-in safety shut off.
Lee B
OOps, sorry - the message was *"wait"* Don't know why I typed hold; I
knew what that one meant.
Display never darkened while it was in the A/C mode. It would dim but
never went completely dark. In fact, that's one of the complaints I've
read about this model. And when it went completely dark on me, it didn't
respond to my touching it. (Couldn't tell where exactly to touch because
there were no button outlines, but I tried several places where I
thought the buttons had been and it didn't react. It finally lit back up
while I was out of the room). And since I put it back in "system off"
mode, the backlight has stayed on.
I did read the manual... even downloaded the pdf file. It says that if
the screen is blank to check the circuit breaker, check the furnace door
and check that the power. Those weren't the problem because I never did
any of that, and it came back to life on its own. And it says the wait
message is for the compressor. (Do I have a compressor?)
Thanks for the reassurance though about the built-in shutoff. I started
worrying about the daggone thing acting up while was at work and
overheat or something.
Oren
wrote:
In the mean time, pull the battery out for a short while. The device
should reset to factory defaults. (if some programming got fudged up)
For the "wait", I suspect the T-stat was waiting for the temps to drop
going from AC > Heat.
Look in the manual for a link to energystar.gov (?). There they have
samples of programming times based around work times, when you are
home, etc.
I still use the default setting.
Tony Hwang
Does your 'stat have batteries within? Anyhow My Honeywell Vision Pro
8000 is battery operated and has an option to keep the display on or dim
when inactive. I think this is to save battery. This panels have
different brightness depending on what they use just like laptop LCD
display panels. "Wait" means just that 'stat is starting a cycle and
until then it displays that. Your's must be programmable with which you
can do all kinds of things. Take a careful look at systems option part
in the manual. My back is electronics and I often notice
auto mechanics, HVAC techs, etc. having poor electronics basics. When
I had my a/c installed I wanted a wireless 'stat. The guy did a very
good job of installing but had no idea what to do with wireless. I told
him not to worry I'll do that part. He looked very relieved. I hang the
'stat downstairs in the winter, upstairs in summer.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
wrote:
>
HOLD on a programmable 'stat means it is not running the scheduled
program, but is in "temperature hold" mode.
Lp1331 1p1331
in the original post. ( And the oil part tells me that the OP is
probably nowhere near me). However, a limit switch opening would still
be my first WAG as to the cause of the problem. Larry
Lp1331 1p1331
If that happens, you have no 24volts to the stat and it goes dead until
the limit closes again and the power to the stat is restored. (First
hand experience with mine last winter) The limit switch is there to cut
the burners off if the heat exchanger exceeds a certain temperature. The
most common cause of that is low air flow over the HE, and the most
common cause of low air flow is dirty filters. That would be the first
thing to check. There are a number of things that could also cause that,
inicluding a faulty limit switch. Of course, this limit switch thing is
only a semi edjeecated guess. If your filters are clean, you probably
need to have your system checked and serviced by a pro. On mine, the fan
portion of the fan/limit switch was bad and would not bring the blower
on at all, causing the limit to open after a couple of minutes. Good
luck Larry
Lee B
The UtilityPro is apparently based on the VisionPro. It does take
batteries (presumably mine is new since it was just installed). It
doesn't have the option to turn off the backlight. I know the VP does. I
haven't looked, but on another forum someone said that that code is not
one of the programming options on the UP. The manual actually says "If
thermostat is AC powered, a dim display is normal. The backlight
remains ON at a low level, and brightens when a key is pressed." There
really isn't any systems part of this manual, since it's designed for
the end user, with the utility co installing it. (The installer might
have had a manual, although looking back, I'm not sure if he understood
it).
I actually just had the same thermostat installed at my old house which
is for sale. Seemed like a good idea, because I could set the temp to be
a big higher when people might be coming to look. Now I'm worried about
going and setting that one into heat mode! (That installer seemed more
on top of things, but then he had to install something else on the
furnace because it was missing a wire at thermostat location).
(Here's the manual:
http://peakrewards.bgesmartenergy.com/media/pr/thermostat-operation-manual.pdf)
Lee B
DIY-er!) but I'll mention it to the installer when they come to check on
it. I just have visions now of the electric company blaming the furnace,
and the furnace maintenance company saying it's the utility company's
problem...
Thanks for the info.
Lee B
Repairman from the utility company was here today. I gave him a synopsis
and told him I was worried about whether something could have been
installed/wired incorrectly. He checked it and said the wiring is fine.
Thermostat is fine. The only thing he could come up with to explain the
display going blank is what Larry mentioned (thanks Larry!) about the
limit switch. Said furnace could have reached that temp, or switch could
be set too low. I still don't understand if this is a malfunction or a
fact of life?!
I asked why the previous thermostat, a digital non-programmable
Honeywell, never went blank on me. He said that old model had a battery
to run the display because it didn't have a common wire (I think that
was the term). He said that the UtilityPro has one small battery to hold
the date/time but doesn't have the batteries that other stats do because
they had to sacrifice some of the space for the additional electronics
used to do the peak usage thing, so the display is driven by that wire.
His explanation for the "wait" message was that there is a "bug" in the
'stat because it wasn't really adapted for an oil furnace, and was
reacting like it would with a heat pump that has a compressor.
