Thermostats - What You Need to Know

Each year millions of people throw away money trying to heat or cool their homes.  There are a lot of great ideas and articles about making a home more energy efficient.   One idea that is rarely talked about is the Thermostat. This should be the first step in energy efficiency, since this is the tool that tells the A/C or heating unit to kick on and off. 

We met Tim from Greenspoint temp controls at a jobsite.  He saw us testing some power tools and we started talking.  Tim works mainly on commercial properties, but he says the same information he told us applies to homeowners as well.  We bought Tim a cup of coffee from the jobsite canteen truck and picked his brain a little.  Below are a couple good ideas he told us.

Occasionally, test your thermostat by using a thermometer to test the accuracy of the thermostat.  Put the thermometer next to the thermostat for about 10 minutes and compare the two readings.  If they are within 5 degrees, you thermostat is working fine.  If they are over 5 degrees apart, either the thermostat needs to be changed if electronic. If It is Mercury based, it needs to be recalibrated. 

Most people make the mistake of lowering their thermostat too much at night.  If the temp is more than a 10 degree swing, this can actually cost more money than you think you are saving.  In the morning the furnace now has to work hard in order to get the heat back up past the 10 degree mark.  Also, if the temperature outside will be close to zero or below, don’t lower the thermostat that night as this will really cause inefficiency.

Check you thermostat’s position in the room.  Even it it has been there for a while.  Maybe the installer made a mistake and didn’t install it in the correct location, or maybe something was added later that might give a false reading.  Check by your thermostat to make sure there is not a draft from somewhere.  Also, make sure there is nothing hot around the thermostat, like a TV or radio. These items can give false readings.

If you do find out that the thermostat needs to be replaced or you need to change locations, this can be done very easily.  If you need to relocate the thermostat, make sure you check the owner’s specifications on each unit.  All you will have to do is run some new wiring to the location of your choice.  This will take some time and work, but it can be done.  If you are replacing your old thermostat, this to is easy.  Most thermostats have two pieces, the head (Body) and the base.  The head is the actual unit you see on the wall with controls.  The base is the part that is screwed onto the wall.  Remember to turn off the power to that thermostat first. 

• First remove the thermostat head which is usually just snapped onto a base. 
• Second, remove the screws from the base that are attaching the base to the wall.  Now you should see four wires, Red, White, Green and Yellow, but this can vary.  Mark each wire if they are not color coded. 
• Before you remove the wires, place a piece of tape over the core of the wires to hold them against the wall, so they do not fall back behind the wall. 
• After this is secure, you can remove the wires from the base. 
• Next, place the new base in place where you want it.  Make sure it is level.  Now with a pencil, mark the spots where the screws will go.  You can drill holes for the new screws.  If you are going through drywall, just remember to use anchors when you screw the new base in place.
• Once the base is in place and the wires are attached, you can now snap the head back into place
• You can now program the new unit for your home.

Tip

If you are going to have people over, lower the thermostat temp by 5 degrees.  Bodies give off heat, so a lot of bodies around will create  good heat build up. 

Dewalt’s New TrackSaw

Dewalt is launching their new TrackSaw that will be released this November.  We haven’t tested this new saw, but it looks like Dewalt is going after Festool’s Guide Rail system and dust collection.  As the name suggests, the TrackSaw follows a track to help you make a perfectly straight cut every time.  According to Dewalt the cut will produce splinter free cuts which makes sense once you see how the track lays right by the cuts. 

With this saw you can make beveled cuts, cut on inclines and more.  The tracks come in a variety of sizes and you can always join them together.  The saw is a 12 amp 1300 watt motor, variable speed (Corded) and has an anti-kick back mechanism.  The saw is avaliable in a corded or cordless version.  Both have a plunge system in place, so you can start your cut from any point.  This system weights in at 12lbs.  On the bottom of the track there are two friction slips which means you do not have to clamp the track down and damage your project.  Again we haven’t tested this TrackSaw, so we are not sure how well it holds especially if it is cold out side or a little damp.  You can replace the top or bottom strips if they wear out.  Again we do not know how long the strips last before they need replacement and at what cost. 

As we get more information from users, we will update this post about the Dewalt TrackSaw

 You can see Dewalt Video and other Information at Dewalt TrackSaw

Updated Free Woodworking Plans

We have updated our free woodworking plan page.  Over time some links have gone bad and we have removed those.  We have also added over 50 new plans that we either created, gathered from other source or were emailed to us by visitors.

Time to Buy a New Work Truck?

If you have been thinking about buying a new work truck, now might be a great time.  Times are tough right now, the economy is having a hard time and business is slow, but if you can take adavanage of the huge saving, you might want to take a look.

Automakers are having the toughest times right now, they can not move inventory and especially pickup trucks.  Below are the most recent truck sale in the U.S.

Top 10 Pickups Sales Figures
Year-to-Date (YTD) Sept. 2008 pickuptruck.com

Ford F-Series
392,698 -26.9% YTD
September 2008: 32,727
September 2007: 56,065

Chevrolet Silverado
370,502 -22.5% YTD
September 2008: 50,428
September 2007: 52,480

Dodge Ram
196,058 -29.0% YTD
September 2008: 20,812
September 2007: 30,100

GMC Sierra
133,811 -14.9% YTD
September 2008: 18,744
September 2007: 18,445

Toyota Tacoma
117,313 -13.4% YTD
September 2008: 9,176
September 2007: 13,996

Toyota Tundra
115,026 -20.4% YTD
September 2008: 7,696
September 2007: 19,571

Ford Ranger
54,815 -4.6% YTD
September 2008: 3,915
September 2007: 4,019

Chevrolet Colorado
44,884 -24.2% YTD
September 2008: 3,359
September 2007: 5,598

Nissan Frontier
40,873 -19.4% YTD
September 2008: 1,534
September 2007: 5,480

Nissan Titan
29,900 -41.3% YTD
September 2008: 2,872
September 2007: 5,193

All of these trucks are having great rebates and deals right now.  So not only are they dealing with bad sales and a bad market, these manufacturers need to sell their ‘08 inevntory as the ‘09 trucks are hitting the market.  This makes the perfect storm or perfect time to get a truck if you can. 

Sale on Milwaukee 6232-6 VS Deep Cut Portable Bandsaw

Tylertool.com is having a sale on their Milwaukee VS Deep cut portable bandsaw model number 6232-6.  This retails for $545 and the sale price is 229.95, but if you use coupon code tt110720, you get an addtional $20 off for a total price of $209.95.  They are also having a sale on their Makita and Dewalt portable band saws.  The Makita, model number 2107FK comes with a case and is on sale for $295.  The Dewalt, model number D28770 is on sale for $320.05. 

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