I'm wanting to connect a 120V wall heater to a programmable, 2-pole thermostat. The difference between 1 vs. 2 poles involves whether or not the thermostat can truly, completely cut power or not. With 2 poles, all power to the heater can be cut. With 1, the "off setting" is really a very-lower power setting.
I can find 2-pole programmable thermostats that use 240V, but so far, have been unable to find the 2-pole arrangement for a 120V load. It's a pure guess that this may because 120V heaters are easier to appear "off" due to lower heat output, but 240V heaters would draw twice the current and generate twice the heat so it might be more noticeable. Still, its hard to believe it is only that reason that would prevent manufacturers like honeywell or cadet from making such a thermostat.
Does anyone know why a 2-pole, 120V programmable thermostat is next to impossible to find? Is there some technical or design reason why they wouldn't work?
Of course if anyone knows where one might be found...that would be excellent! I only need 24-hour programmability, not 7-day. But I really would like the full-power cutoff of the 2-pole thermostats.
I hope this isn't too technical for home improvement section, as I've run into this as part of a home-improvement project. Thanks.
UPDATE: many ask or question my conception of single v. double pole thermostats. I'm using a definition from a Cadet heating @ http://cadetheat.com/blog/faq-single-v-double-pole/.
Double pole stats have a true off setting. Single pole thermostats don't.
I've seen restatements of that definition on other sites and it seemed to be true for Honeywell thermostats as well. The manufacturer statements would seem to be definitive. If they are not, I'd want to know why.