Thermostat selection.

[MissouriBound]

I know there are a lot of pro's who look at this site. But there are also alot of homeowners who do the maintenance of their units, as well as changing thermostats. Just as the income of the pro's is important to them, the cost of a service call for some things just isn't affordable for some homeowners. I think that some help can be given, is some selected circumstances without endangering the future of the HVAC service industry.
Sometimes a homeowner wants to change a filter, or a belt or a thermostat.
Couldn't some of the professionals here help with selection, or give advice other than the blanket.."CALL A PROFESSIONAL"? I'm wondering how many professional HVAC tech hire landscapers to cut their grass, or plumbers to put in a faucet washer? If you are capable of doing it yourself, don't you do it? Why is that any different for a homeowner?

[jtrammel]

It's not that we don't want to help out sometimes its that we aren't allowed by the site rules to give information pertaining to electrical ect. We will get banned from posting on the site. We can tell you what brand/model of thermostat you should get but can't tell you how to hook it up and make it work. There are other sites that will help you DIY, I can't tell you if the info would be accurate that you get there though.

[MissouriBound]

Thanks for the reply. But the "help" I refer to isn't technical ro of a nature that a pro should offer. Things along the lines of "best air filter, should you clean your ducts, heat pump vs gas, or which thermostat would be a good choice". The pro's offer this advice to customers all day long....I don't see much of it here, and as I said in my original post, ther is the snarky "call a pro" responses that are of no help in many of these homeowner type situations.

[beenthere]

Lots and lots of threads on here where a Pro gave their recommendation on what thermostat to use. Probably answered that question myself more then 100 times.

Also lots of threads have been answered for what type of air filter to use.

[beshvac]

1. This isn't the site for DIY. That's why some of the most knowledgeable techs post here.
2. Everyday I estimate jobs and tell a consumer what they need to have an excellent system installed-the whole works-manual j,d,s and then follow up with them why we didn't get the job......"clueless bubba's HVAC was $x cheaper than you and Thank you for the free advice...he said he would also take your suggestion to fix that duct and he's giving me a 60,000btuh furnace instead of your 40,000"
3. This is a technical trade and unfortunately has a lot of Non-technical Used Car Salesmen that can get by changing parts.

[jewvenile77]

1. This isn't the site for DIY. That's why some of the most knowledgeable techs post here.
2. Everyday I estimate jobs and tell a consumer what they need to have an excellent system installed-the whole works-manual j,d,s and then follow up with them why we didn't get the job......"clueless bubba's HVAC was $x cheaper than you and Thank you for the free advice...he said he would also take your suggestion to fix that duct and he's giving me a 60,000btuh furnace instead of your 40,000"
3. This is a technical trade and unfortunately has a lot of Non-technical Used Car Salesmen that can get by changing parts.

Excellent breakdown, Beshvac


HVAC with Stephen Rardon

[CircusEnvy]

Just as the income of the pro's is important to them, the cost of a service call for some things just isn't affordable for some homeowners.

Sorry, but that's comparing apples to oranges. Being able to afford advice and service is part of homeownership and if it's not something you wish to subscribe to, then lease. Air conditioning is a luxury and it's wholly wrong to expect someone who has invested their entire life into a skill only to simply give it away online for the sake of charity.

It's one thing to help a friend or neighbor, it's a world of difference to help an unknown person across the internet. Suppose we just gave advice to anyone who was willing to ask, how does that benefit us as a trade? It only benefits you.



If you need advice on which thermostat to choose, we can help you; however, we can't walk you through the process of installing it. Pro tip: thermostats do come with instructions!

[MissouriBound]

[QUOTE=CircusEnvy;18540261


If you need advice on which thermostat to choose, we can help you; however, we can't walk you through the process of installing it. Pro tip: thermostats do come with instructions! [/QUOTE]

My post had nothing to do with thermostats, persey. It was just opening the door to the type of question I was starting. Yes, I understand that if if there isn't anything in it for you, you just don't care about it.. I'm glad you aren't a lifeguard. I am quite familiar with that attitude. I wasn't suggesting that you pour your vast knowledge and skills into every question. I wasn't suggesting that you walk a homeowner through an installation or talk him through a technical procedure. There are areas in this forums for homeowners. And some of them come here with legitimate questions that are common sense to many, but not just them. And don't confuse charity with good will. Too many homeowners go their local hardware store or big box store and ask the clerks for advice, which they hand out readily for free...and unfortunately it's worth every penny. Then they come to this forum, tell what they were told by these clerks and get lambasted for listenening to them. Unfortunately, what choice did they have, since they can't get help here because "there's nothing in it for you"?

[danielthechskid]

The number one problem with DIY on here IMNSHO is that we can't verify your credentials/knowledge on a case-by-case basis, and worse we can't verify the credentials of someone who does a search and stumbles onto your thread after the fact.

Let's say we give you step-by-step instructions on installing a t-stat, should be fine as it's only 24v AC, right? Now you successfully complete the install and are happy. Later someone else finds the thread, tries it, messes up and blows the fuse or transformer, and now they will possibly be working in the equipment cabinet around dangerous line voltage. Not good.

Hence there are only a few options here, the current no DIY on open forums where only vetted users and the OP can post, but anyone can read, or if we could verify you personally, walled garden threads like the direct tech support sections of DSLReports, AKA broadbandreports where only the thread creator and certain tech support people can read it, but theoretically anything goes in that thread.

I suppose a third option would be to just delete the thread after a few days of inactivity.

[partime59]

i noticed more home fires and co poisonings with fatalities this past winter due to the unusual cold, and we all know that the bad economy over the past 6 yrs has caused people to cut back everywhere. some things like your personal health require priority, use cost savings measures where money can fix mistakes,, no amount of wealth brings back a lost life. we all like to help where we can, but site unseen is always where things get missed,, no other trade covers so many variables, this is our site, read what you can and respect that this is for us.

[timebuilder]

Another case of a new poster failing to comprehend the site rules.

We need a name for this...

How about the "low information home owner?"

[pecmsg]

Changing a T-Stat is easy if you know what you’re doing, what we can’t see from a computer is the condition of the wiring, furnace, ducts etc. Drafts coming thru the wall, old frayed wires that can short, even silly things like line voltages instead of low voltage.
There are a lot of underlying problems that are / should be looked at when performing a service. That is what you’re paying for.
Do I personally do my own electrical Yes; I’ve been trained to do it but I still used the services of a licensed electric when needed.
If you want to change that stat go for it , change the filters fine, Its you’re equipment do as you wish there’s plenty of videos out there that show you. Were just one source!

[misternash]

Pro tip: thermostats do come with instructions!

My thoughts exactly. anyone who is capable of installing a thermostat should be capable of following instructions! I read reviews on almost everything i purchase. That's my way of educating myself on what works well and what doesn't.