Hello & Thermostats

[DrC]

Afternoon everyone. I don't usually ask for advice straight after joining a forum however I'm pretty much a beginner when it comes to DIY so I hope you'll forgive me this once.

Anyway, It's a much repeated question with a slight twist. Here goes.

I've just bought a new room thermostat (Drayton RTS1) to replace the current ageing and horrible looking Honeywell Unit. I am expecting 4 wires to be connected, and indeed 4 come out of the wall, red, blue, yellow and green /yellow (house built c. 1980). My thinking is as follows: Live (RED), Neutral (BLUE), Earth (GREEN/YELLOW) and the call wire, by process of elimination, must be the plain YELLOW one.

Now, when opening up the current Honeywell unit, I was perplexed to find that only the call and live wires were connected, and the earth and neutral wires are unstripped and just bent back unto the hole in the wall.

Question: Is this usual? I'm guessing that it's not.

Further question: Is there likely to be a reason for the above, or when fitting the new unit should I just go right ahead and strip the sheathing off the neutral and earth wires and connect all 4 wires as they (I assume) should be. The wording on thr leaflet on the new unit is pretty unambiguous on the requirement for a neutral wire. Could it be the thermostat hasn't actually been working properly without the connections (only moved in recently so doubt I would have noticed.)

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Diyisfun]

Most people join to ask a question so dont feel bad.

Welcome.

I dont know the answer but they will be telling you soon.

 

[ColJack]

not every thermostat requires a neutral..

some of the older ones are just bimetal strips that make a contact when the temperature drops.

some of the newer replacement ones are battery operated and just have relay contacts..

the earth may not have been connected if the thermostat was plastic and doesn't have an earth terminal or screw... it should however have been connected to the metal back box ( asuming it was a metal back box.. if it's a plastic surface of fast fix box then they usually isn't one.. )

connecting the neutral to the new thermostat might not be a good idea until you determine if it is indeed a neutral and that it is connected as such at the other end..


some investigation at the boiler is in order me thinks..

 

[Steve3948]

Afternoon everyone. I don't usually ask for advice straight after joining a forum however I'm pretty much a beginner when it comes to DIY so I hope you'll forgive me this once.

Anyway, It's a much repeated question with a slight twist. Here goes.

I've just bought a new room thermostat (Drayton RTS1) to replace the current ageing and horrible looking Honeywell Unit. I am expecting 4 wires to be connected, and indeed 4 come out of the wall, red, blue, yellow and green /yellow (house built c. 1980). My thinking is as follows: Live (RED), Neutral (BLUE), Earth (GREEN/YELLOW) and the call wire, by process of elimination, must be the plain YELLOW one.

Now, when opening up the current Honeywell unit, I was perplexed to find that only the call and live wires were connected, and the earth and neutral wires are unstripped and just bent back unto the hole in the wall.

Question: Is this usual? I'm guessing that it's not.

Further question: Is there likely to be a reason for the above, or when fitting the new unit should I just go right ahead and strip the sheathing off the neutral and earth wires and connect all 4 wires as they (I assume) should be. The wording on thr leaflet on the new unit is pretty unambiguous on the requirement for a neutral wire. Could it be the thermostat hasn't actually been working properly without the connections (only moved in recently so doubt I would have noticed.)

Many thanks in advance.

RTS 1 does need a neutral.
Live + Neutral + Switch live return on 3.

What you need to do is connect the other end of the blue at the wiring centre or boiler. It should not be connected for safety reasons but may be.

 

[DrC]

Very many thanks for the reply. The thermostat is indeed rather old so the simple bimetallic strip arrangement seems likely. Also the backbox is plastic, therefore the earth cable may not be connected.

I have no idea about the boiler, so will investigate.

 

[Steve3948]

With regard to my last post, I may have confused you.

The Neutral will be required with the new thermostat, so will need connecting.
You may find it is already connected at the boiler or wiring centre end however.

 

[DrC]

Sorry Steve, that's my fault, you were perfectly clear but my reply to you wasn't.

So, tonight: the neutral connection to the boiler will be checked and connected if it isn't there. Then I'll wire the stat up as instructed.

Thanks guys.