Englander model 28-3500 wood furnace

[KFC]

Anybody have the Englander model 28-3500 wood furnace???
Seen one at Home Depot and they look like they are built pretty heavy duty. I like the window in the door, not an option on most wood furnaces. I was wondering if they were worth the money.

 

[ericjeeper]

I helped a friend install one

Good unit for the price tag. Could use a bit more cfm blower imo. Has a nice ash pan setup. Although I would add a piece of plate steel in the back half of the firebox to keep some of the smaller coals up in the firebox.
I would not own it myself as I prefer something with a controlled draft. This one is totally manual.Set it and hope it keeps up or does not run you out of the house.
But for an automatic draft you will add considerable amount of dollars to the price too.

 

[DocDryden]

I think they are well worth the money.

I think they are well worth the money. I bought a used Englander 28-3500 3 years ago and I love it, the only downside to mine is I don’t have a glass window in the door (older model ) when it comes times to replace mine I will buy the same model.

 

[LumberjkChamp]

I've got one. Its going right now. This will be my fourth winter with it. It offers alot of bang for its buck. I like the glass window also because, like advertised, you can check your fire at a glance. I know that much more expensive models offer the option of an automatic draft control but the idea dosen't set well with me because if you guess the weather wrong it could shut the draft on you and end up smoldering, leading to a buildup of creosote.

I heat a 2000 sqft cape cod style house with my furnace and burn about 7-8 cords or wood per heating season which lasts about 7 months or so. Our average Jan. temp is about 11 deg.F (I live at high elevation).

It has served its pupose and never failed me once. Its much better that a stupid oil furnace

 

[flotek]

I have a brand new one and i love it easily heats a 2,000 sq foot house to 85-90 degrees no problem ...a sturdy well made well thought out furnace and for the money it cant be beat .i can already see its going to pay for itself this first year i have owned it !

 

[bigoakhunter]

I like my Englander

I bought a 28-3500 last Feb. and swapped it out with a Decton Iron Works Blazer wood furnace that I bought in 1983. The englander works well. Burns less wood. The window in door is a cool feature, nice to watch burn without opening the door. Heat's my 1340 sq ft. and 860 sq ft. of basement very well. My only issue is burn times. No matter how dry wood or orientation in frunace, i can only get 4-6 hours. But all in all a good furnace for the price.

 

[DocDryden]

Since we all have the same wood furnace, I would like to share my experience with you, , although this is the way I operating the stove I am open to any suggestions that would improve my operations of the stove.
I heat a 1500 sq ft ranch + 1500 sq ft basement ( 1500 sq ft )
avg. temp is 68-74 deg. F in the house & 80-95 in the basement near the stove.
So far this heating season I have used 2 & 1/2 cords of mix hardwood.
This will be my second winter heating season with the stove. Last year I used about 9 cords of wood.
The stove is not tied in to the furnace duck work.
Over night burn time is about 4 ½ to 5 ½ hours
Out of concerns for safety I don’t load the wood in the firebox any higher than the fire bricks, But then maybe that’s the wrong way to do it.
Normal I close 1 out of the 3 intake draft controls ( yes the older stoves has 3 draft controls ) and set the exhaust draft at 45 deg.
I have the blower thermostat set and it runs 80% of the time
I have a wireless thermometer that has 3 sending units that tells me the temp in the kitchen / bedroom / outside / and one near the stove,
So when the temp drops below 88 deg in the basement I know its time to ad some wood to the stove, It saves me time, I don’t have to check the stove all the time.
My stove does not have a glass door, so I have to open the door to check the fire.
I have no problems with the draft. I have a thru-wall chimney system. Yes its easy to control the heat, just add more wood, and it does use a lot of wood.


I am open to any suggestions that could help me in prove things.


Some of the questions that I have are,
When I load the stove at night should I stack the wood higher than the fire bricks?
Should I tie the hot air from the blower in to my duck work?
Do you think it would be safe to bring some wood into the basement to store, maybe a cord or two, being so hot I thought I could bring in some green wood and let it dry from the heat.


One other thing I have not had my LP furnaces on yet!!!!!!!!

