Discount Honeywell RET97E5D1005/U Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat

Customer Ratings:

I had originally bought the Homewerks version of this one for $119. The network set up was no where as easy as this Honeywell. As a matter of fact I never got it to work. So I returned it. The Honeywell is very well thought out. It even has a function setting for hydronic systems. The set up leads you through a series of choices very deductively so the was no time wasted. Oh did I say I bought two? Yes and setup from beginning to end was about 1.5 hours. Be prepared though, you must have a ,VERY small screwdriver to hook up the wires. This was frustrating. I finally went out and bought an eyeglass repair kit because it has a screwdriver the right size. We'll at the moment they are both working. I'm monitoring 150 miles away! Love it.

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Discount Honeywell L8148E1265 Immersion-type Controller

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List Price: $409.53
Sale Price: $180.26
Today's Bonus: 56% Off

Works perfectly and was easy to install. I had a handy person (roofer & carpenter by training) install mine. He simply read the instructions..it was pretty quick. No problems w/my boiler since!

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Discount Danby 34 Bottle, Built-In Wine Cooler (Black) (34.06"H x 15"W x

Customer Ratings:

We purchased the Dancy 54 Bottle Wine Cooler in stainless steel and within 4 months of operation, the unit ceased to cool and one side overheated.

As Danby claims to have a one year warranty, we called Danby and found that since we had purchased the cooler at the beginning of our remodel and did not install the unit until the renovation was complete, the warranty would not be honored as we were a mere two weeks past our warranty expiration date.

We let Danby know that the unit had only been in use for under four months, whereupon we asked if Danby would not honor the warranty, would they at least sell us another unit at cost, at which point Danby stated that they would not. Too bad, so sad, you'll just have to fork up another $900.00 for another unit, sucker.

PLEASE NOTE that you cannot get Danby wine or beverage coolers serviced, states Danby customer service, as they are "contained units" which means the entire unit has to be replaced under warranty, not just the cooling elements. If it breaks during the first year, they will OSTENSIBLY send you a new unit. But who knows if they will even honor their one year warranty, based upon their reluctance to handle the simplest of customer service issues with us. It took days to get to a representative and even then they completely refused to stand behind their product.

After several tries with Danby customer service to no avail, we contacted the President of Danby, whom we were sure would make this situation right but were completely ignored. I'll bet he gets a lot of calls and mail about this very thing. Do yourself a favor and save on shipping put $900 IN A PILE AND BURN IT rather than buy any Danby product. Better yet, buy another brand, as we did. Our new cooler works just fine and it can be repaired if it breaks, as it is 21st century technology. Our new unit was cheaper, too, and is better looking.

Come on! It's a little fridge, not rocket science, and they can't get a $900 wine cooler to work for more than four months without breaking down? I'd be interested to hear from any other Danby wine cooler purchasers as I have a suspicion that these units are manufactured to meet planned obsolescence of approximately one year as a means of bilking the consumer.

Yes, you heard me, Danby, if you read these reviews: Your customer service reps were too practiced in their denial of warranty coverage for us to believe that this is an uncommon occurrence. We'd also like to hear from you, Danby, since we've not received a reply to any of our communications for several months now.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!

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Don't buy one of these -I received one that was DOA. I could actually see where the copper line coming out of the compressor wasn't connected. Danby wanted to send someone out to fix it. They gave me three "authorized repair" phone numbers in the Bay Area, but none of them would come to San Francisco. After going back and forth between Danby and the retailer, finally the retailer took it back and send me a new one that works for now.

Terrible quality. Even worse customer service by Danby.

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I'd never buy another Danby wine cooler. I can't beleive how loud this unit is. It is so bad, I have to unplug it when we have company as it is too distracting.

Honest reviews on Danby 34 Bottle, Built-In Wine Cooler (Black) (34.06"H x 15"W x

Not happy with the wine cooler. It is too loud, with disturbing humming in the kitchen.

Otherwise, the shelves are little tight for the mentioned number of bottles to be stacked.

Item looks somewhat "cheaply made" and flimsy.

