What's the difference between a double-pole and single-pole thermostat? | Cadet FAQ

Thomas with Cadet Tech Support goes over the difference between a single- and double-pole line-voltage thermostat.
Where you should place your thermostat: cadetheat.com/b...
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IMPORTANT NOTE: If you feel uncomfortable doing this work, or doing the wiring, have a qualified electrician help you.

[@FurryWrecker911]

I'm so glad this video exists. My brother's baseboard heater died in his bathroom, and he ordered a replacement thermostat... except he got a BTF1 and not a BTF2. He started to ask me if I could crack it open and salvage the parts out of it to solder them into the new thermostat to give it the same functionality, to which I told him to pump the brakes and wait until I could look into how heating systems worked. This is exactly what I needed to show him.

[@dwoodog]

Love these to the point videos with out a big pile of blah....blah.....blah. Thanks again.

[@missdaisy9040]

👍🏻 can you please post more videos on how these work and how to recalibrate them?

[@gabrielfazioni9223]

Thanks. Now I know why my hydro bill increased during the winter even when I was away in South America and my thermostats were all the way down.

[@bobmanp8653]

yay

[@chogg611]

I want the single pole for a seasonal home. I don't want to run the heaters unless the temperature goes below 40. Saves the pipes from freezing.

[@joeblow26]

What do you use each of them for?

[@misterman3379]

lol

[@pratumpornchuanlom185]

Exactly what I needed!

[@susanareyesmontes2717]

Thank you! That was easy!!

[@garyestwick1622]

My thermostat cover doesn’t have an off switch, but has 4 wires in the back. It does have a snug spot when you turn it right off, which feels like that would be off. I want to replace it. Should I get a single or double pole?

[@sceneitallwithjeffandjon6984]

Did you ever figure this out? I have the same situation.

[@lilaccilla]

what does it mean when you turn the thermostat to the off position and it clicks and turns the heat on instead off turning it off?

[@franceskavalec350]

Thank you.

[@chrislennyperez5700]

do you have a video on upgrading from a double pole honeywell thermostat to a google nest thermostat?

[@kibubkibub]

So simple so helpful. Thanks guys

[@Cadetheat]

You're very welcome. Glad to hear it was helpful.

[@skywalker859]

Can you guys make a video of this setup/calibration? U have one for the digital but not for the other.. Single pole t-stats have one click and double pole have 2 clicks.. What is the 2nd click? Thank you for helping me out here

[@Cadetheat]

+skywalker85 Sorry it took us a lot longer to get to this than we initially expected, but here is a preview of the video you were asking for. Please let us know what you think or if you need further explanation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5qkpISro9ahj7c

[@petervalientes]

Thank

[@albertojetson8841]

What does it mean when I turn on high and it doesn’t come on

[@6barry66]

The information in your video is correct but there are single pole thermostats with an off switch. The difference between a single pole thermostat and a double pole thermostat is the double pole thermostat opens up both legs of power whereas the single pole one only opens one and the other side is permanently connected.

[@buzzloudly]

Thank-you, finally an answer to the question. No offense to the posters, but they never explained what the difference is (other than stating it has four wires instead of two, duh). Maybe a better question would be WHY are there four wires instead of two? What is the reason for the difference in design?

[@6barry66]

@@buzzloudly most electric heat is 240 volts which means that there is 110 volts on each of the power wires coming into it. A 2Wire thermostat only breaks one of the 110 volt lines coming in to the 240 volt heater which effectively turns it off but if you touch it with your hand you will get electrocuted. A 4-wire thermostat opens up both of the 110 V lines so that if you touch it with your finger you won't get electrocuted. So if you have a two wire thermostat and you want to service the electric heater itself, if you want to do it safely you have to turn off the circuit breaker. However it is still considered far safer to always turn off the circuit breaker before you service any electrical device.

[@buzzloudly]

@@6barry66 Thx for taking the time to reply. Sounds to me like you should only use single pole thermostats for 120v heaters, and 2-pole for 240v. Though you can, why WOULD you ever use a single pole on a 240 heater?

