englander 3000 sq. ft. add on furnace.

[jeepin in maine]

anyone have any info on this furnace?will it work as a stand alone?any idea of approximate burn times?will it be any more efficient than my old manual draft control smoke dragon?does it have a draft blower or self adjusting damper?i'm averaging between 8-10 cord a year currently.is my consumption going to be about the same?can i get an 8+ hour burn time?home depots site is not very informative.thanks............jeremy

 

[jeepin in maine]

bump.......mike?corey?anyone?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

anyone have any info on this furnace?

hi jeremy, sorry for not answering sooner, just got back from HPBA have you looked at the unit on our site with regards to specs? http://www.englanderstoves.com/28-3500.html i'll also try to answer your questions as well.

will it work as a stand alone?

this unit works at its best when paired with an existing "whole house" furnace , not necessarily needing help in the heating department , but to take advantage of the much larger blower system found in most forced air furnaces. the idea is simple, the fuel used by the furnace is expensive , but it moves the heat around quite well, what the 3500 does is replaces the heating element. the heat from the burning wood is pushed into the ductwork by the mounted blower on the wood unit, however its usually not powerful enough to blow this heat around the house through the ducts , to have a blower with that capacity it would not allow the air to heat enough before sending it on its way, thats where the existing furnace blower (usually in the 3 to 4 thousand cfm range) steps in and completes the circulation job. so , in essence , the whole house furnace will move the heat , buit not create it , the wood unit "pinch hits" for the oil or gas burning heating element of the furnace. the unit will not be as effective as a stand alone due to the air movement side of the deal. (unless its a very simple system in a smaller house which doesnt have all the "angles and dangles" in the duct system)

any idea of approximate burn times?

burn times can be in the 7-8 hour range , when banked back burning good solid hardwood, average burn times heating in a large home should average about 6 hours though more or less depending on how hard the unit is run.

will it be any more efficient than my old manual draft control smoke dragon?does it have a draft blower or self adjusting damper?

efficiency comparisons can be tricky , the unit is considered a "35-1" epa exempt unit , but has a pretty high transfer rate, so it should do better than an old fashioned less effectively baffled unit. as for draft assist blowers and self adjusting dampers , it doesnt have nor nedd one, i personaly do nott like draft assist blowers , set to go on at intervals, to me it causes the operator to damp down the manual control too far which can lead to cooler chimneys and creosote formation , also a draft inducing blower when coupled with a marginal flue system can overpressurize the unit and possibly smoke out the manual draft if the flue is not capable of handling the excess air dumped into the firebox.

i'm averaging between 8-10 cord a year currently.is my consumption going to be about the same?

once again , depends on burning habits and climate, degree of insulation, though IMHO thats a crapload of wood for one season, i would hope you would do better than that.

can i get an 8+ hour burn time?home depots site is not very informative.thanks............jeremy

i installed one in my dads house 2 seasons ago, he can heat the whole house (3600 sq ft) here in Va. easily with the unit (though its a perfect setup) and he burns less than 2 full cords a year with it , the old stove (a 1977 model ESW unit with a similar firebox size and the same hookup) used about a cord to 1.5 cords more to heat the same space, was a great unit in its own right , and is still as solid as it was when he installed it , but this unit cut his consumption considerably. as for the majic 8 hour burn time , like i said, its possible , but its gonna depend on the setup , and the required heating load, as well as the wood type used in the unit.


i hope you find this information helpful, please feel free to give me a buzz at the shop (800-245-6489) if you want to discuss the setup in detail, would give me a better idea of your requirements and what we have to work with. be happy to kick it around with you.

 

[jeepin in maine]

thanks mike........i'll be in touch to hammer out a few more details.help like this is the reason i'm looking at your product.jeremy

 

[ericjeeper]

No way associated with Englander. But I installed one of these units for a friend from this site.. He has never seen anything close to an 8 hour burn time. Most have been 3-4 hours. This is with seasoned honey locust, hard maple, Hickory. It does heat his home decently. But with no automatic draft controls you simply have to set it and walk away.
But remember this it is a 1200 dollar unit.. You get exactly what you pay for.. If you want the bells and whistles they cost you more and sorry to say from another manufacturer.,

 

[gpcollen1]

will it work as a stand alone?

this unit works at its best when paired with an existing "whole house" furnace , not necessarily needing help in the heating department , but to take advantage of the much larger blower system found in most forced air furnaces. the idea is simple, the fuel used by the furnace is expensive , but it moves the heat around quite well, what the 3500 does is replaces the heating element. the heat from the burning wood is pushed into the ductwork by the mounted blower on the wood unit, however its usually not powerful enough to blow this heat around the house through the ducts , to have a blower with that capacity it would not allow the air to heat enough before sending it on its way, thats where the existing furnace blower (usually in the 3 to 4 thousand cfm range) steps in and completes the circulation job. so , in essence , the whole house furnace will move the heat , buit not create it , the wood unit "pinch hits" for the oil or gas burning heating element of the furnace. the unit will not be as effective as a stand alone due to the air movement side of the deal. (unless its a very simple system in a smaller house which doesnt have all the "angles and dangles" in the duct system)

So, is there maybe a starting point, sq ft wise, where this unit may be effective as a stand alone unit? Like in a basement and you can heat the 1000 sq ft above it...

 

[kieth4548]

I just saw this post and thought I would put in my info. I have the 28-3500. I put it in last year and burnt about 3/4-1 cord a wood a month. I have a 3000 sq ft house including a full basement. I heat both the house and basement in the winter. I have had no problems with the unit. Last year I was on and off the phone with tech support trying to tweek the unit and they all were very willing to help. They gave me ideas and I tried them. I have also personnaly spoken to mike a few times and he is one of the best people there on information. I get about 5-6 hours of strong solid heat out of the unit. You have to play with the draft controls until you get it tweeked. Once you find that " sweet spot" the unit is excellent. It has no problem heating my house. In the winter the house will hang around 78-82 degrees. Now my house is 1 1/2 years old. There are times when I come home from work and have to open the windows to unload some heat. The other this is if you have a furnace guy that is willing to work with you> My furnace guy has been out three times and helping me tweek my system with the furnace. He is coming back out to wire my blower with a winter swtich that will put my home furnace blower to its lowest setting to help move the air from the wood stove. He isn't charging me for it. Sorry for the long post but overall I would say this is a good unit. Ya there are better units but if you are on a tight budget like I was this is an excellent unit. Email me if you have any questions.

Kieth

 

[smokinj]

I have the same set but, use mine as a stand alone 8-10 cords a year!

 

[M1sterM]

I have the same set but, use mine as a stand alone 8-10 cords a year!

8-10 FULL cords?! That's a lot of wood. Are you saying you have the ESW add-on? Your signature says USstove 1537, is that what your burning?

 

[smokinj]

I have the same set but, use mine as a stand alone 8-10 cords a year!

8-10 FULL cords?! That's a lot of wood. Are you saying you have the ESW add-on? Your signature says USstove 1537, is that what your burning?

Yes mine is the 1537 but close enough to the same furance and they both eat the wood but rember the sq ft you are heating is 3000sq ft thats not bad! and i run mine 24/7 come late dec. to mid march