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Post by vegasjames on Jun 25, 2024 21:48:31 GMT -5
The thermostat on my Trane air conditioning unit just went out a few days ago. Really bad timing as we just hit summer and even the nights are not cooling off here. Fan and lots of water helps, but Jax is really stressing with the heat.
Thought it would be a simple thing to go to the store and buy a thermostat to put on and get the AC running. Of course, it turned out to not be that simple.
Trane has their thermostats made b Honeywell, but they are a proprietary wiring, so you must buy the properly wired Trane thermostat to work. You cannot use other brands nor even other Trane thermostats with that specific wiring. I went on Amazon to look for one and about fell to the ground when I saw the price for their thermostat. $650.00, which is cheap to some of the other places I looked at. I can get a while new AC unit for that cost minus the installation cost.
Worse yet, when you read the reviews, the majority are terrible. Units failing within months to year was a common problem. One person reported that they had to replace their Trane thermostat 3 times in 14 months at $700 a pop!!!
Another problem is a known software glitch that apparently has been known for many years in these thermostats, but Trane will not allow you to download the patch from the internet anymore. Instead, you have to call their technicians and pay them to come download the patch to the thermostat in person. What really makes me mad is that thermostat, which also has the faulty software is over 10 years old, and they still have the software problem even in their current models. Why aren’t they fixing the problem before they build these things since the problem has been known for so long, and they have had the way to fix it for a very long time? Just pure greed. They want to nickel and dime people with their crap.
Another complaint I saw was that on their smart thermostats, which again are outrageously expensive and tend to fail at a high rate, the person reported that in order to use the advanced features that you have to pay a monthly subscription. Something that apparently is not disclosed when you go to buy these.
Bottom line is that I if you need to get an AC system, I HIGHLY recommend avoiding getting a Trane system unless you are rich and do not care about wasting money. They used to have a really good reputation, but that clearly is no longer the case.
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realrockhound
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Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
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Post by realrockhound on Jun 25, 2024 23:23:56 GMT -5
In the Meantime, could probably just get one of those window installs for relatively cheap. Keep it around as a backup.
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titaniumkid
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Member since June 2023
Posts: 512
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Post by titaniumkid on Jun 25, 2024 23:36:25 GMT -5
Sorry Jax is suffering in the heat. It's amazing what companies get away with.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jun 26, 2024 7:24:59 GMT -5
Sorry about the A/C vegasjames. Poor Jax. I hope you have a kiddie pool for her.
Our A/C is out, too. With the heat index, it's been 100+. We have a small unit in the bedroom. That's where Sid the Vicious stays. I take short breaks in there. I don't want to get too acclimated to the coolness or I'd never come out. LOL! I bought a really awesome industrial fan which has made a huge difference. I have a box fan in a window and the big fan oscillating in front of it. Keeps things bearable.
We have a huge through the wall A/C which is pretty new. Last year, at the end of the season, something went awry. So, we ordered a part and waited... that didn't fix it. Ordered another part and still waiting. It's the main circuit board which has the thermostat, too. Hopefully, it will be in any day. Then hopefully, it will fix the damn thing. You just can't buy anything worth a crap anymore.
Yeah, Trane used to be a name to trust.
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rockbrain
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Member since January 2022
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Post by rockbrain on Jun 26, 2024 9:14:13 GMT -5
I'm curious what your system is. I was an American Standard dealer for years and years. They owned the Trane company at the time. Now Ingersoll Rand owns them all. I'm not familiar with any Trane proprietary t stat other than the fact that they designate their common wire with a "B" which is usually a heat pump reversing valve designation.
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Post by vegasjames on Jun 26, 2024 13:18:47 GMT -5
I'm curious what your system is. I was an American Standard dealer for years and years. They owned the Trane company at the time. Now Ingersoll Rand owns them all. I'm not familiar with any Trane proprietary t stat other than the fact that they designate their common wire with a "B" which is usually a heat pump reversing valve designation. Don't know the model of the unit, would have to go out and look.
The thermostat has three wires that have to be hooked up,. B, R and D. D is the communicating wire and the one that is proprietary to Trane.
I managed to find an older model used with the B, R and D wiring for $150, so just ordered it. says it should be here by July 2nd.
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rockbrain
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Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,201
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Post by rockbrain on Jun 26, 2024 14:42:08 GMT -5
That makes sense. I started wondering if it was a communicating unit. My only experience with those is when a communicating air handler was the only one they had available but I put a conversion harness on it and it worked as a standard system.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jun 26, 2024 16:48:25 GMT -5
Do the Trane units have inverter drives for compressors like the mini split we had? Seems like if we're just talking about off-on for the compressor and fans that anything could be wired to it. I remember the thermostats that were just switches. So in reality it's not that hard to stop a Trane?
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Post by vegasjames on Jun 26, 2024 19:52:56 GMT -5
Do the Trane units have inverter drives for compressors like the mini split we had? Seems like if we're just talking about off-on for the compressor and fans that anything could be wired to it. I remember the thermostats that were just switches. So in reality it's not that hard to stop a Trane? No idea.
