Englander 28-3500 furnace install / mods

[mustangwagz]

Just fyi, i bought my 28-3500 new last year. when the time came to oil the motor i couldnt find the ports. I am pretty mechanically inclined/a big DIYer so that stumped me. I emailed the company and was informed that they are now using both motors with and without oil ports and its hit and miss as to what you get on it. I do love the furnace for as a first time burner though. I am going to look into adding on a filter box to keep the basement dust in the basement.

wow, they took the oil ports away!??! thats dumb as heck.. I put a filter box on mine too...but...becareful, go BIG and put in a few filters. Adding filters will make it get warmer to the touch, and in turn make the motor warmer too. just a heads up.

 

[mustangwagz]

My primary air (top slider) moves 1 7/8" max. I pretty much ran the whole winter last year with it open only 1/4" or maybe 3/8".

The bottom spin draft has 5 raised notches on the knob and goes a little over 2 turns (11 notches) to full open. I keep it shut most of the time as this seemed to keep the best coal bed.

I work rotating 12 hr shifts, my other half works normal hrs. Our typical routine was as follows:

If I was on day shift:
0400 - 0500 I poke at fire because I like to, maybe add a split or 2.
0630 - 0730 She poke & load for the day.
1730 - 1800 She poke & load a few splits.
2130 - 2200 I poke & load for the night.

If I was on night shift:
1630 - 1700 I 1/2 load it for the evening.
2130 - 2200 She load it for the night.
0630 - 0700 I poke & load for the day.

We crack open the ash pan door or open the spin draft maybe 1/2 way for a few minutes prior to reloading. That was enough to get the stack temp up really good and get a strong chimney draft so no smoke or ash spilled out into the house while stirring the coal bed and sifting ash through the base plate and into the ash pan.

When adjusting the draft controls, I always like to keep the fire in the stove. I don't like to see the flames wrapping around the smoke baffle and moving toward the chimney pipe.

Great method. Apparently youve got some very well seasoned hard woods. my flames do roll up around the baffle plate, but i dont let it worry me much. The hotter the flue, the cleaner itll be.

 

[psebowhunter]

wow, they took the oil ports away!??! thats dumb as heck.. I put a filter box on mine too...but...becareful, go BIG and put in a few filters. Adding filters will make it get warmer to the touch, and in turn make the motor warmer too. just a heads up.

Yea, I was kind of disappointed to find out that I wasn't just overlooking the ports. I haven't had the best of luck with sealed bearings in hot, high RPM, dusty conditions.
Thank you for the heads up on the filter set up. I was thinking about getting the US Stove filter box that I have read fits this furnace. Do you think that would end up overheating the motor?

And here is the Email they sent me regarding the blower motor.

"Yes, that can be confusing for those whose blowers do not have an oil port. You see, we do not actually make the blowers. They come to us from several different vendors. Depending on who made the blower it might have an oil port, or it might have sealed bearings. If your blower has an oil port there will be a sticker on the motor itself that states the blower needs to be oiled with SAE 20 oil. If no such sticker is there you have a blower that has sealed bearings and does not need to be oiled.

Eric Hammer
England's Stove Works"

 

[mustangwagz]

Yah I hope for your sake it's the kind ya can oil. 400 bucks for a new one!! The cost isn't the worst thing though, it's the wife waking ya up and saying hey...the wood burner sounds funny...then walking.down to find out that it's locked up at 3am, and ya gotta leave at 6 am for work...then your up till 4 or 5 jimmy-rigging an old furnace blower in place of the junk one. Hahaha. Been there and done that...it sucked!!

 

[bob burke]

Thanks Bowhunter...I'm going to check which blower the floor model has.

 

[bob burke]

Just got back from Lowes. They matched HD's price of $1199. Unfortunately, the blower motor has no oil ports. I'll go online, and buy an aftermarket motor with ports, and have it on the shelf. I like the idea of adding firebrick to the top section. I messed with the floor model, and they do indeed stand on the steel ledge.

 

[psebowhunter]

I wonder if that is going to be their new standard at this point and that is kind of unfortunate. I'll probably look at getting a spare to have on hand as well, or at least a back up that I can use as a temporary fix if mine goes down. And Bob I'm glad I could save you the frustration I had looking for oil ports that didn't exist to begin with. I was all but standing on my head with the flashlight trying to find the dang things.

