Englander Forced Air Furnance

Wudman · December 27, 2018, 06:09:48 PM

I was looking to add some heat to an unfinished un-insulated basement. I looked at a number of the outdoor water stoves, but could not justify the cost. I ended up going with the Englander Forced Air Furnace. It is designed as an add on unit to be plumbed into your existing ductwork. My wife is asthmatic, so I didn't want to put the stove in the basement and add any smoke to the house. As an "off label" approach, I built a free standing 8x8 shed outside my home.

I ducted the heat into the basement through 8" round duct as the stove was designed and included a return air side to the stove. Excavating a sufficient hole through 8 inches of poured concrete made for a nice day. One fried circular saw and about a half dozen chisels in my air chisel and I was through.

I still need to flash and finish the ductwork installation and add some roofing tin to protect the box, but overall I am fairly satisfied with the way it turned out.

This is the ductwork into the basement and the return air grill. Right now I am just dumping heat into the basement at the opposite end from the return.

The blower on the stove is plugged into a high - low thermostat with a probe in the heat duct. It will come on around 90 degrees and shuts off if the duct temp drops below about 85.

All in all it is working fairly well. The fire box is not quite as big as I would like, but it is ok. I was able to hold 68 degrees in the un-insulated basement during a period of single digit outside temps last year. I have room enough in my shed to sit a second unit that could be plumbed into the duct work for my main floor. I have plans to finish the basement. With some insulation, I think the current unit will come close to heating the house. A second one would have no problem.

Wudman

Pine Ridge · December 27, 2018, 07:34:07 PM

You did a good job on your installation, looks nice and neat, glad it's working good for ya.

Deere80 · January 10, 2019, 11:21:59 AM

I have the same one in my 40x50 shop which keeps it nice and toasty and really like it.

Wudman · January 14, 2019, 04:21:57 PM

Well, we had a pretty nasty ice storm here over the weekend. Power went out about 7:00 AM Sunday morning. I don't have generator enough to pull the electric heat pumps in this house, so the Englander got put to a test. I had to feed it about every two hours, but between it and a set of gas logs on the main floor, I was able to hold 72 degrees in the entire house with temps around 30 outside. That's 3 stories totaling about 4600 square feet with a poured concrete basement with no insulation on the walls. I'm pretty happy with that. If I can scrounge together a little change to finish the basement, the Englander will heat the house during milder weather. 8) 8)

Wudman

Wudman · January 15, 2019, 04:29:43 PM

Well here's the afternoons work to feed the furnace.......Note to self - cut your firewood before the 100 inches of rain. The ground was junk and I had to park in the middle of the gravel road to load. I had some hardwood tops convenient to roadside, but had to carry the wood to the pickup since I couldn't drive closer. Guess I needed some exercise anyway.

That's about 1/2 cord of red and white oak, cherry, and beech tops with a cull beech log under the bottom. I started bucking the beech, but after about six feet of hollow I hit solid wood. It was nice and wormy, so the final 10 feet is going to find its way onto the sawmill instead of the woodpile. The tools are there including a Husky 55 Rancher, a Husky 455 Rancher, a Logrite cant hook with log stand, and a Fiskars Splitting ax. The Kawasaki Bayou 300 and Lawn Machine splitter already made their way back down the hill.

If you don't have these two tools in box, they are great additions. That ax is easy to swing and works really well. I broke down the beech into blocks that I could pick up and then they made it to the hydraulic splitter. That should hold me for about 3 weeks.

Wudman