Hear there is some way of rewiring the unit to be able to use other thermostats, but could not find any details. And do not know if I would lose any functions.
Also read something about not being able to go from digital to analogue.
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titaniumkid
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Member since June 2023
Posts: 512
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Post by titaniumkid on Jun 29, 2024 23:52:57 GMT -5
Is Jax doing okay in the heat?
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Post by vegasjames on Jun 30, 2024 0:39:12 GMT -5
Is Jax doing okay in the heat? Thanks for checking in.
Yes, went over to a friends house for a couple of days to stay cool.
And have been using modified evaporative cooling to help cool the room some.
I have been trying to get her to lay on a wet towel in front of the fan as this makes the towel cold, but she hates water and jumps over the towel. A couple of times I took her out in the front yard and hosed her down good to keep her cool for a while.
Last night I had the wet towel at the foot of the bed. When I was getting ready to go to sleep she jumped in in my spot and laid down so I had to lay on the very edge of the bed all night. Normally, Jax does not like to snuggle up against me unless it is cold. She wanted to snuggle last night though, and kept pawing me for belly rubs. I was able to slowly pull the wet towel up over her with the fan blowing on us at medium speed. That chilled the towel and cooled her off most the night so she laid down and and was breathing normal, rather than rapid when she does when trying to cool off.
New thermostat should be here in 2-3 days.
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titaniumkid
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
Posts: 512
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Post by titaniumkid on Jun 30, 2024 4:27:16 GMT -5
Is Jax doing okay in the heat? Thanks for checking in.
Yes, went over to a friends house for a couple of days to stay cool.
And have been using modified evaporative cooling to help cool the room some.
I have been trying to get her to lay on a wet towel in front of the fan as this makes the towel cold, but she hates water and jumps over the towel. A couple of times I took her out in the front yard and hosed her down good to keep her cool for a while.
Last night I had the wet towel at the foot of the bed. When I was getting ready to go to sleep she jumped in in my spot and laid down so I had to lay on the very edge of the bed all night. Normally, Jax does not like to snuggle up against me unless it is cold. She wanted to snuggle last night though, and kept pawing me for belly rubs. I was able to slowly pull the wet towel up over her with the fan blowing on us at medium speed. That chilled the towel and cooled her off most the night so she laid down and and was breathing normal, rather than rapid when she does when trying to cool off.
New thermostat should be here in 2-3 days.
Dog expansion is a universal constant. Doesn't matter how big the bed is or how small the dog, they always take up maximum space Glad she's okay.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 1, 2024 19:48:21 GMT -5
Funny how a 6.5 lb chihuahua can use up so much real estate on a queen bed.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jul 1, 2024 21:01:15 GMT -5
Well crap! Sorry to hear about both you and Jax!! I hope the new part is a for sure fix!!
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Post by vegasjames on Jul 2, 2024 2:23:37 GMT -5
Well crap! Sorry to hear about both you and Jax!! I hope the new part is a for sure fix!! Thermostat I ordered is not functional as stated in listing, so just filed for a return even though the seller says they do not accept returns. It was listed as "fully operational and functions as intended", which is not true. Powered up, but during the Setup Wizard, many of the "buttons" would not respond. So I could not change anything to my system, which is a heat pump, and electric. Neither of these "buttons" responded, nor does the "apply" or "cancel" buttons. And when I push next a few times I reach a dead end where I cannot go forward anymore, nor can I ever get to the control screen to run the A/C at all.
I have tried turning off the breaker several times to force resets, and even unwired it then rewired it just to make sure nothing was loose. Still will not respond.
Really sucks because our temps are jumping to 114F in the next few days, and I just ordered an open box unit, but it is back East so will not be here for probably this weekend or early next week.
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Post by vegasjames on Jul 2, 2024 2:26:42 GMT -5
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titaniumkid
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Member since June 2023
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Post by titaniumkid on Jul 2, 2024 4:33:01 GMT -5
I'm very sorry to hear this. Is there something temporary you can do while waiting for the new unit?
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ThomasT
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Post by ThomasT on Jul 2, 2024 5:23:09 GMT -5
I feel for you brother James... there rarely seems to be a convenient time for equipment failure. Hope you can get it fixed.
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Post by vegasjames on Jul 2, 2024 5:39:37 GMT -5
I'm very sorry to hear this. Is there something temporary you can do while waiting for the new unit? Relying on evaporative cooling mainly for now. House is not bad most the day as it is well insulated, so if I can get it cool before the sun comes up, it takes a while to heat up again. This is because it takes a while for the heat to work through the walls. So, it is actually hotter in the house in the evening than it is during the day. When the temps drop some. I open the doors and windows and put a fan in the window to help blow out some of the heat. When it heats up more in a few days, it will not cool down at night, so be a bit harder. I have friends and family close by though if it gets too bad.
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Post by knave on Jul 2, 2024 6:20:06 GMT -5
Dayum. Yeah hard to stop a Trane but I make a good living keeping them going. I am happy to help you convert your system to a legacy thermostat. Sure, it may not have every feature, but it will have the feature where the AC works! Send PM, and I’ll give you my number.
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