 

[Badfish740]

Thank you for the heads up on the filter set up. I was thinking about getting the US Stove filter box that I have read fits this furnace. Do you think that would end up overheating the motor?

I'm about to go into my sixth heating season with the US stove filter box on my Englander (that was my post you caught) and I've never had a problem. I've never attempted to lubricate the motor either-just assumed it had sealed bearings:

Englander 28-3500 Add-On install thread

You won't be sorry about putting the filter box on-it looks like it was made to fit, first off (either Englander copied some of US Stove's design or vice versa), and when you see the amount of dirt that gets trapped in a filter in a month you'll be glad that wasn't getting blown out of your registers into the house I can't remember how much I paid for it but I got it at Tractor Supply. This furnace is a real workhorse and will serve you well. I bought mine used, so it's actually in it's ninth heating season I believe. The only maintenance I've done to it is I repainted it entirely with BBQ paint two years ago and replaced all of the gaskets last year. I like the firebrick mod and might try that this year.

 

[bob burke]

Just unpacked the stove. Took the motor aside, and inspected. I do have oil ports! Never give too much credence to what a floor manager in a box store tells you over the phone.

 

[psebowhunter]

Well I guess I'm the odd man out on this one. Was there actually a sticker on the motor saying it required the oil like was reported to me in the email from the company?

 

[bob burke]

Well I guess I'm the odd man out on this one. Was there actually a sticker on the motor saying it required the oil like was reported to me in the email from the company?

No way. I just looked at the motor, and I saw the ports. The one for the rear bearing is obvious. The inner port is within the scroll cage housing, but I can clearly see the port, with the tube inside. I'm happy!

Edit....I really ignored everything but the spots I expected to see the ports. There may be a sticker somewhere on the motor. I can check when I get home. But there is no sticker near the actual oil ports.

 

[Badfish740]

I guess maybe I should check to see if my bearings are sealed or not-six years and nary a squeak

 

[mustangwagz]

I guess maybe I should check to see if my bearings are sealed or not-six years and nary a squeak

yah wouldnt hurt.

 

[bob burke]

OK....just finished the install this a.m, and fired it up. I added the extra fire brick on top too, but I didn't bother with the angle iron. If I have issues during the winter, I will def. cut some angles to hold the bricks.

I'm amazed at how airtight this sucker is. Of course, I had been using an old handmade clunker w/no gaskets on the door. I'm thinking I might cut my wood consumption in half. I got the fire started around 10 a.m today, and I've only put 4 or 5 pieces of wood in it since. My shop has been 80 degrees for hours. When I shut it down, the wood consumption is almost nothing. I would have gone through 5 times the amount of wood already with the old stove. I'll have to wait for cold temps, to judge how much wood I'll need this year.

I think I'll build an over sized box, with two furnace filters for the blower. I did notice that I had to lower the blower OFF temp to about 70 degrees thus far, and I'm sure I'll lower it more when I have time to hang out and see when the blower shuts off.

Looks like this winter is going to be a pleasure! I will have to split some of my wood smaller, though. I want to cram in as much as I can at night.

 

[mustangwagz]

ive got my off blower at 90, if ya run it lower sometimes the air is to cold and if ya still got a fire going and it shuts off, ya could technically over cool the firebox and start causing creosote. Also, fwiw, the THICKER the chunks, the longer it'll burn, Skinnier pieces fit nicer, but burn like wildfire sometimes. haha.

 

[bob burke]

ive got my off blower at 90, if ya run it lower sometimes the air is to cold and if ya still got a fire going and it shuts off, ya could technically over cool the firebox and start causing creosote. Also, fwiw, the THICKER the chunks, the longer it'll burn, Skinnier pieces fit nicer, but burn like wildfire sometimes. haha.

I can see I'm going to have to test the thermostat for a while. I already realized that I have to put it in manual mode when I first start the fire, because it's making good heat long before the blower kicked on at factory settings.

I figured I'd throw my big chunks in first when I'm banking it down for the night, and fill every crevice with thinner stuff. The baffle keeps me from getting too many large pieces in at a time. But...it seems that during the day when I'm in the shop, I won't have to fill the stove very often, or have to worry about using more than 2 or 3 chunks at a time.

