Surburban Propane Digital Thermostat.

[Oliver P]

Is there a digital thermostat upgrade available for Suburban Propane heaters??

THX

-O

[Harry Young]

Yes.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-furn...-thermostat.htm

Happy Camping Safe Trails.

Harry

[Gina D.]

I am thinking that your furnace does not care if it has an "RV" specific thermo. A thermo is a thermo, as far as I know. 115 bucks seems a tad steep...

I got a Hunter digital thermo at Home Depot 3 years ago for 39 bucks. Works just fine. It has performed flawlessly, every day, since I began fulltiming.

They do not make the model I have anymore, but this one is similar.

Hunter Digital Thermostat

[Oliver P]

I am thinking that your furnace does not care if it has an "RV" specific thermo. A thermo is a thermo, as far as I know. 115 bucks seems a tad steep...

I got a Hunter digital thermo at Home Depot 3 years ago for 39 bucks. Works just fine. It has performed flawlessly, every day, since I began fulltiming.

They do not make the model I have anymore, but this one is similar.

Hunter Digital Thermostat

Thanks Gina, just what i was looking for.

$115 was a little steep for me.

Looks like I will be looking for an inexpensive one.
How long do the batteries last??

[Gina D.]

I still have the original ones in mine

[BrianP]

I purchased a Hunter model number 42999 (I think - it looks like the one I bought) at Lowe's for about $25. Works great - it comes on at 1 degree below the programmed temperature and shuts off at 1 degree above.

[ThomasE]

Oliver, I also purchased and installed a Hunter "Just Right" thermostat from Lowes based on the research I did on this forum. It works perfectly with my Atwood heater, turns on at -1 and turns off +1 degree from set temperature. The on/off cycling is extremely regular, it's far better than the original Atwood mechanical thermostat that came with the trailer. Best of all it's only $20-25 from Walmart or Lowes. This particular model is not programmable though, which I did not need.

[George Cathcart]

Virtually any conventional "millivolt" thermostat will do the job. Only two wires. Easy upgrade. Lowes, H.D., Ace or any hardware store should have several choices.

(Aside: If you want a great auto-setback thermostat for the home, get a Lux TX9000TS. Touch screen, big back-lit numbers for us old-eyes, easy programing. Ace has the same one with an A prefix. Sorry to digress!)

[Harry Young]

Oliver,

The question I thought was being asked was "is there a digital TSTAT (thermostat) made for a suburban heater?"... The Atwood fits this criteria...I do not like the suburban brand units, I return to many...

I agree the price is high for my budget too.

Other "home" tsats will work depending on how they are made...Sometimes they work and sometimes they are a quite a surprise...

Home tsats run the full gambit internally regarding their electronic components today...They are really designed for 24 v A/C not 12v D/C...

Some have heat anticipation circuits built into them, usually resistive load type circuits when they are there...Others use a half wave bridge to slow the internal back up battery drain in other models, others use a C or X terminal to use the common of the 24v XFR (transformer) as a fully rectified power source and the battery just for back up only. Others use l.e.d. back lighting I have had trouble with.

I am not saying it cannot be done... I am saying its not as simple as going to the hardware store and any tsat will do?

Others who have done this and been fortunate to get away with it by whatever circumstance should give you a specific model number and manufacturer of tsat that worked well for them...It might save you some frustration.

I will make a note of it as well for future reference...Bear in mind the thermostat is linking electrically with the electronic control board inside the furnace.

Hope this helps, any successful hardware store stats others have tried and found successful please list them for me too...

Happy Camping, Safe Trails.

Harry

[Morgan]

I used the LUX DMH110 non-programmable digital thermostat. LUX link.

The $25.00 thermostat works great and maintains very even heat in the Casita.

I also have the thermostat controlling the A/C and heat strips in the Casita. See mod

Whether you use 24VAC or 12VDC makes no difference. The thermostat provides a contact closure when there is a need for heat. The contact does not care whether it's switching 12VDC or 24VAC. I use the same thermostat in my home where it switches 24VAC to the furnace control relay.

