Hi,
As for better thermostats there are a few.
Ranco or johnson controls both sell on/off types that are said to be very reliable.
You can also get proportional thermostats (like auto-changing dimmers) like the herpstat and helix.
Here is a link to a page listing them all - you can also find the manuals and various helpsheets etc on his site.
Rich doesn't seem to stock the herpstats though so here is a link to their manufacturer so you can read up on those too.![]()
dr del