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I installed this wine cooler where I had an existing 15' cabinet/drawer. Install was easy, the fitment is great. It doesn't make much noise while running, about the same as a regular fridge. It's packed with lots of useful features such as: roller shelves, temp display with digital readout, reversable door, lockable door, LED lighting, etc. We are very happy with it.

Review of Danby DWC1233BL-SC 12 Bottle Wine Cooler - Black

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $109.99
Sale Price: $99.00
Today's Bonus: 10% Off

This fridge is great for the money. It works great. Had mine for several months with no issues. The last review is ridiculous. Can you hear it run? Yes of course. It is about half the volume of a computer fan. Unless your sitting next to it you can't hear it. Saying it's louder than a full sized fridge is exaggeration at it's best.

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I was pretty excited to purchase this wine fridge for hosting parties. Have been disappointed from almost the beginning. The temperature doesn't go below 58-EVER! My wine is not chilled.

It's in a main room of the house and it's VERY LOUD!

I should have looked into returning it within the first month, but I kept hoping it would fix itself. It sounds stupid, but I thought that maybe the reason it was at 65 degrees was because we had some hot weather.

I'm disappointed that I can't even exchange it for one that chills properly. We can live with the noise.

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Have had one other Danby product ... under counter frig ... no problem. The Wine Chiller worked great ... for about 8 months. Now you'd better like your wine at 70 degrees (F). Okay, sometime it gets is all the way down to 68 degrees. Just quit working. Was positioned on a granite bar counter and never moved, dropped, bumped, or anything else. It just quit.

Honest reviews on Danby DWC1233BL-SC 12 Bottle Wine Cooler - Black

I can confirm the other reviewers' complaints about one leg missing. The fourth leg doesn't appear to fit right. I ordered another one because I couldn't believe their engineers could screw up something this obvious, but the replacement was the same part. I ended up getting a bolt from the hardware store with the correct length I needed to have the fourth leg be at the right height.

The fridge itself worked fine for a little more than a year, and then started cycling on and off. I called Danby customer service and they said it was probably a bad compressor, but for the cost of a service call, it is not worth fixing.

Based on other reviews of Danby products in addition to my own negative experience, I'd say they make crappy products and I wouldn't buy another one.

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The fan runs nonstop & is quite loud. Looked great but had to return item. Amazon is a great company & did let me return this product no questions asked

Discount Savino Old World Oak Fireplace

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,069.99
Sale Price: $749.99
Today's Bonus: 30% Off

I bought this fireplace for my bedroom which is on the opposite side of my house from the furnace. By the time the warm air from the furnace reaches my bedroom in the winter time the warm air is not so warm anymore. So, I am using this for the ambiance in my bedroom as well as functional heating that has been working quite well. I love the height because it is perfect for my 42" plasma TV. Also the warm look of the oak adds a nice look to my bedroom. I was slightly disappointed that not all the woods matched when putting it together but, unless your a perfectionist like me you really don't notice it. Also the holes in the top piece were not drilled properly and had to be re-drilled. It was well worth the effort because the fireplace looks fabulous! I put it together myself and it took me about 2 hours to complete. If your looking for a little extra heat somewhere I highly recommend this fireplace.

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Buy BUTTERBALL 20010109 INDOOR ELECTRIC TURKEY FRYER (20010109) -

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $232.53
Sale Price: $144.99
Today's Bonus: 38% Off

This is so easy and SAFE to use! Also, the cleanup was super easy. We used the other turkey fryers in the past and there was always concern with the safety. This sets up inside and the design makes the storage easy to keep right in the kitchen.

