thermostat install 25 IP Englander

kenstogie · Sep 16, 2014

Thinking about installing a thermostat on my Englander. The electrical connections seem very straight forward but is there a kind of thermostat that I need and what are the pros and cons of a thermostat vs just manual operation? Thanks and lets hope for a mild winter

TimfromMA · Sep 16, 2014

When running manually, the stove will stay at whatever setting you leave it at until you adjust it. Thermostat will adjust the stove up and down to maintain whatever temperature you set just like your main home heating system.

kenstogie · Sep 16, 2014

Yea i got that part of it, thanks though.

dlehneman · Sep 16, 2014

Any millivolt t-stat will work fine, but it's ideal to get one with an adjustable swing setting. That allows you to decide how much the temperature can fluctuate before calling for heat/ or shutting down. Lux seems to make quite a few models this way the last time I looked. That is what I went with, a programmable one (listed in my signature) and it does a fantastic job.
The pros are that it will function more like a central heating system, where it works to maintain your ideal temperature by itself. Also with a programmable one, you can have it automatically go lower at night then ramp up just before you get up in the morning. Depending on whether you set the stove to "high/low mode" or "on/off" mode it will either turn on and off or just ramp heat up and down to achieve your temp.
The cons are....well nothing really in my opinion.
I run "on/off" in the shoulder seasons because otherwise it will cook us out of the house even on the lowest settings. Then when the cold weather really hits, I switch to high/low mode and it runs all the time.

kenstogie · Sep 16, 2014

dlehneman said:
Any millivolt t-stat will work fine, but it's ideal to get one with an adjustable swing setting. That allows you to decide how much the temperature can fluctuate before calling for heat/ or shutting down. Lux seems to make quite a few models this way the last time I looked. That is what I went with, a programmable one (listed in my signature) and it does a fantastic job.
The pros are that it will function more like a central heating system, where it works to maintain your ideal temperature by itself. Also with a programmable one, you can have it automatically go lower at night then ramp up just before you get up in the morning. Depending on whether you set the stove to "high/low mode" or "on/off" mode it will either turn on and off or just ramp heat up and down to achieve your temp.
The cons are....well nothing really in my opinion.
I run "on/off" in the shoulder seasons because otherwise it will cook us out of the house even on the lowest settings. Then when the cold weapther really hits, I switch to high/low mode and it runs all the time.

Thanks that was what I was looking for

mchasal · Sep 16, 2014

I just used an old mercury bulb mechanical stat that I had lying around. Seems to work fine, it really just needs to be a low voltage switch for these stoves. There is a swing adjustment of some kind, but not sure if it's actually optimal.

TCZON · Sep 16, 2014

We just added a basic programmable thermostat to our stove. We also moved the thermostat for the oil furnace, since it was in the same room as the stove. They are now side by side in our hall, and I have the stove thermostat set to come on a few degrees warmer than the furnace. We have had it run a few times today, and the stove will fire, run until the temp comes up, then our stove goes into low mode. It will maintain this for 45 minutes, at which time if the thermostat doesn't call for heat again, the pellet stove will do a shut down until needed. So far, the system looks to be working perfectly. I am hoping that the furnace will only kick on when the stove can't keep up, at which time it will only need to cycle for a short time to help move the heat through the house from the stove. The furnace will also fire if for some reason the stove shuts down or doesn't fire. I'm really hoping we won't need to test this whole theory for at least a couple of months, but the way things are shaping up, I'm happy to be prepared for anything right now.

mithesaint · Sep 17, 2014

I put a Skytech 3301P on my stove two years ago, and it's the best thing I ever did to the stove. We're gone a lot, and it's nice knowing that the house will be warm if the weather changes. I get a ton of solar gain, so without the stat it was pretty common to come home to a 80 degree house. That, and it's nice that it can turn the stove on if we arrive home later than normal.

The 3301P was nice because it is wireless and I didn't have to take the time to run any wires. That alone made up the price difference to me. It's also nice that I can move the stat around the house if needed. I live in the middle of nowhere, and we get a lot of wind. Sometimes the wind hits the north side of the house, and it's nice to move the stat to that side of the house to help the stove run a little longer.

C. Blake · Sep 17, 2014

mithesaint said:
I put a Skytech 3301P on my stove two years ago, and it's the best thing I ever did to the stove. We're gone a lot, and it's nice knowing that the house will be warm if the weather changes. I get a ton of solar gain, so without the stat it was pretty common to come home to a 80 degree house. That, and it's nice that it can turn the stove on if we arrive home later than normal.

The 3301P was nice because it is wireless and I didn't have to take the time to run any wires. That alone made up the price difference to me. It's also nice that I can move the stat around the house if needed. I live in the middle of nowhere, and we get a lot of wind. Sometimes the wind hits the north side of the house, and it's nice to move the stat to that side of the house to help the stove run a little longer.

