what wifi thermostats work best for steam

gerry gill

hi Guys- im getting lots of requests for wifi thermostats. Which ones work well with steam? i cant seem to gleam that info from honeywell.

BobC

Ignore this if your looking for a wireless model - I should have read the question more carefully!

In 2010 I installed this thermostat

Honeywell RTH6450D1009 5-1-1-Day Programmable Thermostat

It works well on my single pipe steam system and has had no problems. You can't select cph as such but setting it to gravity hot water seems to work fine for me.

It was well under $40 at Amazon, I'd deem it a good value for the cost but I'm sometimes known to squeak when I walk.

Bob

gerry gill

thanks Bob

hvacfreak2

The Honeywell 8000 or a higher end variant ( 9000 IAQ , etc. ). I prefer the separate internet gateway just for the reliability of connecting and set up ( especially on someone else's network infrastructure or hardware in general ). These stats have the adjustable cycles per hour feature and intelligent recovery.

ChrisJ

The Nest may work very well with Steam, I just couldn't get past the fact it hard froze during the install setup. Mine was a second gen so maybe they fixed that, I donno.

LionA29

I have the Honeywell 6580 and it works good. If you have a 2-wire thermostat, Honeywell will need 3-wires Had to run an extra wire for C terminal that brings 24v to the thermostat.
Several persons said the Nest is easy to install and works with the 2-wire from old thermostat.
Might be a better choice for easy installation.
Good luck @gerry gill

gerry gill

thanks for the info. I will look into those.

NewbieInQueens

I will throw in my thoughts as a homeowner and have 3 wifi thermostats in 3 different locations, all running steam.

All of them are between $200 - $250, There are also very expensive Redlink Honeywells that I did not want to get into.

On all 3 of them I have turned off all "learning" features and set at a constant temperature during the day, with a minimal setback at nighttime.


The Honeywell wifi
http://yourhome.honeywell.com/en/products/thermostat/wi-fi-smart-thermostat-rth9580

Is a solid choice, it has worked perfectly the past few winters, no downtime.
-Solid performer
-No Runtime history
-Requires 3 wires
-No remote sensors

The Nest
Has been pretty solid recently, but the first 2 years I had it their product team was sending out updates in the middle of the winter that would make some thermostats go offline and stop working. You have no choice to opt out of the updates that Nest pushes out.
-Works ok
-Daily usage report
-Can use 2 wires only
-No remote sensor
-Tech support is by FAR the worst of any company I've dealt with

Ecobee 3
I recently put this one in with my new boiler. It is by far my favorite. Where I previously had to worry about where I mounted my thermostat, with this one I can install remote sensors anywhere I want (within 45ft) and use those remote sensors to either run the boiler or purely informational. The online portal is great allowing me download all the runtime data in excel and get data every 5 minutes
-Remote sensor capability
-Online portal with lots of reporting data
-Requires 3 wires, but they sell a 2 wire gizmo that supposedly lets you use 2 wires only

gerry gill

thanks Newbieinqueens..thats excellent feedback.

ratio

Honeywell has a demo account in their Wi-Fi app. I keep it on my phone to show prospective customers. (Also my brother's place, but that's just for fun.)

Aveeight

I just installed an Ecobee and so far its great. The install was a breeze and they have this clip on set up which makes running the wires easy and maintenance super easy. The remote thermostat is a great feature for steam I found, since my first floor heats a little uneven. I had a Honeywell for years (the first gen one that allowed for a wireless adapter) and that was also good, I assume they have only gotten better.

I've read (never seen) that the Nest can go a little weird since it tries to learn from your heats behavior (not sure I understand that). Seemed overly complicated to me.

SWEI

The new Honeywell T-Series covers a wide a range of models (all the way from a non-programmable single stage up through two different Lyric WiFi models) on a common backplate. The TH6220U and above support a wired remote sensor (either indoor or outdoor, though not both.) Contractor models come with a longer warranty than retail models.

We just got one to play with and have found that they have independent CPH settings (from 1-12) for each heating and cooling stage.

gerry gill

Thats really what i was looking for. Adjustable cycle rate. I knew the Nest didn't really have one for steam, so i was wondering about the others. Thanks everyone for your input, as it really did help. This concept seems to be the latest rave for customer desires. I'm not much of a techie, or as i like to say 'there is a reason i work on steam', so your input is greatly appreciated.

Mad Dog_2

Gerry. I picked up a few Old style (mercury ) T 87s at a yard sale...IN ORIGINAL packaging....COVETING them...ha ha. Mad Dog

SWEI

Where's the jealous button?

gerry gill

Mad Dog said:

Gerry. I picked up a few Old style (mercury ) T 87s at a yard sale...IN ORIGINAL packaging....COVETING them...ha ha. Mad Dog

i'm jealous too...can't beat liquid metal

Koan

can you adjust the CPH on an Ecobee3? Or do you wing it by setting the temp differential?

