Just Bought the Englander 28-3500 Add On Furnance

[mconnor]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and just bought the Englander Add On Furnance. I had a wood burning stove in the unfinished side of a partially basement. When burning wood down there it helped keep the upstairs, which is a 2000 sq. ft. ranch, from getting bitter cold, but we still needed to use our oil furnace. With the price of oil, I decided to buy this Englander yesterday from Home Depot. I am going to install it today and was hoping to get some helpful hints, tips, etc. Also, if anyone has this furnance, I'd appreciate hearing all the pros and cons. Thanks.

 

[ikessky]

How did your install go? Did you run it in to your existing furnace plenum or are you running it as a central furnace?

 

[mconnor]

Actually my son's baseball games took up most of the day, but I plan on piping it in to our existing furnace plenum which is about 10 feet away from the main duct.

 

[M1sterM]

Finish the install yet? Mind sharing some pics? Let us know how it's working.

 

[mconnor]

The install was a breeze. The furnace is working great, but haven't had any really cold weather yet. At 28 degrees at night, it's 72 in our 2,000 sq. ft. log home. I'd say that's pretty good. I've attached some pictures. Let me know what you think of the install.

 

[M1sterM]

Nice install! Thanks for sharing. 3 questions.

1. I notice you went with straight galvanized pipe for the hot air duct...did you notice the install instructions say to use black pipe for the first couple of feet? Several people have done it just like you, so I don't know how critical it is. I think it's mostly important for running the stove without power (e.g. no blower moving air).

2. Did you constrict the duct from 8" to 6" when you turned the corner to enter the main supply duct from your furnace?

3. Not really a question, but it seems the furnace is facing away from the wood supply...I assume it's so you can see the door from the stairs or something, but too bad you couldn't get the supply closer to the furnace...

 

[M1sterM]

Sorry, one more question:

4. Were you able to maintain clearances for the full run of the air duct? I've been wondering about duct temperatures downstream. Have you made any measurements where you have wires running nearby?

Thanks again.

 

[mconnor]

Thanks for the compliment on the install.

Question 1: I did read that, but didn't think it was a big deal.
Question 2: Yes, because I couldn't find a take off vent that was 8 inch.
Question 3: It's facing that way because I wanted to have the bulk of the furnace with the clearance near the concrete wall.
Question 4: Not sure what the clearances are, but I can hold my hand on the ductwork during full usage. I've had hot water baseboard heat touching wooden surfaces that I could not touch the pipes, so I'm assuming this is OK.

 

[Shipper50]

I have the same furnace as you and it looks like you were in my basement when you took the pics. Only difference is you have block walls and I have poured and it was a bitc- to cut the hole in my wall. Took me over 6 hours with a hammer drill.

I too only ran galv. pipe from the furnace up to the heating duct work for my house duct. I too live in a log home and it sure helps me keep from running my heat pump. I just put it in last Jan. as my buddy helped me and it sure made a big difference in my electric bill.

How would you say your burn times are? I get about 8-9 hours with seasoned white oak and the air back about 80%. I get up and have enough coals to get the next fire going.

Shipper

 

[mconnor]

The wall you're seeing is the base of a center chimney, not an outside wall. We haven't experimented much since the weather has not gotten too cold. We're getting at least a 6 hour burn time without stoking at all. I'm very happy with the performance so far.

 

[Mohomeowner]

Thanks for the pics.

I am interested in getting one of these in a future house build. I want to put it in a basement. The house will have a main heat source of a heat pump...possibly ground source. In the sumertime, we will be using the AC to cool the house.

I have a couple of concerns.

If you route the duct work from the stove into your existing ductwork, what happens when you turn on the AC in the summer? I don't want to send cooled air into the stove....seems like a waste. Can you install a shut off in the ducts so that you can keep the cooled air out of the stove?

I've also thought about installing a second duct system just for the stove.

Any thoughts?

 

[ikessky]

Just put back draft dampers in the ducts coming out of the stove. Or make some manual dampers that you can close off in summer time.

 

[thebeatlesrgood]

great install. and with a 2000 sf house you should be able to heat a huge portion with the add-on with very minimal oil usage. not to mention, i bet that thing even keeps the basement nice and toasty. after seeing this i wish i had forced hot air and not water :-S . then again i guess i can always wait for englander to make an add-on boiler.

 

[Shipper50]

Thanks for the pics.

I am interested in getting one of these in a future house build. I want to put it in a basement. The house will have a main heat source of a heat pump...possibly ground source. In the sumertime, we will be using the AC to cool the house.

I have a couple of concerns.

If you route the duct work from the stove into your existing ductwork, what happens when you turn on the AC in the summer? I don't want to send cooled air into the stove....seems like a waste. Can you install a shut off in the ducts so that you can keep the cooled air out of the stove?

I've also thought about installing a second duct system just for the stove.

Any thoughts?

Lowes or Menards sells a damper you can put in your duct work. I have one that required drilling a hole to mount the lever that controls the way the damper operated. Open or closed, but its a tight fit and you might have to take the duct work apart to operate the damper.

Shipper

 

[M1sterM]

Thanks for the pics.

I am interested in getting one of these in a future house build. I want to put it in a basement. The house will have a main heat source of a heat pump...possibly ground source. In the sumertime, we will be using the AC to cool the house.

I have a couple of concerns.

If you route the duct work from the stove into your existing ductwork, what happens when you turn on the AC in the summer? I don't want to send cooled air into the stove....seems like a waste. Can you install a shut off in the ducts so that you can keep the cooled air out of the stove?

I've also thought about installing a second duct system just for the stove.

Any thoughts?

As the others said, you can (actually, should!) install one-way flappers, or dampers, to prevent air being forced back into the furnace. No need to run seperate ducts, especially when you can use the fan on your pump to help move the hot air around.