Landlord question

Wonk_2

I'm looking for a thermostat for an oil boiler that will allow me to set a minimum setting, but allow my rentors to adjust up if they want. They pay for the oil, but the lease requires them to keep the heat at 60 or higher- unfortunately my last rentor cranked the heat down to the bottom of the thermostat when he left every day- on a -30 night the whole house froze... So I want some kind of thermostat with a foolproof minimum...

Cliffy

Solution

Use two thermostats connected in parallel.



Set one to 60 and lock it.  Leave the other for tenants control.



Tenants will find a way to bypass anything else you have, including this suggestion,  If they're determined they'll shut off the boiler when they leave for the day to save the fuel, but if that happens you can also look to them for damages.



The joys of owning a property!

nicholas bonham-carter

antifreeze thermostat

your tenant must have turned the boiler off at the thermostat switch, as most of them will stop at 50 deg.

as most of us here do not think that night setbacks are a fuel saving for large mass hydronic and steam systems, why not get a honeywell visionpro, with the remote sensor in the rentable space, but the control panel in a locked area accessible only to you.--nbc

http://www.pexsupply.com/Honeywell-C7189U1005-Remote-Indoor-Sensor-5764000-p

Abracadabra

thermostat lock boxes

nix the thermostat in the box.  I've had tenants use knives and screwdrivers thru the vent holes to fiddle with the thermostat.  nbc's idea of the remote sensor will be a better solution for the minimum, then wire in a parallel for the tenant to play with.