Wireless Thermostat for Coal-Trol?

Hi there Paul and Neil!!! Just would like to know what the progress is on a wireless thermostat option???

The people will pay, where is the product???

I am fully prepared to make my case for the need of this option... :discuss:

Thanks

def a good idea (as you saw from my thread) im not sure where to put it. if it was wireless I could move it where it works best.

Here are some "nice-to-have" coal-trol upgrades that have been talked about by forum members:

1). Backlit LED display.
2). PC/Mac interface capability with internal data storage and serial communications jack.
3). Email and flashing led notification of near empty hopper using infrared eye sensor installed in the hopper.
4). Smoke/Fire/CO alarm interface that shuts down the stove if alarm is tripped.
5). Manometer and temperature probe remote feedback.

The Coal-Trol could act as a central HUB for additional peripherals or add on devices and sensors.

Lookup eBay Part number 290619213501

This has been considered before and we certainly would like to develop it and produce products based on it (we're engineers and tech heads, after all). At some point in the future, who knows. But right now it is cost prohibitive. While integrating wireless connection into our products would open many options for expansion accessories and make for an easier installation in some cases, it would also add quite a bit of cost to the base product and open up a whole new set of support and installation issues to deal with. In the end we have to consider if there would be enough people willing to buy at the price we'd have to sell at in order to make the investment in this make sense. Also, many (most?) would still want the cheaper wired only option, which means we'd have to produce wired only and dual wireless/wired models.

So far we are skeptical.

There would certainly be some that would benefit from it and some would be willing to spend more for the feature, but until we either decide to make a gamble on it or land a high volume production deal that would benefit from the feature (or in which it is a requirement) it isn't likely to come up.

Some other ideas, such as LCD backlighting, are within the realm of possibility within the price levels and volume levels we're dealing with.

Paul,

Your argument is not falling on deaf ears about the high cost of development. However, you have a captive audience on this forum and some dedicated users of your product. While it may appear cost prohibitive at first to develop a more advanced coal-trol; albeit without wireless, the market for small-scale beta production does indeed exist. The demand for a high-end coal-trol is limited, but as with the original TS2, those costs can be passed on to the consumer.

The manufacturers could certainly offer a premium thermostat as an option with a price to match the features. Even a 100 percent price increase in the coal-trol would place it at the same price level as Honeywells upscale models. I'm sure that Matt and Dave from Leisure Line would be willing to market an optional upscale thermostat as it makes good business sense to try breaking the consumers prejudice concerning coal-fired heating appliances and more traditional heating methods.