I'm really glad I bought this stove. Because it's meant to be used with existing duct work, I understand why there are no speed settings on the blower. For me, it would be better if I had at least Low/Med/High. I might check to see if I could put a rheostat on the blower without doing damage.

 

[mustangwagz]

ive thought about that too but never did it. wish i had a low med high also.

 

[bob burke]

ive thought about that too but never did it. wish i had a low med high also.

Some motors can handle it, and some can't. And...there are different types of rheostats. Instead of a multi position slide/knob, they have L/M/H switches that I've used with success. I'd hate to shorten the life of a brand new motor, though.

There must be someone here who can give us some info.

 

[bob burke]

OK...'rheostat' is the wrong term, and the wrong item. Fan speed control is what I need. I referred to it above as the L/M/H switch that I've used for my ceiling fan.

 

[bigoakhunter]

I have had this furnace for 6 years now...does a good job of heating my ranch and finished basement, 2600 sq ft total. I did have the blower motor crap out during year 5. Had to get one shipped from company last winter. It is one without oiling ports. We will see how long it goes. I have noticed like the post earlier in this thread that "seasoned" wood makes a difference. Good unit at a great price.

 

[mustash29]

OK...'rheostat' is the wrong term, and the wrong item. Fan speed control is what I need. I referred to it above as the L/M/H switch that I've used for my ceiling fan.

Correct. You need (want) a speed control that will vary the speed of a single speed motor.

Do NOT use a dimmer switch or similar. All they do is reduce the voltage to the motor, which will cause it to run slow, draw more current, usually run hotter and most likely make a terrible humming noise.

 

[bob burke]

Correct. You need (want) a speed control that will vary the speed of a single speed motor.

Do NOT use a dimmer switch or similar. All they do is reduce the voltage to the motor, which will cause it to run slow, draw more current, usually run hotter and most likely make a terrible humming noise.

Yes...we want to reduce Hz, not volts.

For years, I've been saving motors from kitchen renovations. Typically, they're from the old downdraft ranges that people used to have. I never understood why people thought they could bbq indoors, with a downdraft cooktop?

I also scavenge them from exhaust fans. I've used these to move air into my shop from the wood stove. Now, they may be set up to run at different speeds/voltage already, and I've used simple rheostats with decent results. They prob. run hot, and sometimes they whine, but they don't fry. I do oil them at regular intervals.

Granted, this motor is MUCH bigger than those I've referenced.

I learned about the fan controls when I tried to use a wall switch to control a ceiling fan. It hummed/whined, and someone told me I was using the wrong switch. I swapped it out, and it's been fine. I just lose the infinite adjustment, but I don't really need it.

 

[mustangwagz]

yah just becareful man...the replacment motors aint cheap! LOL
although.....yours would be "under warranty" so maybe ya oughta do it soon...hahahahaha

 

[psebowhunter]

I'm glad you're enjoying your furnace. I'm still in love with mine. We had a nice 29° morning this morning and i loaded it up with a couple splits and uglies at 6:30. I haven't touched it all day and still have a good coal bed and the fan is still kicking on here and there yet this evening. I haven't changed the factory settings on the thermostat.
On a cold start it does take the fan a while to kick on even with a good roaring fire. But that's because the temp sensor isn't touching the firebox so all the air around it has to get up to temp before it starts.
I still haven't got the filter box for mine but it's on the list. I can't wait to see/feel the difference of having that filtered air rather than the dusty basement air.

 

[bob burke]

Got home today around 5 p.m. Stove was out all night, so I started it up for my second test run. I'm finding that I LOVE the glass door, as it really helps with the learning process. You can see exactly what the little tweaks do, once you get a fire going. Because I'm using less than 4 feet of flex duct to get the heat into the shop, I put the fan on manual once I've got a good fire going. It's pumping heat within 10 minutes. For your application, it's probably better to let the fan come on automatically, because a long run of duct would probably feel cold air coming out.

Tonight will be the first real test, as I haven't even gotten a good bed of coals in the stove yet. Once I do, I'll load it up, and bank it down. I'm curious as to how long I'll get heat, and if the fan will shut down as I need it to, based on my settings. The fan shutting off will obviously change once we get into really cold temps.