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I saw an infomercial for this product late last night (technically, early this morning) and it piqued my interest. I've been hearing about deep-fried turkey for several years now, but have never had the opportunity to try it, the prospect of propane gas tanks, a large vat of hot oil, and a potential turkey inferno being more than enough to outweigh my curiosity. I thought that reading the reviews on Amazon might help me decide whether this item was worth buying, but what I found, was that people either loved it or hated it. Depending on which review you read, turkey cooked in Butterball's deep fryer will either make you weep with joy, or howl in dissatisfaction. Despite my research, I am still unsure whether this product is worth buying. I suppose Clint Eastwood would say I have to ask myself one question Do I feel lucky? But as luck would have it, my efforts were not entirely in vain. I learned that the price being charged for this appliance varies greatly from seller to seller, so it pays (literally) to comparison shop. How much? Well, this seller is charging $234.89 + $47.49 shipping (total $282.38) while Amazon is selling the exact same item for $117.00 + free super saver shipping (total $117.00). That's a difference of $165.38. Not bad for 15 min. of research.

Tayama AX-400 Electric Air Pot 4-Liter Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $99.99
Sale Price: $62.65
Today's Bonus: 37% Off

Ok.. I took away a star only because the lid of this item has no locking mechanism. It can be dangerous if you take this on a picnic or have children that may be curious, as it can pour hot water all over you if you accidentally push the button or press the pump! It's a major flaw!

Other than that, I LOVE this air pot. It stays on my kitchen counter and I don't take it anywhere. It has been on and running since the day I got it (months ago) and I always have hot water, which is important if you have a baby, who drinks formula all day! :)

If they could add some kind of a locking system to this unit it'll be perfect!

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White-Rodgers UP300 Easy Set 7 Day Programmable Universal Thermostat Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $57.80
Today's Bonus: 17% Off

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Because we own rental properties, we have installed quite a few programmable thermostats over the years. Some have been all touch, but most have been a combination of touch/buttons (I like these the best because the all touch seem to wear out faster or maybe it is just the tenants?).

As compared to the others, this thermostat was easy to install & easy to program if you kept to the preset schedule (down a few degrees after leaving for work, up when return home, down at bedtime). If you want to do real programming, you'll have to read the instruction manual. You can also do an override & leave the temperature where you set it (for vacation or vacant houses). This device has an override button, so it is easy to find & utilize (our older thermostats do not have the button).

Overall, this thermostat is easier to use than older models it seems to be more intuitive or maybe I'm just getting more use to the devices. It does not come with batteries, so make sure you have some on hand (2 AA).

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I had the original cheap thermostat in my house for the past 19 years. I could never turn the heat down while we were sleeping because it would be too cold when I got up in the morning. And I kept forgetting to turn it down during the day while we were out of the house.

This thermostat is perfect. You set 4 times per day, and every day of the week can be the same or different. I turn the heat down around 10pm, and have it start coming back up 30 minutes before I have to jump in the shower. During the day, it goes down just before I have to leave for work and back up when my son comes home from school. This should make a HUGE difference in how much oil we use this year.

Override buttons (Home and Away) mean you don't have to reprogram the thing if you need it to ignore the presets. Great product.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program For anyone in the market for a programmable thermostat, I would definitely recommend this model. It was easy to install, and I was happy to realize that it's user-friendly enough that I didn't even have to refer to the manuel when I was programming the week's temperatures. It's a really great device -I programmed it so that the house starts warming up about half an hour before I have to get up for work, and then drops down very low about ten minutes after I've left. It heats up again half an hour before I get home, then drops again when I'm tucked in bed. Such an improvement on getting up in a freezing house and having to crank the thermostat up as high as possible to start thawing the house, and then forgetting to turn it down and wasting all the heat on the empty house!

WIth the 7-day scheduling, I can also program it to keep the house warm all day on the weekends when I'm around the house. Plus, if you step out, it's easy to tap in an override to the program. Best thing of all -the program will automatically click back when it enters the next scheduled temperature.

I love this item -it isn't bulky, the keys are easy to use, and if you do want to program something more elaborate, the manuel is very readable. Great product!

Honest reviews on White-Rodgers UP300 Easy Set 7 Day Programmable Universal Thermostat

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I replaced an older thermostat with the white-rodgers UP300, I like it very much. Set up was fast, and the large display is very helpful for times when I don't have my reading glasses with me. I have used other models previously such as the Lux, but they all have small LCD. If readability is an issue this is a great choice. I also like the three quick presets to change temp to "home" "sleep" or "away", these override the schedule and are much easier than adjusting the temp.

