Looking for a particular thermostat

Gary Jansen_4

Did a job 20 years ago. 8 zones radiant, 2 hydro-air, indirect.
Owner was little eccentric. We went through probably a 1/2 dozen thermostats brands trying to make owner happy.
He just couldn't get "comfortable". Finally, after a year plus, we installed the Enerstat ET52 series of themostats.
Magically, the comfort complaints went away that day.
What, you ask, happened to make the homeowner "comfortable", just like that?

The thermostats had little red light built into their cover.
The owner could now "see" that the heat was on.
Go figure.....

Anyway, he calls the other day. He'S cold.
And why is he cold? Because the little red light on the living room zone has failed.
Not the whole thermostat, just the light.

I now have 2 days of calling wholesalers, suppliers, fellow contractors, and the interweb.

No luck.

Anybody out there have a new or used Enerstat ET52 they would like to part with and make a few bucks.
I gotta find one before this guy freezes to death.

Thanks, Gary 920 277 0130 garyj@fluidh.com

Danny Scully

Am I to understand the heat works fine and he just wants to see a red light?

Jamie Hall

Sounds like it, @Danny Scully , doesn't it? Go figure...

@Gary Jansen -- is there a possibility that you could solve the problem by wiring in a small pilot light to show that the heat was on?

Danny Scully

I would use a thermometer to show customer the room is at appropriate temperature, then have him find a thermostat he is comfortable, as I don't believe they manufacture Enerstat ET52 series of themostats anymore (brief search online).

Abracadabra

Could replace just the LED if you're handy with a soldering iron.

Fred

Can any of the thermostats that are back lite be programmed to only back light when there is an active heating cycle?

Docfletcher

I found this. Hope it helps.

enerstat is now owned by aprilaire tech support # = 800-334-6011 good luck Freon “Re(1):ENERSTAT ET52” ,

ratio

IIRC the "venstar" line has an LED, lights up red for heat & green for cooling. Probably not an identical match, but fairly capable, if the older one isn't programmable it might be an upgrade.

vibert_c

These enerstat units are super. I have one operating over 25 years, with a spare I found at a garage sale for $0.50. It is childs play for an electronics/radio amateur to replace the led that is
powered by the signal wire. My model is much earlier. The engineer that designed these came from G E. The units were built in Brockville ON. The engineering was so great everyone copied them. It only take one led to make a customer instantly realize the system is working!

Can you provide a pic of your model?

vibert_c

In retrospect I have taken a different tact in addressing this problem.
Please ask this customer if he has replaced/attempted, to replace the batteries since new. Unless you specifically ask, this
information is not likely forthcoming.

From my familiarity with my unit [1983] I would explore the wiring from the control as this unit is almost bulletproof. Leds are super/ultra reliable. So is this thermostat. It is well engineered and put together in Canada. What is not reliable sometime is the continuity of the wiring to the thermostat. Mice are the suspects here.

Check out:
1- That the display is illuminated. If no display there is no power.
2- Is the “BAT” icon displaying? If so it needs new AA batteries.
3- Wring out [no shorts or opens] the wires that service the thermostat. [five]
4- Post the outcome of these tests - don’t assume it has failed - suspect finger/knawing trouble

On my model HP-1 Valera Electronics Inc there is a “Mode” [lower left on panel] button, that
with successive presses, will toggle between one of five states:
1 cool icicle in display
2 heat & cool icicle & flame in display
3 heat flame in display
4 emergency heat flashing flame in display
5 off blank display

Is it possible that it is in the OFF mode by strange circumstance?

This unit has back up batteries [3 AA alkaline] to retain its custom programming during a power
failure. To replace them every 5-7 years requires the face plate to be removed from the body with
gentile persuasion. There is a connecter header in the main circuit board that has perhaps 18 pins.
The persuasion is to remove these pins from their socket.
The liquid crystal display has an icon to indicate time to replace these batteries. The batteries are
never in the circuit until the main power is lost. They are diode isolated. When the unit recovers
from a power outage with expended batteries, it reverts to the default programming. I discovered
this at the time of the “Great Northeast Ice Storm” It does NOT require batteries to function, only
to retain custom parameters for the duration of a power outage.

I have never found a bad one in the field, only ones that were forsaken because folks lost the friggin manual. My garage sale purchase had been replaced by a freebe from the Hydro Utility that enabled them to shut down an air conditioning load at their bidding.

Does anybody have a manual?

Docfletcher

Link...

http://www.enerstat.com.au/et52manual.pdf