Legal unit temperature and broken heater or thermostat.

[Zigner]

It has been awhile since I have seen this type of Honeywell in a house but, looking at this picture again makes me wonder: Isn’t the temperature set at the top of the thermostat? It appears to me that the thermostat is set for 68 degrees and the temperature is 70 degrees.

Yep - but that's just a "stock" photo. If the levers are set to heat, then the unit would not (should not) be running in the state that is shown. But, if it's set to cool, then it should be kicking in.

 

[quincy]

Ah. Stock photo. I mistakenly thought the photo was of the actual thermostat.

 

[not2cleverRed]

lol...Since that was the thermostat on my living room wall when I was a tyke, does that make me a "classic" as well??

We still have one... But the labelled markings only goes up to 65F.

 

[quincy]

For those who want to maintain the look of a period home, Honeywell apparently makes a new thermostat that resembles the old one.

 

[Applez]

If you have the chance to post back, let us know how it goes with your landlord. Good luck.

I will, for sure. Thank you for the luck.

Ah. Stock photo. I mistakenly thought the photo was of the actual thermostat.

Yea', stock photo, as Zigner mentioned. But yes, you're right. Set it on top and monitor the temperature at the bottom. So up top mine is set to 88 (i.e. the very last notch - did that to illustrate to the guy how it's not working) and it still won't start, despite the house being cold and despite the bottom reading 70 degrees.

Is there some kind of limiter? The fact that it's an older style and not a modern digital version that might be less likely, but I know that with some units homeowners are able to set a maximum level and no matter what you might raise the temp to, it will never go higher than the setting. Maybe since he thinks 71 is the "legal limit" that's as far up as he's ever willing to pay, and isn't concerned about the unit being broken because he's the one who's creating this issue.

I don't know if there's a limiter or not, but that's definitely not the case for two reasons. 1) We pay the heating bill and 2) this is not my first year in the apartment and this issue has never happened before. One very, very cold day I had set it high. I didn't care. It was cold. And it was hot as hell in the house and we loved it. But now? It doesn't matter what I set it to, it just seems to have a mind of its own and stays at 70 degrees.

 

[Zigner]

I don't know if there's a limiter or not, but that's definitely not the case for two reasons. 1) We pay the heating bill and 2) this is not my first year in the apartment and this issue has never happened before. One very, very cold day I had set it high. I didn't care. It was cold. And it was hot as hell in the house and we loved it. But now? It doesn't matter what I set it to, it just seems to have a mind of its own and stays at 70 degrees.

Is the unit actually running and just not putting out hot air? It sounds to me like the ducting and/or filter may need cleaning/repair/replacing. When you have someone out to evaluate it, you'll know better.

 

[FarmerJ]

with out removing the ring cover it may well be worth a try using a narrow slit plastic crack and crevice tool for your vacuum cleaner hose and move it around the outer edges incase a dust bunny formed and needs to be sucked out. Honey well rounds all though older normally work for decades with out a problem. If all else fails consider calling in your city building inspections inspector , even if your paying your own heat you should be able to set it higher and get a result (unless this thermostat is a conservation model which could be pre set to go no higher than 72 ( { ive installed those long ago in one of my properties I used to have } )

 

[Zigner]

The ring cover just pops off - there's no reason not to pull it off to look for obstructions.

 

[izzie02]

What you are describing is what happened when the blower/fan started going out on my natural gas furnace. Furnace/burners would fire up then go off again when blower didn't turn on after a minute, so house didn't heat up to setting on thermostat.
Also, if older furnace, maybe not well cared for you need to have a carbon monoxide monitor, if you don't have one (I think it's code for rentals where I'm from, Minnesota) especially since furnace is acting up. Get a monitor tonight before you go to sleep tonight. And, they don't last forever, should be replaced for accurate monitoring.

As for free inspection, not many do that. Usually a service call fee but is waved if they do repair or replace furnace.

 

[FarmerJ]

Izzie02 our state code now requires CO alarms in new units and also even in situations where a used home is moved in and on to a new foundation. One of my friends had to install them Per inspectors orders even though his home is 100 % all electric , hot water Off peak electric , elect cooking, clothes dryer and off peak electric heat. ( enjoying the cold so far ? Now that Ive had supper and wake up coffee Im wondering if one of the heating systems high limit thermostats is telling the furnace to shut off too soon due to it being in failure ? Either which way its dang cold out too early and one drain line here has already frozen.

 

[adjusterjack]

Am I misunderstanding what that says or does it mean that you have to average out the temperature throughout the entire apartment (i.e. all of the rooms - bedroom, washroom, etc)? So if it's 4 degrees above in most of the rooms and 5 or 6 degrees below what it should be in one of the bedrooms, if the calculation averaged out to be above the required temperature, he would be covered by law?

When courts (and I) read a statute it's first analyzed by the common dictionary meanings of words. I read "throughout" the way it is defined by Merriam-Webster:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/throughout

If you average all the rooms and the average temperature is above the legal limit, he's covered by the law.

 

[Applez]

Wow. Sorry for the late reply, guys. I'd thought that I responded, but it looks like I forgot the tab open without posting the message.

Either way, just a quick update. Thanks to adjusterjack's recommendation, I had two different HVAC companies come out and provide free evaluations a few days back. One of the guys that came out actually fixed the problem without even charging me for it. Was obviously very pleased with that. The problem was that the valve that was connected to the pressure switch was clogged somehow - a quick blow within that tube dislodged whatever was in there that was blocking the pressure from going through and now it's back to normal. So thanks again to AJ for the recommendation and to everyone else for your help as well. Can't thank you all enough for that.

Is the unit actually running and just not putting out hot air? It sounds to me like the ducting and/or filter may need cleaning/repair/replacing.

It was both running and putting out hot air. The problem was that it wouldn't stay on long enough to heat the apartment up to the set temperature. The issue was with the pressure switch valve. It was clogged. That's all resolved. For now, anyway.

with out removing the ring cover it may well be worth a try using a narrow slit plastic crack and crevice tool for your vacuum cleaner hose and move it around the outer edges incase a dust bunny formed and needs to be sucked out. Honey well rounds all though older normally work for decades with out a problem. If all else fails consider calling in your city building inspections inspector , even if your paying your own heat you should be able to set it higher and get a result (unless this thermostat is a conservation model which could be pre set to go no higher than 72 ( { ive installed those long ago in one of my properties I used to have } )

Same culprits, but these bunnies were lodged within the pressure switch valve. All's good for now. Thanks, anyway, for your recommendation. I appreciate it.

What you are describing is what happened when the blower/fan started going out on my natural gas furnace. Furnace/burners would fire up then go off again when blower didn't turn on after a minute, so house didn't heat up to setting on thermostat.
Also, if older furnace, maybe not well cared for you need to have a carbon monoxide monitor, if you don't have one (I think it's code for rentals where I'm from, Minnesota) especially since furnace is acting up. Get a monitor tonight before you go to sleep tonight. And, they don't last forever, should be replaced for accurate monitoring.

As for free inspection, not many do that. Usually a service call fee but is waved if they do repair or replace furnace.

Thanks. I'll look into that. If it's a condo, would I speak to the HOA or the landlord?

As for the inspection, yea', the first company I spoke with pretty much said the same, but when I declined, she eventually wound up calling me back and setting up the free inspection.

When courts (and I) read a statute it's first analyzed by the common dictionary meanings of words. I read "throughout" the way it is defined by Merriam-Webster:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/throughout
If you average all the rooms and the average temperature is above the legal limit, he's covered by the law.

Got it. Thanks again.