11-24-12 update: I liked this thermostat so much I purchased two more to replace all my thermostats. After using it a while longer I really like the preset temps, and the easy programming, but again the big seller for me is the large display I can see without readers.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program The White-Rodgers UP300 is a nice programmable thermostat with a big, backlit display that makes for easy viewing. It appears to support a very large variety of heating and air conditioning systems and is easy to install and program.

PROs

+ Large screen is easy to see from a distance.

+ Screen backlight allows you to use it in the dark.

+ "Favorites" buttons for one-touch access to common temperatures.

+ Looks modern.

+ Does not lose your settings when power is lost/batteries removed (+++)

CONs

There are options in this price range with real touch screens.

INSTALLATION

The White-Rodgers UP300 was surprisingly easy to install. I replaced a builder-grade Honeywell programmable thermostat. Armed with little more than a screw-driver, I completed the swap-out in less than 15 minutes. It was as simple as taking down the Honeywell, noting the letter code that each wire went to on the Honeywell, and then hooking the wires to the exact same letter codes on the White-Rodgers. Even the mounting holes for the Honeywell exactly matched the mounting holes for the White-Rodgers. Clearly White-Rodgers put some thought into making this easy to install.

Once mounted and wired, I installed two double-A batteries (not included) and then snapped on the touchscreen. Programming came next.

PROGRAMMING

Programming was about as simple as the installation. Behind a flip-door are a number of buttons to aid programming. I like that they hide the buttons that you rarely use; when the flip-door closes, all you see is the very common buttons for up/down/ok and a couple of others. This gives the thermostat a clean look and keeps unwanted button presses from "helpers" around the house that probably don't know what they're doing.

Pressing the "Menu" button, you are given an on-screen list of things you can set. These include the date & time, your preferred schedule, and also the ability to set three "favorite" temperatures. These favorites are actually tied to dedicated buttons on the front of the thermostat. The favorites button are a great idea if you're in a household where you sometimes need to quickly override the programming and need to make it easy to explain (visiting parents). There is a button with a "home" icon, one with an "away" icon, and one with a "bedtime" icon. You can set any temperature you want for these three favorites and once you've done that, any time someone presses one of those buttons, the thermostat jumps to the preferred temperature.

MISCELLANEOUS

A "power user" feature that I love is that when you override the current programming by hitting "up" or "down" buttons, you are given the option to specify how long the setting is to last. Sometimes if I work from home, I will set the AC down to 76 degrees at 7:55 in the morning, only to have the thermostat bump it back up to 84 at 8AM. Then two hours later I'm dripping with sweat and realize what has happened and go fix it. With this thermostat, if I set the temperature to 76 at 7:55AM, in the top left corner I see that it will revert to schedule (84 degrees) at 8AM. I can then press the "right" arrow button to push that time back by 5-6 hours, thus avoiding the situation described above. I have this problem a lot and have already found this to be a great feature for me.

Because I hate it when programmable devices lose all of their settings in the event of a power outage, I actually pulled the batteries from this for 5 minutes to simulate changing the batteries. The White-Rodgers did lose the date & time but did not lose any of my other settings. My full schedule was still present after I reinserted the batteries. This is a small feature but very thoughtful of White-Rodgers.

SUMMARY

I'm happy with this thermostat. I think it might be priced a tad on the high side given that for $60 you can get a similar unit from Lux with a touch screen. That said, it seems to work very well, was very easy to install and program, and both my wife and I like the way it looks.

Reviews of Aube by Honeywell CT240-01/U Low Volt Thermostat Phone Controller

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $74.99
Sale Price: $74.54
Today's Bonus: 1% Off

We use this controller along with 5 Aube TH115 thermostats to control the heat in our mountain cabin. We have 220 volt baseboard heaters, this controller allows us to set the temperature to 50 F. when we are away. Two days prior to our arrival at the cabin, we call the controller and raise the temperature to 70. The cabin is then toasty warm when we arrive. I installed the thermostats and controller myself with no issues. Recommend to anyone with a home away from home with electric heat.