[@6barry66]

@@buzzloudly Sometimes when houses are first built for reasons unknown the contractor always puts a two wire cable in the wall.

[@jm000001897]

What can you say about the reports of many of these line voltage thermostats catching fire? Amazon is full of reviews like this with somewhat convincing photos.

[@secret5.]

Not if you wire it correctly. I have a house with cove heaters in every room; 9 thermostats total. They all work fine, it's no different than the wiring for a light switch or outlet.

[@jm000001897]

@secret5. I thought the fire appeared to be internal to the thermostat, so difficult to imagine that it would be from faulty installation. Nine is a lot of thermostats for one house, but not a large sample size for testing safety and reliability.

[@secret5.]

@@jm000001897 I suppose if you bought a cheap uncertified thermostat you risk a fire potential, but that would go for any electrical equipment. If it is UL certified it should be fine.

[@Chuklz70]

NOTE: I am NOT a professional, just a guy who learns from the school of hard knocks! The primary risk of fire is by NOT CLEANING it every Fall before you start using it again. Spider cobwebs, dust bunnies, odd bits that the vacuum didn't get, and children's toys can all somehow manage to get behind the cover and onto the heater fins. The cover ought to be removable and you can clean the fins off and check for any damage before you begin using it again when temperatures drop.

[@nonameno6690]

3 questions //// 1- why do my lights flicker? I notice it in my basement especially when my freezer turns on... and in my bathroom? 2- also, what reverse polarity ? 3- I have a plug outlet one socket on bottom works but the top one doesn't. what is the issue ..what do I need to do? THANKS

[@markhenderson6863]

The lights flicker when the heater comes on probably because of a grounding issue. Reverse polarity is when you have your hot and neutral reversed on your recepticle or at a light fixture for example. There is several things that could be an issue with the recepticle that only half of it works. The simplest is there is a link on the side of the recepticle that connecets the top to the bottom so that in all reality you only have to hook up 1 pair of wires to the recepticle for both top and bottom to work. If someone breaks off the tab then only the one gettibg the wire will work. Sometimes the tab is broken off so thst one(usually the bottom) works as a regular recepticle and one ( usually the top) is wired to a switch and a lamp fixure of some sort is plugged into it so it can be turned on or off from the wall. This is seen alot in hotel rooms.

[@nelsonsiliezar3961]

I think i have a double pole thermostat, when i turn it on it will work for a few hours then shut off and never come back on. is there a way to calibrate or is something else wrong ?

[@MNpolarbear]

Wat if the thermostat has 5 wires? Two to the dial, three from the voltage switch light.

[@skywalker859]

And what's with the double clicks on other t-stats?? Very confusing...

[@SamSalhi]

Question for anyone who knows Do the double pole thermostat turn on individually at different settings? Say turn both at 60, stop one at 65, stop the second at 70?

[@6barry66]

No

[@6barry66]

You cannot set them both at different temperatures. The difference that is stated in the instruction video is incorrect.

[@SamSalhi]

@@6barry66 thank you sir, much appreciated

[@louishollandjr]

Is wiring the same on left and right side on Double pole Marleý 2543nwc Base board heater. Left side has two black wire's one loop red wire. Right side has on Red one Black wire.

[@Cadetheat]

Hi Louis, unfortunately we are only experts on Cadet heaters, not Marley heaters. There are some slight differences with wiring on the left and right sides for Cadet baseboards, so we’d recommend reaching out to Marley for the specifics there. Sorry we couldn’t be more help.

[@dfghdfzsd]

i’m not an electrician but i wanted to chime in and agree with everyone that said this video is stupid. and some nuggets in the comments are right but nobody gives the complete answer. CT410B will work with both the 120 and 240. so to speak 120 comes in on black and only works/flows when it has a path back on white/neutral. 240 has two lines of 120 but at opposing phases. because these phases are opposing, they don’t need a path back on neutral, so no white wire. in the 120 scenario, you only need to break the connection on the white or black, but if you use the 240 you’ll be breaking both black and red(the two hots/120s). if you are doing 240 then you need to break both the red and the black. a single pole model can’t break both so you can’t use single pole for 240. i only plan to use 120v. starting from the source i’ll connect black black on the thermostat then the black L1 to the black going to the heater. then i’ll connect white to red on the thermostat and the red L2 to the white going to the heater. it’s going to break both when it only needs to break one, and that’s ok. sorry this is garbled i just wanted to contribute something that was closer to helpful- i recommend cross referencing and researching till you are sufficiently comfortable with the task… because danger etc. oh also, it might be worth capping the reds and just passing thru with the white- i’ll keep looking till it all feels right- no help from the manual or video here smh

