Lennox el280uh 2 stage furnace

lotuselan

had a 2 stage Lennox furnace installed Nov 2016. Also a Aprilaire 8466 thermostat. Furnace default with dip#1 on and only w1 wired causes the control module to run on low for 10 minutes before 2nd stage fires. Using both w1 & w2 wired stat will fire 2nd stage on recovery (+2 deg or more) but stays on stage one otherwise. Been here for 26 years. Original and first replacement were 110,000 btu single stage units and worked very well. Now the 2 stage unit on furnace control runs for 10 minutes then an additional 5+ on high just to maintain with 10-15 ambients. Using t'stat control (starts on 1st stage and stays there average 1 degree correction is 20+ minutes. AWFUL !!! Question is, does the Lennox need either w1 or w2 separately or in combination? I'd like to wire it to operate on 2nd stage only. O.K. over 35-40 deg ambient I'd take a hit but I can't imagine what this thing would do if we had a below zero spell like a couple years ago. FYI, if anyone's interested, both fuel and electric consumption is easily 20% higher than comparable years. Yes, I paid for a 2 stage but would be happy to eat the cost if I can just wire this to work as a 1 stage (on high). Thanks

GW

Ok that's simple, just click your dips to make it think it's a two stage stat, and simply jump w1 and w2.

captainco

If you electrical load increased then you have major ductwork problems.

If you could find an NCI Certified CO/Combustion contractor they could tune your furnace to maximize its performance and your bills would go back down and you would be comfortable.

John Mills_5

I would want to let the thermostat handle the staging with W1 and W2 hooked up. I despise timers for staging. Long run periods on low in bitter weather are a lot more comfy. We've sold 2 stage furnaces since the 70s when Williamson had them and have always used 2 stage stats. Now well over 1/2 of the furnaces we sell are 2 stage and I can think of 1 complaint in 25 years here.

GW

I've been using the timer for years and haven't had one complaint. Many years ago I used to get a new wire fished to handle the added w2, C and all that, but I let that boat sail off into the sunset and never had an issue with just using one w wire.

I could see this being an issue with an old house and-or an old duct system.