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This phone controller is well constructed and Aube stands behind its operation. We had difficulty with lightning strikes and had to replace the unit several times, but each time Aube provided the replacement product without any difficulty. It is easy to install and works exactly as advertised with a Steffes Thermal Storage unit that we have.

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I use this device to have the attached thermostat turn on the heat in a mountain home 12 hours before I arrive (furnace needs a long time to heat house). No more arriving at 10 PM and having the inside of the house at 40 degrees. This thing works great...providing the power is not out when you need to call it.

Honest reviews on Aube by Honeywell CT240-01/U Low Volt Thermostat Phone Controller

First one I received did not work. Sent it back to Amazon and with no issues received a replacement. Hooked up the replacement and everything worked great the first time. I had the phone connection using a Gigaset controller and my cell phone as the phone line in lieu of a land line. I used my cell phone to check my voicemails and the connection between the cell phone and Gigaset stopped. When I went to use the Phone Controller it did not work. Ended up disconnecting the power to the gigaset and plugging it back in. Solved the problem with the Phone Controller.

There is no customer support by Honeywell for this product. When you call the phone controller it does not beep as described in the directions. You just have to enter your password. Product works, you just have to be patient.

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Save your money don't buy this. I hooked it up it worked just fine one time. I called the 800 number and was told their is no where to send it for service or repair. I am stuck with a peace of junk.

Cheap Venstar Wireless Residential Thermostat Combo - T1100RF / REC

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $251.93
Sale Price: $160.00
Today's Bonus: 36% Off

Works great. Compared temperature accuracy to another portable device and accurate. Easy to install. Can move to any room in house to meet comfort level. Downside could be since portable could get misplaced. Can hang on wall too. We purchased after house remodel. It was going to be a greater challenge to rework thermostat wiring and hang on appropriate interior wall. Took a chance on these newer devices and glad we did. Would recommend to others.

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[See detailed review] on the two-wire kit. Great products, work well, easily installed. Appreciate the fast response time between a temperature change and the "message" to the boiler to move into action.

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Buyer beware if you have a two wire system this product will only work if you buy a separate kit that you need to plug in to a 120 Volt outlet. When I realized that I needed additional accessories to make it work correctly I returned product to the seller immediately. I was looking to save some time with a wireless system, not add additional wiring!

When contacting the seller for the returned merchandise, Venstar stated that I will need to pay for shipping and a 15% restocking fee. This was disappointing but still worth it to recoup some of my money back.

I packaged it up at the UPS store, (minus some original Venstar bubblewrap), and got a response from seller today that it was not packaged in original packaging and since I had attempted to install it and left the AA battery inside the unit for shipping they would only reimburse me 50%. Very disappointed in Venstar's customer service. I buy a lot of products via Amazon and this is the first time a seller has been difficult when returning an item.

Venstar lost a customer today I can honestly say that I will never look to buy a Venstar product again!!!!

Honest reviews on Venstar Wireless Residential Thermostat Combo - T1100RF / REC

I rent a townhouse in a hot climate and since the thermostat was on the first floor, the upstairs would stay hot while downstairs would be at the desired temperature. Since I couldn't really make any major changes to the property, I had few solutions for making the upstairs comfortable in the summer. This made living here pretty miserable until I purchased this wireless thermostat system.

Now whatever room I am in is kept at the desired temperature. You can hang or mount the remote on a wall, or it has a stand where you can take it with you and place it upright on a desk/table/shelf. It seems to have a pretty impressive range and I haven't had it lose signal anywhere in my place. It also has a 7-day programming feature, but I've never needed to use it.

You don't necessarily need to have a professional install it, but you do need to know a little about your Heating/AC system in order to wire the receiver properly. Once you know that the installation is about as simple as any other thermostat.

When I move out, I'm definitely taking this with me. It's perfect for solving the problem of homes with hot-spots, but it's also a really nice system for any residence, even without these problems.