[@shamooat123]

Hello. I mistakenly purchased a double-pole thermostat but the system is wired for single pole. Can I still use the double-pole device using just L1/T1 terminals? Thank you.

[@Cadetheat]

+Jay Gilbert hi jay, unfortunately we don't recommend doing that. Would you be able to exchange the thermostat for a single pole model?

[@shamooat123]

unfortunately no and there are 4 of them in total. Your documentation really should state this limitation. More items for the landfill I guess.

[@lando8398]

If you can't use a double pole t-stat, why does honeywell state on the box 120-240, 2-, or 4- wire non polarized connection? I am referring to the CT410B.

[@digitalcurrents]

@@lando8398 A non-polarized connection means there is no distinction between the hot and neutral wires. They are interchangeable - as found in 2-pole wiring. A polarized connection means a specific wire must be hot and a specific wire must be neutral.

[@sandramargolis]

@@shamooat123no need to go to the landfill, you can just sale them for someone else to use and save couple dollars. Or donate them to a second hand store. They sure can be use by someone else.

[@luvdady]

So thinking of getting 1 for my shed office, (8x10 ) seems economical. Is there any thermostats that work with alexa or wifi ?

[@kolopoustas]

luvdady mysa sells wifi thermostats. Excellent product. Perfect temperature control. Download app to your cell phone and control thermostat from anywhere.

[@MaxMax-vc7vs]

How to connect the double pole thermostat the two black pigtails is the inline or the outline😢

[@Cadetheat]

Hey Max, For wiring questions like this, we suggest you speak directly with our tech support team. cadetheat.com/customer-service

[@skywalker859]

What is the purpose of the factory set "click" around 70°F?? Is before click heat off?? And after click on?? I'm confused...

[@Cadetheat]

+skywalker85 So if your heater is off and you turn a mechanical thermostat knob up (clockwise), the click you will hear is the point where the thermostat will tell the heaters to turn on. When you turn it back down (counter-clockwise) it will click again, which is the temperature where the thermostat will tell the heater to turn off. Does that answer your question?

[@seove1]

This may be a dumb question but is the thermostat switching the hot or neutral wire?

[@Cadetheat]

Hi there, that is a great question. With a 240-volt connection, a single-pole thermostat cuts power to the hot wire, and a double-pole thermostat cuts power to both hot wires. With a 120-volt connection, a single-pole thermostat cuts power to the hot wire. We don’t generally recommend that you use a double-pole thermostat with a 120-volt connection.

[@buzzloudly]

@@Cadetheat In a 240v connection both wires are hot, so a single-pole thermostat cuts power to ONE of the hot wires, the other hot wire is permanently connected to the heater.

[@Sheamus77]

so is the double pole more less an upgrade to a single pole? I'm just not understanding why you would choose a single over a double....

[@Cadetheat]

+nvrcrywlf I wouldn't necessarily say the double-pole thermostat is an upgrade over the single-pole. Sometimes people will pick a single-pole thermostat as a sort of freeze protection because it will always turn on if the temperature in the room drops below about 40° F. For a lot of folks, it comes down to wiring. If you're replacing a thermostat, you'll want to replace a single-pole with a single-pole or a double-pole with a double-pole.

[@Sheamus77]

The freeze factor makes all the sense in the world....Thanks

[@skywalker859]

I set my "click" to 70°F.. Then want to turn the temp down bc I want it few degrees cooler now.. The heat shuts off and drops with the heater never kicking in again unless I turn it up to 70° or higher.. Is that right? Or my "click" is set @ 70°F and my home is 90° bc the heater keeps running non-stop.. Is there an auto shut off when it reaches set temp??

