Amazon Thermostat for one-pipe steam

JodiMe

Hi all. We had some renovations done last spring and updated our thermostat to the Alexa/Amazon one. It doesn't seem to play nicely with our system - before we go back to our previous thermostat (which was FINE i just wanted to be lazy and be able to ask Alexa to adjust the temp since my office is upstairs and the therm is downstairs), are there any settings I should play with? It definitely isn't as adjustable as our previous one….

Heat feels uneven, seems like it cycles too much, and rarely feels warm with the exception of one room, upstairs.

Thanks!

ChrisJ

Can you change it's cycles per hour, or anything about it's sensitivity?

JodiMe

The web tells me it's there somewhere, but defaults at 5 and can only be changed to 3. I can't find anywhere to change that setting, though. I keep reading on here 1-2 cycles per hour is best?

ChrisJ

I like 2, but some systems may perform better at 1.

If it won't do any lower than 3, I'd try to get it set to 3 and wait a day or two for it to settle down and see what you think. If it's still bad, you'll have to swap it for something else.

I'm sorry, I don't know how to use one, or how to adjust it so I can't help there. I would assume there's an app for your phone to adjust it?

JodiMe

Yes, i have the app but there are very little adjustments i can make. I've found some threads on the web talking about what to do, but not mentioning HOW to do it.

JodiMe

Looks like i have to reconfigure the whole thing. I'll try and keep you posted. Thanks!

4GenPlumber

I have a greatly growing dislike for all smart thermostats. There is something about mixing technologies that are a century apart that feels perverse. I realize that statement is an awfully emotional response, and not all steam systems can realistically still be controlled with a Honeywell T87 with a mercury switch, but I wish they could. Lethargic water as well (not that I've seen one in a while). I feel like smart thermostats were made for forced air or radiant systems with ModCon boilers. That being said…yeah, steam probably shouldnt fire more than twice an hour, your rads probably need balancing though. Sometimes during renovations, your risers are affected more than think.

dabrakeman

Get one that can either do 2 cycles per minute or is controlled by swing temperatures (+/-1deg or +/-0.5deg). I have had good luck with Ecobee.

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1885948#Comment_1885948

The Honeywell T87 came out in the 1950s a good 30 years after steam died off.

My own steam system was almost 40 years old by the time the T87 showed up.

Most if not all steam systems ran from a coal or wood fired boiler with no thermostat other than at best a set of dampers controlled by pressure via some cables and pulleys. I can't imagine even that being used except on extremely cold days because all you'd be doing is grossly overheating the building and wasting expensive fuel.

I suppose my point is using a smart thermostat, or a digital thermostat or PLC is no more perverse than using a T87 with steam.

Jamie Hall

Cedric's original thermostat (1930) was a Honeywell with a bimetallic element controlling a pair of metal contacts. There was an anticipator on it, and I believe the apparent dead band was controlled by a magnet. Utterly reliable — until the contacts oxidized. The notion of using a mercury switch came out just after the war (that's WWI for you young'uns) and was — and remains — a major improvement on basically the same concept, as the contacts never oxidize. And some bight spark realized that the dead band could be controlled by the way the mercury blob moved in the tube. Gravity is pretty reliable… the tube was mounted on a bimetallic coil.

The same principle is used in pressuretrols and vapourstats from that era.

The trouble began when the use of mercury switches was outlawed, and resort had to be made to microswitches — which aren't as reliable (by several orders of magnitude) and for which the dead band isn't precise.

Then came partial or all solid state devices… and here we are.

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1885982#Comment_1885982

With computers and software we get to completely control the deadband, how, when, and why.

I'd argue that solid state switches are just as, if not more reliable as mercury switches.

As far as why mercury was banned in general, I don't actually know? I suspect it wasn't the switches themselves in use that were the problem but the manufacturing and disposal of them. But I really have no information on it.

4GenPlumber

My claim wasnt that the T87 was the original, it just worked…for like 50 some years.