I'm still not sure I'm quite satisfied. I guess I'll call the furnace
people (the service contract is part of my oil contract) and ask about
the limit switch. I just have visions of them both blaming each other. I
can live with an occasional blank display I guess, as long as I know
it's not an indication of something actually being *wrong* (and
dangerous) with the furnace.
Thanks to all for your patience with my questions!
Lee B
Just checking back in. First the utility company guy came and couldn't
find anything wrong with the thermostat. He did confirm it was wired
correctly. He couldn't explain the "wait" notation (which is supposedly
related to a compressor) other than saying the thermostat probably
hadn't been completely modified to handle oil heat. Which makes sense,
since I got this from the GAS and electric company. His only explanation
for why the entire unit would suddenly go dark was also the limit
switch. and then he left with a non-nonchalant "it's safe", and if there
is a problem the switch will turn it off.
So I finally got around to calling the furnace people. We'd had some
unseasonably warm weather and I'd just left the whole thing turned off.
This guy also tested and and confirmed it's wired correctly. He also
didn't think the "wait" message was a problem, because in order to
disable that, it would disable the wait for the A/C compressor. Hey
fine, as long as it's not causing a problem.
Then he made one discovery. Apparently the person from the company who
did the PM had put in too large a nozzle, at least according to the
specs that he found. He said that could allow the furnace to get too
hot. So he installed what should be the right sized one, and so far so
good. I don't know if it's had the wrong sized nozzle all along (or when
these are changed). So maybe it was a good thing that I got the new
thermostat that alerted me to the limit switch going off. Although I may
turn the whole thing off during the day until I've had one or two
problem free evenings....
Ed Pawlowski
"Lee B" <not_my_r...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> Then he made one discovery. Apparently the person from the company who did
> the PM had put in too large a nozzle, at least according to the specs that
> he found. He said that could allow the furnace to get too hot. So he
> installed what should be the right sized one, and so far so good. I don't
> know if it's had the wrong sized nozzle all along (or when these are
> changed). So maybe it was a good thing that I got the new thermostat that
> alerted me to the limit switch going off. Although I may turn the whole
> thing off during the day until I've had one or two problem free
> evenings....
The burner is made to accommodate a range of sizes of nozzle. That changes
the rating of the burner so the same setup can be used in different houses
with different needs. If the nozzle is larger than what is needed for your
house, the burner will heat the firebox faster and it will shut down on the
high limit, cycling more than necessary. One particular model of Becket can
range from 56,000 to 420,000 Btu depending on the nozzle. It must be
mounted on the right fire box though.
The nozzle is usually changed at every service PM. If the service guy
happened to be out of the proper size, he may sub a larger one and not tell
you. A particular burner/heat exchanger combo may take from .85 to 1.25,
but if he puts in a 2.75, that is really overkill and dumb. Want to see
what they look like? Go here http://www.delavaninc.com/oilburner.htm
Lee B
problems. No more having the screen on the thermostat go completely dark
(which totally freaked me out) and since I've turned it back on, I
haven't seen any more of the "wait" message. Or maybe I'm just more
comfortable now and not staring at it. Thanks for the explanation and
the picture.
roblmel
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/maintenance/Re-Honeywell-UtilityPro-Programmable-thermostat-Follow-u-404587-.htm
:
Lee B wrote:
-------------------------------------
I had the UtilityPro thermostat installed for my oil furnace last week. I
have the same exact symptoms. The thermostat occasionally goes completely
blank for about 5 seconds and the blower runs. After the light comes back
on the wait indicator displays, and the furnace starts minutes later.
I have a new theory for the cause of this. My oil furnace is a Rheem. The
instruction manual states that a special isolation relay must be used with
a "power robbing" thermostat. Apparently, if batteries are not used for
the thermostat main power, it is "power robbing" by default. Quoting the
manual, "Failure to add an isolation relay will result in intermittent
furnace operation during the off-cycle as voltage used to power the
thermostat may actuate the furnace." A wiring diagram for installation of
the relay is included. The part number for the relay is 42-25104-01 for a
SPNO Pilot/Power 24 volt relay. I searched for the part number and found
it to be provided by multiple sellers for under $30. I plan to call the
PeakRewards number which is in my case Baltimore Gas and Electric to see
if they can/will install the relay to fix the problem. I will follow up
with the results.
roblmel
:
roblmel wrote:
> Lee B wrote:
-------------------------------------
Follow up to last post. Called the power co. A Honeywell expert called me
back in 15 minutes. My theory was incorrect. Apparently, when the
thermostat is installed it is wired so that it is not "power robbing" even
though it has no batteries. The Honeywell rep believes that the cause is
the same as described in the past post. That high heat is triggering the
limit switch.
Smitty Two
melcherdb_at_c...@foo.com (roblmel) wrote:
>
> Follow up to last post.
Great. If you can figure all that out, you can surely figure out how to
get to USENET without using the SPAM portal that I fondly call the
SUCK-O company. If you can't, then you don't get to play, because we
don't want their shit in our group.
I am the Chief of Alt.Home.Repair, and I approved this message.
Smitty Two
Smitty Two
melcherdb_at_c...@foo.com (roblmel) wrote:
>
> Follow up to last post.
Great. If you can figure all that out, you can surely figure out how to
Twayne
Smitty Two <prest...@earthlink.net> typed:
And I am your boss: And I do not approve your message. Lies are the mark of
an idiot who lacks humor or ...
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