Hello, I started researching your post about the 3301p because I liked the idea of a wireless remote and not running wires, but my problem whit the install manual is it says the remote cannot be any further away from the unit than 20 ft, that ties the remote to just my living room. Have you had luck using the remote beyond 20 ft?

apandori · Sep 17, 2014

mithesaint said:
I put a Skytech 3301P on my stove two years ago, and it's the best thing I ever did to the stove. We're gone a lot, and it's nice knowing that the house will be warm if the weather changes. I get a ton of solar gain, so without the stat it was pretty common to come home to a 80 degree house. That, and it's nice that it can turn the stove on if we arrive home later than normal.

The 3301P was nice because it is wireless and I didn't have to take the time to run any wires. That alone made up the price difference to me. It's also nice that I can move the stat around the house if needed. I live in the middle of nowhere, and we get a lot of wind. Sometimes the wind hits the north side of the house, and it's nice to move the stat to that side of the house to help the stove run a little longer.

I'm definitely getting one of those for the new stove. Might even get frisky and get the more high end p2 model. lol

kenstogie · Sep 18, 2014

I am totally getting a thermostat.......but now I wonder which one? Some good recommendations thanks for that

thinking of going wireless but it cost alot more.... decisions decisions..

dlehneman · Sep 18, 2014

If you don't need wireless but like lots of programming ability and a widely adjustable swing, the Lux TX1500E has worked great for me (around $60 on Amazon). I had no need for wireless or remote monitoring capabilities so I didn't even look at those.

kenstogie · Sep 18, 2014

I was perusing amazon and stumbled on the Lux TX 1500e as dlehneman has for $25 used in very good condition so I hit the buy button. Was thinking about getting one with all the bells and whistles but this one I can learn what I actuallly want before I spend the big $$ on wireless wifi learing smarter than me thermostat.

I let you know how the install goes but it looks very easy.

kenstogie · Sep 18, 2014

So as I look at the manual AND my control board the connections seem suuuuper ez as in 2 wires as I can tell. I assume I need t_stat wire also?

dlehneman · Sep 18, 2014

Yes, just 2 wires to hook up. You'll need enough t-stat wire to go wherever you want it mounted. My stove is at one end of the house (opposite end from the bedrooms) and the t-stat is in the middle, so whatever the temp is set at is maintained in the main living area (kitchen, dining room, living room). The room the stove is in is a bit warmer (perfect since it the sun room on back side of house with my recliner) and the bedrooms stay a few degrees cooler which works well for sleeping.

TCZON · Sep 18, 2014

We bought a basic programmable for the stove. Wiring was easy, as we just moved both t-stats to the hallway by the basement stairs. No need to fish wires through walls, as it's an old farmhouse basement, just ran the wires through the joists, up the inside of the stairwell and viola. Previously the furnace t-stat was in the same room as the pellet stove, which was clearly not going to work once we installed the stove. With both t-stats side by side in the hall, I have the pellet stove programmed to come on at one temp, and then the furnace programmed for a couple of degrees cooler. On really cold days, this will have the furnace come on to give the stove a boost, and will also help move the heat from the stove through the house, but the stove is our main source of heat.

We had no need for bells and whistles, since I was able to get weekend shift at work, so I am home most days through the days, and the kids or hubby are home on weekends. If something goes wrong, we can hopefully catch it sooner rather than later.

mithesaint · Sep 19, 2014

apandori said:
I'm definitely getting one of those for the new stove. Might even get frisky and get the more high end p2 model. lol

Hmmm...I installed mine 2 years ago, so my memory is foggy. If I recall correctly, the company I bought my 3301P from originally sent me a 3301P2 by accident, and I didn't like it. The programmable periods were goofy, and just didn't work out right. I don't remember the exact details of why it didn't work, but I sent it back and got a 3301P and all is well. 4 different programmable time periods, 2 degree swing. Love it.

mithesaint · Sep 19, 2014

C. Blake said:
Hello, I started researching your post about the 3301p because I liked the idea of a wireless remote and not running wires, but my problem whit the install manual is it says the remote cannot be any further away from the unit than 20 ft, that ties the remote to just my living room. Have you had luck using the remote beyond 20 ft?

I've never taken it further than 20 ft away. My stove sits in the middle of my house, so it's pretty tough to get 30 ft away and still be in the house. I've probably taken it close to 20 ft away, and it functioned just fine, even with a wall separating it from the stove.

apandori · Sep 19, 2014

mithesaint said:
Hmmm...I installed mine 2 years ago, so my memory is foggy. If I recall correctly, the company I bought my 3301P from originally sent me a 3301P2 by accident, and I didn't like it. The programmable periods were goofy, and just didn't work out right. I don't remember the exact details of why it didn't work, but I sent it back and got a 3301P and all is well. 4 different programmable time periods, 2 degree swing. Love it.

It's does have different programmable periods but it also has wifi encryption do somebody can't set your stove higher on you when you're gone. (Probably not likely but you never know.) The P does have better programmable periods though.

DrewBoogie · Nov 24, 2014

Did you guys notice you burn less pellets when running a thermostat? If so, how much?

thermostat install 25 IP Englander

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