Furnace Thermostat is Possessed!

[SCUDDOG]

Brand new to this forum. I have been a strong contributor to various Ford, Toyota, Mercedes, and maritime forums for many years and value the input from folks that have experienced what they are writing about.

I scoured this forum for meaningful threads on a thermostat for the furnace but could not come up with much.

We have a 2013 Flagstaff Classic Super Lite 5th Wheel - 28IKWS. The AC was replaced last year and the thermostat for that unit (Dometic) is modern, digital, and functions as it should. The thermostat for the furnace is old school. It has Suburban written on it and is the traditional slide design. No buttons and the temperature is analog. I think that we all grew up with this design.

Anyway, the slide for the thermostat has a mind of its own. No matter how delicately you try to finesse it... it turns on and off when it wants to. The only success that I have had is to aggressively turn it all the way on or all the way off. This is unacceptable. I want to replace it.

Has anyone had success in replacing/upgrading their furnace thermostat? I have replaced a home unit before, but wanted to know if there was anything special about the RV design that I should be aware of before jumping on to Amazon. Thanks in advance!
Scuddog

[pfsupport]

Originally Posted by SCUDDOG

Brand new to this forum. I have been a strong contributor to various Ford, Toyota, Mercedes, and maritime forums for many years and value the input from folks that have experienced what they are writing about.

I scoured this forum for meaningful threads on a thermostat for the furnace but could not come up with much.

We have a 2013 Flagstaff Classic Super Lite 5th Wheel - 28IKWS. The AC was replaced last year and the thermostat for that unit (Dometic) is modern, digital, and functions as it should. The thermostat for the furnace is old school. It has Suburban written on it and is the traditional slide design. No buttons and the temperature is analog. I think that we all grew up with this design.

Anyway, the slide for the thermostat has a mind of its own. No matter how delicately you try to finesse it... it turns on and off when it wants to. The only success that I have had is to aggressively turn it all the way on or all the way off. This is unacceptable. I want to replace it.

Has anyone had success in replacing/upgrading their furnace thermostat? I have replaced a home unit before, but wanted to know if there was anything special about the RV design that I should be aware of before jumping on to Amazon. Thanks in advance!
Scuddog

Stay away from the "Touch Thermostat"



Last week, the A/C came on by itself in the middle of the night, it was -20 out, I went out and the thermostat was on A/C I turned it off, then last night the furnace came on by itself and I forgot to turn off the propane so it was 75 degrees in the RV (-2 Out) this happens every so often, even when we are using the RV< What a pain, so I pulled the furnace fuse and shut off the breaker for the A/C (I need power on for the security system) I am going to try a different brand three wire, maybe mechanical thermostat I need to Get away from this touch thermostat because I think that is where the problem is...

[TitanMike]

Is there a particular reason the thermostat for the A/C isn't also controlling the furnace?

Usually the A/C or Heat functions are selected separately as needed on the same thermostat.

Seems odd to me that it would require two different thermostats as my AC and Furnace are made by two different companies.

Just curious.

I changed my OE "Slide Type" thermostat with a digital unit and it works great.


FWIW, this company offers a Thermostat that replaces the most common older types for both Heat and Cooling.

https://www.microair.net/products/ea...at#CompatChart

Much like a home thermostat and it also has the ability to be controlled from a smartphone via bluetooth. Great for controlling the comfort level even is still in bed.

[SCUDDOG]

I would like to have one thermostat to control both A/C and heat. Our A/C unit is a Dometic standard unit in the ceiling and the furnace is a Suburban unit that runs on gas under the floor. Can I simply take both inputs and route them to one thermostat? I did not think so, but I'd love to hear more input from others.

[NavyLCDR]

I use these thermostats in my trailer for the furnace:
https://www.amazon.com/ICM-Controls-.../dp/B00C6Q0AYM
https://www.amazon.com/ICM-Controls-.../dp/B00QW2WXRS

The reason I like them is because they have a programmable range control. Mine is set to come on at 2 degrees below the set temperature and it turns off at 1 degree above the set temperature. I like that because the furnace runs longer when it comes on, and it does not cycle on/off as much.

I had a 19' TT and now I have a 23' TT. It may not be a problem with your 5th wheel, but in the small space of my trailers the furnace would heat it up in about 2 minutes with a standard thermostat, and then cool back down in about 15 minutes (in colder weather). Adjusting the range wider than the standard +/- 1 degree means less cycling. On the back of the analog slide type thermostat is an adjustment screw (I can't remember what it is called, anticipation adjustment maybe) that is supposed to widen the range and minimize cycling, but I like a digital reading.

I have no experience combining the two system thermostats into one. My A/C is simple rooftop unit with the dial on the ceiling grill.

[mcbridek]

I installed this heat only digital. It’s a very common thermostat used for a heat only controller in an RV.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[KMP44]

I replaced ours with this

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Airxc...s%2C164&sr=8-3

It's pricey, but made to be direct replacement for the analog tstat, so easy to replace, digital, but without needing batteries. There are some good threads on here as far as upgrading to a digital version.

[Wiscampsin]

Replaced ours with the same as KMP44 above 2 years ago. Simple swap and works much better than the analog one installed at factory.