Thermostat / frost protection question

[pyounger]

I read on here the other day about someone enquiring about frost stats (can't find it now) we have a problem that a frost stat would cure. We have a garage that adjoins the kitchen which has a 1400x600 single rad in it. It can get very cold in that garage and the previous owner installed one of those electric heating tubes at the back of the radiator that kicks in at about 5C giving just enough heat to prevent problems.

I have been thinking about a frost stat as they seem quite cheap and a better solution. I have a few questions about them -

What is the difference between a frost stat and a room stat with frost protection and....
Do they do a frost stat that can be mounted lower than the standard 1.2 mtr quoted min. height?
Do they do a wireless frost stat?

I saw on the Honeywell web site a reference to their wireless frost stat :
http://www.honeywelluk.com/news/Honeywell-Frost-Protection-Kit-Easy-to-Install-and-low-in-cost/

But when you click the link for more info, it leads you to their T4360 which appears to be a wired stat.

I telephoned a local Plumb centre, and they told me no such beast, they're all wired.

Going back to my first question about room stats with frost protection - they do those wireless, so could one of those be used

 

[kbdiy]

I think I would want it wired anyway. Sod's Law says just when the temperature hits the low point the batteries in a wireless stat will have failed and the stat would be next to useless.

 

[D_Hailsham]

What is the difference between a frost stat and a room stat with frost protection

A thermostat measures the temperature where it is located. A room stat with frost protection is designed to prevent the house getting too cold, e.g overnight or when you are away. A frost stat is usually installed if the boiler is in an unheated space, e.g the loft or garage, to prevent the boiler and pipes freezing.

Why does it matter if the garage gets cold? Is the boiler located there or do you use it as a workshop?

You will need a pipe stat as well as a frost stat. The pipe stat prevents the pipes getting too hot.

 

[pyounger]

Thanks for the explanation.

I thought if it gets too cold the water in the radiator might freeze, perhaps even cause a burst. I do also plan to use it as a workshop.

The pipes getting too hot? why would that happen? surely as soon as the temperature rose above the 5 - 10c mark (whatever you set the frost stat at) it would close the system back down, or if by now the programmer has switched the system on indoor room stat take over the system

Read more: //www.diynot.com/forums/plumbi...ection-question.384163/#2946764#ixzz2lIYd14Xc

 

[Galoka]

The pipes getting too hot? why would that happen? surely as soon as the temperature rose above the 5 - 10c mark (whatever you set the frost stat at) it would close the system back down, or if by now the programmer has switched the system on indoor room stat take over the system

The frost stat will turn on the system once temp drops, which unless the garage rad is on a separate zone , will turn on the heating for the whole house as well (which you may or may not want), and it will stay on until the garage comes up to temp..

But to stop the pipe/rad freezing you don't need to heat up the whole garage, you just need to heat up the water. So if you fit a pipe stat on the return pipe, once the water is warm enough, it will turn off the system again. you'd probably only have the boiler fire up for a few minutes a few of times a night.

Though I'd question the use of a rad in the garage, unless it's used a lot as a workshop. Keeping it on all the time would be wasteful. And if you want to use it as and when you need to wait for it to warm the space up. electric heating makes much more sense in that situation. Fan heater for quick space heating, a radiant heater directed towards you for heating your body.