electric furnace installed horizontal

[radstorm]

I feel a bit dumb asking this considering I was a licensed hvac contractor for years..but it was years ago and I mostly dealt with gas and yes even oil furnaces back then..but here goes anyhow..haha

Can an electric furnace be installed in any position? I have heard some can.

I saw one site showing how to install it horizontal..I think it was maybe carrier..but don't quote me on that might have been some other brand. They were more specific about the a/c evap box than the furnace itself..

It was an upflow but could be installed horizontal as well

Is this something I should ask the manufacturer about or research about the particular model?

It's a lennox I have for whatever that is worth, it is an old furnace but still works great since I virtually replaced every component in it with new ones. But sadly no manual for it that I can find so far.

Thanks

[paul52446m]

the furnaces they make today can be bought to be used in the horz. but on one of the older model i think i would want to check with the manufacturer on that so you don't get in trouble. Some of the new one are all position, some are up and horz. or down and horz.
I am a old heating man to but i don't think i would try that with out checking. Later paul

if you come up with the model and ser. no. i can check my old lennox books I have not sold lennox
far a long time but i still have the old books. Do you know what age it is?

[radstorm]

thanks paul..I will try and contact them..and ask..hopefully they can give me a straight answer..as some big companies don't seem interested in supporting their past products

[radstorm]

Hi Paul. sorry took me so long for the info. I contacted Lennox, but they was clueless. Here is what I found on the cover panel.

Lennox

ES2D-341-2
(with secondary Fan Control)
523,196W

I guess it came from a mobile home, had a side note:

"For Mobile Home Installation, this unit must be connected to a 120/240 VAC Power Supply."

Breaker required 50 Amps

As I said, the furnace works great per my overhauling it..and considering my sq/ft is less than a standard 14 x 70.. well you get the idea

So back to the original wonderment..can it be reversed, or placed horizontal, etc.. thanks Paul

[LarryHome]

I cannot see why this cannot be done seeing as the furnace is powered electrically, and not by gas or oil which unlike electricity are affected by gravitational forces.

[paul52446m]

I cannot see why this cannot be done seeing as the furnace is powered electrically, and not by gas or oil which unlike electricity are affected by gravitational forces.

If the furnace is made to be a down flow, which i think it is, then if you lay it down there will not be limit switches where they should be. You could burn up controls, wiring and start a fire. If a furnace is made to be a all position unit,
then it would tell you in the instruction how to move controls around to make it work right in the different position. That's why i am saying this unit is a old unit so for safety, DON'T DO IT. Paul

[LarryHome]

You are completely right Paul. It's just most electric furnaces repaired I've come across have been newer models which can be positioned to fit as required while all of the gas and oil units I've come across have not. I agree that really old models should definitely be kept upright because a lot of them (if not all) were designed specifically to be that way. Thanks for pointing that out.

[radstorm]

Larry, Paul,,Thank you both for your input, Yes Paul I was thinking that also. I think I will just use it as a sort of portable unit i/e put some wheels on it and roll it around this winter in my unfinished rooms so I can work. Of course I will dc one coil so it can work on just a 30 amp outlet So it still might be useful in some way. I thought about installing it since my house sq/ft is actually less that a mobile home, but the original furnace was an upflow so cant really afford installing a bunch of new ducts in the floors.

[radstorm]

Paul, I was wondering however. Could it be installed as an uplow? Would not that still make the limits, etc functional?. Considering heat rises, wouldnt this also be good for the blower motor not getting so much heat rising to it? I have ran it about upside down out in the open, and it seemed to work ok. Of course that was just to chase the chill from an unconditioned space, so it wasnt like a day in day out routine. Just wondering,,thanks

[HayZee518]

send us a picture of it.

[paul52446m]

Paul, I was wondering however. Could it be installed as an uplow? Would not that still make the limits, etc functional?. Considering heat rises, wouldnt this also be good for the blower motor not getting so much heat rising to it? I have ran it about upside down out in the open, and it seemed to work ok. Of course that was just to chase the chill from an unconditioned space, so it wasnt like a day in day out routine. Just wondering,,thanks

You said you was a licensed hvac contractor., so if you use this unit as a up
flow, is there a limit switch above the elements so if the blower relay fails, or the blower its self fails, will the heat be turn off or will it keep going and burn up the wires?
To the public, i would say use the furnace only the way it was designed to be used. To you i would say, check it out and be safe. Paul

[radstorm]

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I will just go with baseboard heating..less hassle Of course I will still keep the furnace around as my giant portable heater ..LOL Paul, good point..horizontally no they would not be above the blower. Upside down they are though.

[radstorm]

Just a quick thanks again to everyone's feedback about the furnace. I finally managed to find a Lennox guy who knew the furnace and he said really not good to flip the furnace due to convection issues. However he did make some suggestions of how to still use it conterflow then run a duct back upwards from the plenum to overhead..so guess I am back in the game He did mention making a frame to support the weight of the furnace up off the the floor though..of course it does not weigh as much as a gas furnace, etc..so I am wondering what that would, could or should could be made from..channel, tubular..???

[HayZee518]

are you familiar with UNISTRUT? It's like a grown man's erector set. You can get it at most electrical supply houses and big box stores [home depot, lowes] the U shaped channels are easily cut with a hacksaw or metal cutting chop saw. fitting for putting it together are angle fittings and spring loaded nuts made for 1/4 inch, 5/16 inch, 3/8 inch and 1/2 inch bolts. the channels are pre-punched every inch along the backside.

[radstorm]

Hi HayZee, yes that was on the line of what I was thinking about..sort of like the stuff you make industrial type shelving with..correct? I will call Lowes about it..thank you