EDIT: Use of a programmable thermostat in a travel trailer is a total waste unless you're full-timing (as Gina D. is). We use the non-programmable t-stat at home because we are both home all the time; there is no need for set-back.

[Parker Buckley]

I used the LUX DMH110 non-programmable digital thermostat. LUX link.

The $25.00 thermostat works great and maintains very even heat in the Casita.

I also have the thermostat controlling the A/C and heat strips in the Casita. See mod

Interesting feedback on your Amazon link about the +\- 1 degree cycling. I'm just curious...how does that work for everyone in their eggs? It seems like the furnace would be cycling on and off a lot to maintain such fine control. Just +\- 2 degrees would cut the cycling in half and still be finer than I could probably feel. How often does your furnace cycle when it's pretty cold outside (assuming door shut the whole time, etc.) I'll be installing a furnace in our Casita soon, so this is a very helpful discussion.

Thanks,
Parker

[Morgan]

Interesting feedback on your Amazon link about the +\- 1 degree cycling. I'm just curious...how does that work for everyone in their eggs? It seems like the furnace would be cycling on and off a lot to maintain such fine control. Just +\- 2 degrees would cut the cycling in half and still be finer than I could probably feel. How often does your furnace cycle when it's pretty cold outside (assuming door shut the whole time, etc.) I'll be installing a furnace in our Casita soon, so this is a very helpful discussion.

Thanks,
Parker

Parker,

I haven't noticed excessive cycling either in the Casita or in my home. I replaced mechanical thermostats in both and the temperature control was terrible before the replacement. The temperature varied all over the place with the old thermostats. There is no doubt that the furnace cycles more frequently, but that does not bother me. If the blower lasts 15 years instead of 20, I'll be happy.

I have to tell you that I've only used the furnace in the Casita after the initial installation to test the thermostat. I use the A/C heat strip for heating because it is much quieter. The furnace is a backup for camping with no electric hookup.

Note that my installation is in a Casita with a Suburban furnace. I don't know that it would work in your Scamp, although I'm sure it would, but it's your nickel.

[Gina D.]

Mine does not cycle excessively either. With the small space its in, it takes awhile, sometimes, to come up to the preset temp, but once it reaches it, it takes a good long time for it to cool and cycle on. I think the small space and insulation work together to keep things toasty.

This is under "Normal" circumstances, typical nite temps.. near or below freezing.. it pretty much just stays on.

[ThomasE]

When it was around 40 here, I had the thermostat set to 60, and just guessing, that it would cycle once every 10-15 mins. It was not excessive. Going off my foggy memory, I believe that 1 degree spread is adjustable if you want to reduce cycling, but if you did that the temp would be less stable.

[Parker Buckley]

Thanks, all, for your answers. It sounds like a serious case of "not an issue".

Parker

[George Cathcart]

Interesting feedback on your Amazon link about the +\- 1 degree cycling. I'm just curious...how does that work for everyone in their eggs? It seems like the furnace would be cycling on and off a lot to maintain such fine control. Just +\- 2 degrees would cut the cycling in half and still be finer than I could probably feel. How often does your furnace cycle when it's pretty cold outside (assuming door shut the whole time, etc.) I'll be installing a furnace in our Casita soon, so this is a very helpful discussion.

Thanks,
Parker

Sounds like no one here is having an excessive cycling problem, but if anyone encounters this, most modern thermostats (except perhaps the least expensive ones) have what is referred to as a "Swing Setting", which allows some degree of adjustment. For instance the thermostat that the guy in the Amazon review was probably abandoning, actually had a adjustable Swing Setting. That particular model had only the choice of "Narrow" or "Wide". I'll bet that his was set on the Narrow setting. More common is a numerical adjustment in the Swing Setting, allowing a little more variation. If anyone has the question, simply check your owner's manual.

[GeorgeR]

I replaced the original electromechanical thermostat with the digital non-programmable Honeywell_RTH5100B thermostat for about $35. My heater is Atwood Hydroflame 8500. Thermostat controls temperature +/- 1^oF. Cycling of the heater is OK. The key reason why I got this thermostat was the setpoint and actual temperature dual display.

George.