NYplumber

Honeywell Vision Pro Redlink thermostat with a redlink gateway.
The Ecobee SmartSi may work for you.
If you require a common wire but only have 4 wires (thermostat performs AC & hat functionality) Ecobee has a 5 to 4 wiring adapter that may be of help.

gerry gill

Guess i had best get my dinosaur butt into the modern era and learn about some of these gadgets..thanks everyone for helping out and pointing me in a direction to investigate.

hboogz

If anyone has the schematic on how to wire the Honeywell red link to the transformer or the like. I'd buy you a virtual beer!

Harry.

ratio

Ummm...

What, exactly, do you have?

hboogz

Well, right now I have a pro 4000 connected to the transformer and then all the controls wired to a single switch at the boiler. I would imagine the basic boiler electrical setup.

I am interested in a Honeywell red link and would love some help or a diagram on how to actually wire it correctly.

Koan

@Aveeight , @NewbieInQueens

Was hoping one of you may know this:

Koan said:

can you adjust the CPH on an Ecobee3? Or do you wing it by setting the temp differential?

Thanks!

Koan

@hboogz

Does thi help at all ??

s3.supplyhouse.com/product_files/Honeywell-TH8321R1001-Wiring-Diagram.pdf

ratio

@hboogz, which RedLINK stat are you considering? The notation on the terminal strips of all modern Honeywell thermostats should match up, just a matter of swapping like to like. The lesser RedLINK stats can (5000, 6000 series) can run on batteries, but IIRC the 8000 and certainly the 9000 series need to have a wire landed on the "C" terminal to provide continuous power to the thermostat. If that wire is present on your 4000 stat you should have no problem, just use caution that you don't short out the transformer by letting the red wire (landed on the "R" terminal, or possibly "Rc") touch any other wires or metal. The RedLINK internet gateway just plugs in to the wall for power & an Ethernet cable to your internet device for connectivity. It takes about five minutes to set it up from start to finish, the instructions walk you through it.

hboogz

@ratio thanks! No change or wiring at the transformer I assume ?

ratio

If you have the requisite wire landed on the "C" terminal, nothing at all at the transformer. If you do not have a wire landed on the "C" terminal, you will have to look carefully at the stat wire, to see if another conductor is lurking under the jacket of the wire; you could possibly need to pull a new wire up to the stat. Assuming the stat you are considering requires constant power.

hboogz

@ratio awesome info. Thanks. !

NewbieInQueens

Koan said:

@Aveeight , @NewbieInQueens

Was hoping one of you may know this:

Koan said:

can you adjust the CPH on an Ecobee3? Or do you wing it by setting the temp differential?

Thanks!

@Koan

Sorry don't know the answer to that one. I checked my settings through the web browser and there is no mention of it. Perhaps on the unit itself, but I don't have easy access to it.

GW

Is this a wifi conversation or a wireless?

In any case the Honeywell 6000 series has adjustable cph and comes wifi (you need 3 wires) or wireless (you will need the red link gateway for internet).

Obviously there are more expensive Honeywell thermostats

We did a wireless this past week and it occurred to me the Honeywell relay didn't have a good 24v output to power the wireless interface board. We installed an sr501 to make it work.

Koan

@NewbieInQueens

Thank you - getting ready to upgrade thermostats for a 2 pipe Hoffman Vapor system to which we will be adding central air next year. Finally got the boiler running well but it was short cycling bc of the thermostat an old Honeywell Cronotherm T-8090a. Adjusted the anticipator to 1.2 and working well now

Koan

I think that thermostat is from 1969!

Jerry Withers

I installed an Ecobee 3 Lite and I am very happy with it so far. I am looking forward to analyzing the data once it has been running for a month.

Jesse_6

To have gen 2 nest with 1 pipe steam. I haven't tried others but I am happy with results I've had.

Jerry Withers

My Ecobee 3 Lite lasted 1 week before it stopped working. It would call for heat, but not actually turn on the boiler. After having a heating contract our for 4 hours it came down to a defective thermostat. I am now waiting for a replacement.

Jerry Withers

I got a replacement for this back in January and since then it has been working very well. Now I just need to focus on replacing my boiler.

ChrisJ

It took someone four hours to figure out a thermostat wasn't closing the contacts?

ratio

But the thermostat said it was calling for heat!

I've been bit by that myself. <sigh>

ChrisJ

ratio said:

But the thermostat said it was calling for heat!

I've been bit by that myself. <sigh>

This is why people need to bust out the meter as soon as there's a problem.

I've got power going to the tstat, but none coming back, why? Next step go up and meter out the tstat.

Confirm findings by shorting R to W to fire the boiler up.

I use my meter more than almost any other tool when it comes to troubleshooting electronics or electrical problems.