DrewE wrote:
The cadet heater has a built-in thermostat. How accurate it would be is, of course, pretty questionable; but before dabbling with too much wiring and switches and stuff, why not see if it is sufficient to just use its built-in one?
From the info on their web site, the built-in thermostat is simply wired to switch the main leads and the fan motor and heater element operate simultaneously (i.e. there's no thermostatic switch for the fan or other means of making it operate after the element is switched off). Switching the power to the unit with an external thermostat would make it operate in exactly the same way and would not cause any problems with the unit.
You already have it and it has a built-in stat.... They do work - sort of. A thermostat right on a heater can't sense what the rest of the room is doing and you will likely find it is cycling on and off more. It can't be set at a specific temp and you may find having to crank it up for a while until to find an acceptable comfort level rather than setting it at what you want and leaving it alone. The ideal thing is to have a more centrally located stat on an interior wall. You can always just disconnect it internally. Or it might make a good spot for a disconnect switch. Maybe just try it and see how well it works for you and if desirable, add a remote stat later.
Some wall/ceiling fan heaters (QMark, ex.) have a cool-down cycle to keep the fan running a bit after the thermostat tells the heater to shut down (requires an extra wire to the heater).
Specifications for the Com-Pak shows just 2 wires to the internal stat. and you could just disconnect it without affecting the operation of it and add a remote stat. It looks like there is an "R" version of the heater for use with a remote stat which is essentially the same thing without the built-in feature.
MrWizard also has a good point. If you lose shore power, you can run the furnace independently. Another thing being separated is you could have the furnace adjusted to run at a lower setpoint so it supplements the electric heater to warm the interior space faster when you first get to a CG.