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We got it because wall thermostat was in upstairs unheated hall and we sleep with doors closed. Heat would kick on and bedrooms got hot while hall stayed cold...calling for more and more heat. This solved problem nicely. Only glitch was if you have only two wires on thermostat you need an additional "two wire kit"... More money . It's not the prettiest thing because it has a black power supply you have to plug in and we couldn't get the component to fit inside. But it works. Venstar needs to redesign the transmitter box to fit it inside and change the power supply to white for aesthetics. Programming is a little tedious, but has plenty of options.

Holmes HCT460-U Home Base Transformable Tower Heater Reviews

Customer Ratings:

Just bought this unit. The design is quite nice as far as being able to rotate the vents and the flexibility to have one down, one up, both down or both up. You can set the desired temperature, but you should know that you can only set it to 60, 65, 70, 75, or 80. That's it. Nothing in between those. The main problem I have with this unit, and it is going back tonight for a replacement, is that my room is 64 degrees, and the unit won't go on until I set it to 75. And even at that, it shuts off after the room gets to about 65 or 66. To me, it seems like the thermostat is off by about 10 degrees.

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The thermostat never works. It won't turn on no matter what temperature is set. Asked Amazon for a replacement. The replacement was even worse. Thermostat was off more than 10 degrees, plus one of the towers was broken. Had to send it back for refund. The only good thing is Amazon's service.

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it is effective and somewhat stylish. however, it severely dries out the air, and leaves a twinge of plasticity in the air... not recommended for a bedroom (which I tried first) but will work in a draftier setting, like a living room or garage...

Honest reviews on Holmes HCT460-U Home Base Transformable Tower Heater

I purchased this product a year ago and it has worked wonderfully in my finished basement. It keeps the whole room heated very well if I leave the door to the upstairs closed. Guests really appreciate the warmth since the basement traditionally is very cold.

We're now using it at our office because of the very cold weather and it's doing a great job keeping the heat even throughout the back of the office (and I sit next to a large drafty window).

I don't have any problems with the temperature. Our office stays steady at 74, except in my area, but I can set it to 75 and the temp feels like the rest of the office.

I also have very dry hands in the office and I feel no difference when this heater has been used the past two days here. Everyone in the office has been raving about the awesome design and the output it generates.

I think it is well worth the price!

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I really ehjoyed this heaterm not only warm and cosy bur oh so safe. I would buy again it was a cool product

Buy Venstar Add-A-Wire 5 Wire to 4 Wire Adapter

Customer Ratings:

If you read this review and decide this product is not for you... that's reasonable. If you blindly order this product, never even try to install it, and then leave a negative review... that's profoundly unreasonable. I was almost dissuaded from this item based on a prior review even though that review was beyond useless, the product is exactly what I needed, and I have never seen anything else like it. This product offers an ingenious solution for my problem (not enough wires from thermostat to HVAC system), it was easy to install (with some basic knowledge I have no HVAC training beyond what I found on "The Google") and it works. 5 stars.

As some background, let me say I'm not even a particularly good handyman... I have a drill and not much else for power tools. But to make up for any lack of knowledge/skill, I have an over abundance of confidence and access to the internet. You can decide if that makes me wise or a fool, and whether you trust this review. I am sure this installation carries risks I am not even aware of. You assume all risks and are responsible for any damage/injury/death/electrocution/fire/etc.

To start, I was short on wires after I installed programmable thermostats. The original house wiring had 4 wires to the HVAC, which was sufficient for the original heating/ac thermostats since they were battery powered and didn't need HVAC power (they used: red wire for hot voltage, white wire for heater, yellow wire for cooling, and green wire for fan control). Unfortunately, programmable thermostats generally require external power (usually from the HVAC), meaning they need a 5th wire for ground. I tried switching the wiring at each season change (kept one wire for hot voltage, one wire for GROUND or common, one wire for fan, and then I would need to connect the last wire to either cooling or heating but not both). This turned out to be a real PITA here in New England, where one day it's 90+ and I would have to rewire for AC and the next day its 50 or below and back I go to disconnect the AC and connect the furnace...