 

[havenodog]

I've had a 28-3500 for about 4 years now and love it. My house is about 1500 sq. ft rancher and it stays 70 to 74 all winter. As far as burn times, if its loaded full at night around 10:00 to 11:00 pm I still have plenty of hot coals in the bottom at 7:00 in the morning. All I do is shut the bottom damper to about 1/8" maybe a little less and move the top slider about 1/2 to 3/4" from its full stop and it burns great. You have to have enough hot coals in the bottom to start before you load fully, also keeping the bottom door slightly open until the wood is fully lit (about 15 minutes) is the key.
By the way I load mine full at night, about 5 logs and dont worry about it as the coals fall and rest on the firebrick on the bottom. This unit is just as sound as the day it was purchased and looks like it will last for many years to come. My basement is not air tight as there is airleaks around some of the windows but this also works great when the blower starts up it helps to ease the vacuum created at startup. I always like to have some outside air coming in the basement. Hope this helps

 

[KFC]

Thanks for all the replys folks, I think the Englander 28-3500 will be my next heat source for my 1400 Sq ft rancher plus basement. The time has come to retire the 16 yr old Johnson wood furnace. It still has no problem keeping my entire home at 80 plus, but the old school design (not air tight) requires too much wood and low burn times. If I can get a 6-8 hour burn time out of the Englander I will be a happy camper.

 

[havenodog]

You will get a 6 to 8 hour burn time out of it. Remember to keep the blower clean of dust.(compressed air), and burn good seasoned wood and you will be very happy. Cheers
Greg

 

[DocDryden]

When you say its loaded full at night, do you load the stove higher than the firebricks?

Also is your stove tied into the furnace duckwork?

 

[flotek]

its all in how yo uoperate it and how the dryness and quality of wood is .I load mine to the gills right up till it hits the baffle plate ,it really likes some air on the bottom damper and be sure it is good dry wood dont be afraid to load her up,i do pretty much the same as havendog when it comes ot damper settings ,it really puts out the heat when used with the ducting .. i would definitly use the existing ducting ,it will act as whole house heat transfer and it will retain temps alot longer and much more evenly too

 

[powerstroke73L]

I'll jump in here as I'm considering buying a 28-3500 that's 4 years old but the owner says it was only used 1 and 1/2 seasons. I'm just curious who has been burning theirs the longest? If this stove has only been used 1 and 1/2 to 2 seasons, how much longer could I expect to have it assuming its well cared for? 10 more years? 15?

 

[DocDryden]

I have been using my 28-3500 for 1 ½ years now and I love it.

I bought my stove used, actually I am the third owner.
I have been using my 28-3500 for 1 ½ years now and I love it.
My stove is an older model MFG. date 12/95
There is a metal plate on the rear of the stove that gives you all the info.
The older models don’t have a glass door.
Anytime you need more information on the stove just ask.
These guys are very helpful.
Right now I am working on hooking it up to the existing furnace duckwork

 

[DocDryden]

owner's manual

you can go to www.englanderstoves.com and down load the owner's manual.




http://www.englanderstoves.com/manuals/28-3500.pdf

 

[ericjeeper]

Hey Doc

1 ½

How the heck did you get the half inch small like that?

 

[powerstroke73L]

I bought my stove used, actually I am the third owner.
I have been using my 28-3500 for 1 ½ years now and I love it.
My stove is an older model MFG. date 12/95
There is a metal plate on the rear of the stove that gives you all the info.
The older models don’t have a glass door.
Anytime you need more information on the stove just ask.
These guys are very helpful.
Right now I am working on hooking it up to the existing furnace duckwork

Thanks! That's just the answer I was looking for-hopefully this will work out because it sure beats paying $1300 new!

 

[havenodog]

I've had mine for about 4 years now and have had absolutely no problems with it. It was even bought used at Home Depot. Some guy didn't like it I guess after the first or second burn and brought it back. For the money they are hard to beat.

 

[DocDryden]

The Home Depot near me has a new one for $1600.00

To get the small half inch, I typed every thing out on Microsoft Works Word Processor, and then copied and paste.

$1300 new! The Home Depot near me has a new one for $1600.00

 

[powerstroke73L]

To get the small half inch, I typed every thing out on Microsoft Works Word Processor, and then copied and paste.

$1300 new! The Home Depot near me has a new one for $1600.00

I bet its because of the shipping. If you buy online it was $1600 (they recently reduced it to $1400 and change), but in my local store it's $1300. I'm in New Jersey and Englander is in Virginia.