Situation: A sort of “community meetingplace” building in Louisville, poorly insulated, with a gas furnace. People come in and turn up the heat, then “forget” to turn it down when they leave. And the organization that runs the place never has money for the mortgage, much less the gas bill.
What is needed is a “parking meter” that people would feed to turn on the heat (and maybe the lights), both to turn the heat back off/down after a time and to collect a little extra money.
I know such meters exist — they use them at some of the local public skating rinks — but don’t know of a source. Does anyone know where to find such a thing (preferably used)?
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. –Wilhelm Stekel
Replies
if they have phone service in the building you could get one that takes credit cards... same as they use on copy machines ect... or some tanning beds...
I'm sure a google search would turn up something..
p
You could look for a motion-activated thermostat but I think they only work with baseboard heaters
http://customer.honeywell.com/TechLit/pdf/69-0000s/69-0820.pdf
Wire two cheap thermostats in parallel. The primary one is the normal temp setting, the other one is the "Boost" setting. Between the two, you add one of those simple wind up timers.
Normally, the temp is controlled by the normal tstat - the timer is open. When wound, the timer circuit closes and the heater goes live with the higher setting on the Boost Tstat.
Lock the normal Tstat down in a box.
Tu stultus es
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
Don't I remember HEARING about heaters that you put quarters in during a brief stay at a no-tell motel? Or was that the bed vibrator? Or both.
Dan,
Here is one that may work, no idea of cost. State and federal surplus sale may have used machines.
http://www.infitec.com/d_r_management/uploads/details/TPCR.pdf
KK
I was thinking of Paul's idea.
Another thing that will work is the right kind of setback thermostat.
Mine you can run to any setting that you want, but at the next changed time it will revert to the program.
The only problem is making sure that they don't put it into the hold mode.
Mine has a separate button for that purpose so it could possibly be disabled.
But the 2 stats with a windup timer is easy and simple to do.
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe