Englander Blue Ridge 500 I opinions

[brownclown]

I am hopeful I have found an insert that appears to meet many of the wants I have. After searching I cant find any reviews. Anyone have direct experience or opinions with this model. If not model experince, brand quality and customer care if helpful. Also if you can confirm that i would be able to fit 16in longs going North/South. From the specs in the diagrams I'm seeing 17 1/4 worth of fire break running North/South so guessing that wouldnt be an issue but i am an insert noob. This is is a large insert and would be overkill for my need of 1,000 Sq Ft.

I guess this just a general insert operation question but will a larger insert cook me out or am I able to adjust it down akin to lowering a thermostat. I have never used an insert so am not really understanding how much control i would have. If i was to load this up would this cause it to burn incredibly hot or can i turn down amount of air to get long burn times? Or would i have to only load a few pieces at a time to keep temperatures comfortable.

Thanks

 

[brownclown]

Nothing. Even just brand quality and customer service would be helpful as this would be a blind purchase online. Thanks

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/sbi-purchases-englander.192427/all i have found was this thread . This had lead me to question the quality of the brand. Has been being acquired by SBI helped any ? I see most SBI brands , Drolet, Osburn spoken about positively and good values for dollar. I am hoping the same is true for Englander now.

 

[blades]

That is a new model which is why no response. I have Englander 30NC on main floor ( wood stove free stand) I have an old pdv pellet stove which I have been working on every so often - it will go in the basement shop area, one of these days. Hang up is the 30 ft worth of flue,$$$ as I do not want it to terminae out the side wall as the prevailing winds will blow the exhaust back against the siding ( plastic) and some large deflector would look funky. This would not be a 24/7 run unit only when working down there. Service / parts from Englander is pretty good / or was- don't know now that SBI owns them.

 

[brownclown]

is this model similar to any of the other SBI brands builds so I can maybe get some feedback that way? I hesitant to buy unseen and no reviews but this seems to be best matched model for my wants .

 

[begreen]

This is for the 500-i insert, correct?
Unfortunately, this is a new model, so no real world reports, but it looks suspiciously like the large SBI firebox used in the Osburn 3500, but perhaps with a vermiculite baffle? The manuals are surprisingly generic and poor so it is going to take some eyes on this unit and it's specs for comparison. The docs look hastily put together and have several obvious cut and paste errors from other SBI stove models that don't apply.

That said, looking at the parts diagram, I think there is a good chance that this is the value version of the Osburn 3500. The firebrick pattern, tube layout, baffle, etc. look the same. There is no big Drolet insert, so this fills that gap. The specifications say it has a vermiculite baffle but the parts list says C-Cast. I expect we'll see revised docs soon.

FWIW, the Osburn 3500 is a serious badboy heater. It's the same size and has many happy owners. Maybe consider that as an alternative with a good track record.

 

[brownclown]

This is for the 500-i insert, correct?
Unfortunately, this is a new model, so no real world reports, but it looks suspiciously like the large SBI firebox used in the Osburn 3500, but perhaps with a vermiculite baffle? The manuals are surprisingly generic and poor so it is going to take some eyes on this unit and it's specs for comparison. The docs look hastily put together and have several obvious cut and paste errors from other SBI stove models that don't apply.

That said, looking at the parts diagram, I think there is a good chance that this is the value version of the Osburn 3500. The firebrick pattern, tube layout, baffle, etc. look the same. There is no big Drolet insert, so this fills that gap. The specifications say it has a vermiculite baffle but the parts list says C-Cast. I expect we'll see revised docs soon.

FWIW, the Osburn 3500 is a serious badboy heater. It's the same size and has many happy owners. Maybe consider that as an alternative with a good track record.

Thank you so much for this. Comparing the 2 models on the spec sheets they are very very similar . The Osburn is over 1000 dollars more. I don't know enough to know where that extra cost comes from. As you mentioned the baffles being C-Cast vs vermiculite is one. Is that an import option to consider? Given the part number on the Englander is identical do you think that the parts could be swapped in the future as an upgrade if i encounter problems (break) them in the Englander? Are you able to share any others areas where SBI using similar designs makes cuts from higher value like Osburn to lower lines like Drolet and Englander. Where are the cost difference usually found to make up extra seen in Osburn?

Also multiple online dealers say this unit qualifies for 30 percent tax credit. But if i am understanding how the credit works units need to have at least a 75 HHV. Is this just shaddy or incompetent listings or am I missing something?

 

[begreen]

So far the main differences I see are the door and maybe the baffle. It could be that by making it in the US steel prices are better. It looks like there is a very good chance that the C-Cast baffle would work.

SBI has always run a value line. This has developed over the past 2 decades as a series of acquisitions. In the past it was Century->Drolet->Osburn. They bought Englander a couple years ago. Now it looks like Englander will fill in some holes in the Drolet line. I haven't had a chance to review the rest of the new Blue Ridge models but I suspect they are also related to the Drolet line of stoves. The BR 100 looks very much like a Drolet Nano.

Also multiple online dealers say this unit qualifies for 30 percent tax credit. But if i am understanding how the credit works units need to have at least a 75 HHV. Is this just shaddy or incompetent listings or am I missing something?

SBI is interpreting the rules a little differently, but so far I have not heard of any challenges to this by the IRS as long as the buyer has a certificate by the manufacturer.