This product is designed perfectly for the above scenario. It could also be used to bypass a broken wire or for certain other situations where you need one more wire. What you get is some passive element to combine two wires into one at the level of the thermostat, and then an adapter that installs at the air handler to separate the combined signal back onto two wires. My guess is that it is using voltage to multiplex the signals. For example 0 volts means both wires are off, 12 V means the fan wire should be on only, and the full 24V means both fan and AC wires should be on. Then the signals are demultiplexed at the air handler. That's a guess, but it makes sense to me. This assumption also explains the stated limitations... you can't use either the hot (red) or common lines for any combo since they must always be fixed at 24 and 0 volts. Also, I suspect one of the combined wires will become unable to activate alone (not a problem if it's the AC wire, which you would always want running with the fan... but don't wire backwards so the fan can only run with the AC on...)

As noted, there are some other limitations with this scenario, but fortunately for the 4 to 5 wire conversion you wouldn't notice (described below). If you are going from 2 to 3 wires the limits become more significant, see the documentation on the Venstar website for details. In my scenario, I combined the yellow (AC) and green (fan control) on one wire, thus allowing the thermostat to control everything with just 4 wires instead of 5. It works flawlessly. I can turn the fan on alone. I can turn the heat on alone (or with the fan). I can turn the AC+fac on. As noted, I don't think I can turn the AC on without the fan, but why would I want to? And the best part... NO REWIRING for heating or cooling!! So far, no bugs to report but it takes maybe 15 seconds for the furnace or AC to kick in when the thermostat triggers. I'm not sure if that was always the case, or if the add-a-wire somehow introduces some minor lag time.

Now for installation. Be SURE that your system is 24VAC. I'm not sure if there are other voltages out there, but if this product works the way I suspect, it would probably fail spectacularly at any non-standard voltage. Tools required are screwdrivers (possibly including a jewelers screwdriver). You need to be able to open you air handler (in my case it's just two thumbscrews on a back panel of the furnace though that did require fighting through some cobwebs and dust). You ALSO need to get behind the thermostat to the wiring (usually the thermostat face plate just comes off). Like I said, you have to install parts at both ends of the wire (duh...). The package comes with 2 wire nuts, which should be enough. Also, be sure you've turned off the furnace power when doing this... again, I'm not sure if 24VAC is really that dangerous but you certainly don't want to find out... The wiring is pretty straightforward from the instructions in the box (see the Venstar website for PDF). If you can't figure it out from the pictures, you probably shouldn't be messing with this. Installation took me an hour, but as I said above I'm really not much of a handyman. It took me 10 minutes to get the thermostat panel off the wall and another 10 minutes just to find the air handler... If I did this again I think I could do the whole thing in 10 minutes total. Make sure you know the wiring color codes, which are readily available on The Google... you don't want someone else to come along and accidentally find out you used yellow for 24VAC power.

So in summary... it worked, it saved me a lot of pain and cost (of running more wire), and it was very easy to install with knowledge gained from The Internets. I suppose you could ding it for being expensive (the actual parts probably cost the company only a few bucks at most) but it was well worth the price to me and there are no alternate products that do this, as far as I know.

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This product looks like a really great device it does what it says but requires access to your air exchanger and some technical knowledge that may not be something everyone has or can understand.

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this thing works exactly as advertised. The reason I gave it 4 stars I stead of 5 is because I feel the instructions for installation could be better. But a quick google search gave me the info I needed to complete the installation. I would strongly suggest googling for an installation video. There are a couple out there that makes the installation of this a snap. This is a great product that makes conversion to a 5 wire thermostat a snap.

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Radi kako je receno kome treba nek sebi kupi nece biti od viska kad bude pravio termostat u kuci i

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I'm not a wiring guy, and installing the Venstar T5800 thermostat was not in my DIY skills. Wiring is never what the basic instructions say it is. Bought this on the chance that I'd need this, and didn't want to have the contractor come out twice. In this case, I didn't need it, but I'm not sorry. Gave it to the contractor.