[@Cadetheat]

+skywalker85 OK. Now I think I have a better understanding of your question. Basically the way these thermostats work is that you set a rough room temperature. The thermostat tells the heaters to provide heat until the temperature in the room rises above that set temperature. Then the heaters will turn off until the temperature drops 5 or so degrees below your set point. Then the thermostat will tell your heaters to turn back on and the cycle repeats. The click you hear is just an indication that your set point is higher than the current temperature in your room. If your room is 65 degrees and you want it set to 70 degrees, the thermostat will click to let you know the heat will be turning on right away. If your room is 65 degrees and you want it to be 60 degrees, turning the dial to the left (counter-clockwise) won’t make the thermostat “click.” If you set your room temperature to 70 or so, it shouldn’t reach 90 degrees. The only possible exception for this is once mechanical thermostats are old, they can get worn out and basically turn into “on”and “off” switches.

[@FrankPetersonIII]

I have double pole thermostats, same model you show here, installed into single pole wiring in the wall. I just connected the red wires together and capped them. If I am understanding things correctly this means that even though I have the thermostat set all the way the left, clicked to off, if the temp got below the minimum, which seems like 35 on these thermostats, the heat would still come on? Thank you for any replies.

[@Scorp497]

You nailed it! However the heater is never fully turned off. The red wires will always be supplying the heater with 120v of electricity. The 240 comes in when the thermostat is turned up to a level that will cause the switch inside the thermostat to trigger and add the remaining 120v to the heater.

[@chadvos1002]

@@Scorp497 This one was helpful. The reason the two reds are connected is that you aren't running the power through the thermostat...just using the black wires to leverage the temperature control. My garage heater is running 10,000W which is 50AMPs. The power goes directly to the heater and it has a separate connection with 14 gauge connects for an external thermostat.

[@atxgiant]

Can anyone tell me why a single pole does not have a shut off and a double does? I am going to replace my single pole thermostat but I want it to shut off without me having to turn the breaker off all the time.

[@Cadetheat]

That's just the design of the thermostats. A single-pole has a low setting where the heater will turn on when the temperature drops below a certain point in the room -- usually around 40 degrees. Double-pole thermostats are designed with the "positive off" setting where the heater will never turn on if the thermostat is set to "off".

[@escapefromny2012]

@@Cadetheat BUT, if you currently have a single pole with no off setting, can you replace it with one that does have an off setting? And if yes, would love a demo showing how.

[@scottmonfort]

Didn't explain what pole means or why the wires are different.

[@johnnyelectric4844]

how to hook up a 240 volt heater to a single pole thermostat

[@Cadetheat]

+johnny electric This video should get you most of the way there. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2KqYoiidqd_m6M

[@joaogomes6845]

Cabo verde vs Senegal 10/7/17

[@Grungefan2018]

cheap thermostats would not turn on. When it was 62 by thermometer and I had the thermostat up to 80 gone on for 2 years now, today out of nowhere it will not shutoff unless I turn off the breaker .

[@commandantmarechalkeitel5322]

yah yah sure but how the hell can u connect 240 volt using just 2 wire??

[@Xarion321]

Most likely by breaking one of the 120v lines.

[@Scorp497]

Example: Cable comes into junction box. Cut the black wire and hook one end to one of the black wires on the thermostat and the other end to the other black wire on the thermostat. Do not cut the white wire, it will run directly to the heater. So, you have 120v running to the heater at all times and until you turn up the thermostat, there will be no power running thru the black wire from the thermostat. Like the video says, the Single Pole thermostat will never turn the heater off. The heater will automatically turn on when the temp drops down to 40-degrees.

[@buzzloudly]

One hot wire is permanently connected directly to the heater, the other hot wire connects to the thermosat.

[@TheBenjammin]

This video explained nothing. Double pole bas8cally means double power supply. You would use double pole if you wanted to control 2 heaters with one thermostat.

[@buzzloudly]

Hallelujah!!! Finally an actual answer to the question. Video was unfortunately completely useless.

[@richsaloumjr]

Thank you