mongo_jones

apparently josh ozersky is now allowed to write about more things he doesn't know or understand: 

http://online.wsj.co...3959730642.html

what a terrible loss.

"Mama here comes midnight with the dead moon in its jaws
Must be the big star about to fall
Long dark blues
Will o the wisp
The big star is falling
Through the static and distance
A farewell transmission
Listen"

we have a lux 1500a thermostat in the house. probably a decade old and not very fancy. we don't have the manual and what i could find online does not answer my question, which is as follows:

if i set the heat/cool setting to "heat" and turn the fan to "on" (rather than auto), will it continuously run the heater or will it keep the fan on continuously but switch the heat on if the temperature at the thermostat drops below whatever is currently programmed? this latter is what i am hoping it will do.

why do i care? i have a fire going in the stove, and while it is raging i have only the fan turned on at the thermostat, thus using the ducts to re-circulate the hot air from the stove throughout the house. however, an hour or two after i leave the fire will die down; the upstairs will remain very warm for another hour or two after that, while the basement will get very, very cold. this means that if i turn the thermostat to "heat" and "auto" the basement will get and stay cold for a very long time. if it turn the fan to "on" while turning the heat to "off" the basement will take longer to get cold but eventually the same thing will happen. not really a problem on a day like this (just below freezing absolute temps) but a few weeks ago we had a pipe freeze when the temperature was down to 0f. when i left the house the temperature upstairs was 72. i left the fan on, with the heat off. when i got back 6 hours later, the temperature upstairs had dropped to 60 and a shower drain was frozen. but i don't want to leave the fan and the heat on if this means that the furnace will run continuously. that would be wasteful and overheat the house (which would be bad for my whisky and the environment).

so, my question again: if i leave the heat on (but at say 68f) and leave the fan on, will the furnace only turn on when the thermostat drops below 68 (while the fan stays on)? in other words, is the difference between doing this and having the heat on with the fan at the auto setting only that in the latter case both the fan and heat turn off when the thermostat reaches its set temperature?

a question for those who know or know what to point me to:

in approximately two years i will likely lead a term-long study abroad program in london. however, my ability to do this will be dependent on my taking with me the older brat who will then just be turning 6. (mrs. jones and the younger brat will be with us for 1 out of the 2.5 months). i realize this is very far away but i need to inform the college soon of my ability to lead the program (they plan very far ahead). so, i have to figure out how easy it is to enroll a 6 year old in elementary/primary school for 2.5 months, how much it costs, how long an average school day is etc. etc. so that i can figure out the feasibility. knowledge based on recent first-hand experience particularly welcome.