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#1
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
If I had hair I would have pulled it out by now. A week ago my 4 winters
old Modine HotDawg natural gas heater stopped working. It would not fire. Luckily it's been warm enough to keep the greenhouse warm with house heat so I am not too concerned. If this had happened in January I would have been frantic. After numerous phone calls to the manufacture and their rep I was told that any HVAC company should be able to work on it. I called a local company who took their good old time coming out and the repairman took two hours to figure out what was wrong ($255.00). The squirrel cage that exhausts the heater has rusted and fell apart. The HVAC company took the part and today 4 days later called to tell me the part was going to cost $650.00. I was shocked since the whole heater only costs $550 online at numerous sites. Once again I called the manufacturer's rep who told me the part lists for $141.00. The HVAC company says too bad that their price is $650....plus installation. Now I'm thinking about cutting my losses and just getting a new heater. I need 45,000 BTUs and it has to hang from the ceiling. The Modine Rep said the greenhouse environment is why the furnace failed after 4 years. He says the new ones that vent air from outside are better because they don't have the humid air of the greenhouse rotting the insides. The ones vented from the outside are double the price of the model I have now. I thought I'd ask the experts in here what their experience is with gas furnaces. How is your greenhouse furnaces holding up? Would you recommend it? I'm hesitant about making another investment in a Modine product. Good growing, Gene |
#2
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
Hi Gene, My mentor has used a Southern Burner heater for more than 30years, still
heating. We have had two for over 10yrs & have had to replace the Thermo-couple on each. $11.00 shipped overnight. Not sure of the BTU's but g/h sizes are 10 x 24 & 10 x 20 with varying heights to 10feet. We have the model that has a chimney & one has to purchase the upright pipes from Home Depot about $4 each. I paid about $400 for the heater but the price must be higher by now. http://www.southernburner.com/ -- Cheers Wendy Remove PETERPAN for email reply Gene Schurg wrote: If I had hair I would have pulled it out by now. A week ago my 4 winters old Modine HotDawg natural gas heater stopped working. It would not fire. Luckily it's been warm enough to keep the greenhouse warm with house heat so I am not too concerned. If this had happened in January I would have been frantic. After numerous phone calls to the manufacture and their rep I was told that any HVAC company should be able to work on it. I called a local company who took their good old time coming out and the repairman took two hours to figure out what was wrong ($255.00). The squirrel cage that exhausts the heater has rusted and fell apart. The HVAC company took the part and today 4 days later called to tell me the part was going to cost $650.00. I was shocked since the whole heater only costs $550 online at numerous sites. Once again I called the manufacturer's rep who told me the part lists for $141.00. The HVAC company says too bad that their price is $650....plus installation. Now I'm thinking about cutting my losses and just getting a new heater. I need 45,000 BTUs and it has to hang from the ceiling. The Modine Rep said the greenhouse environment is why the furnace failed after 4 years. He says the new ones that vent air from outside are better because they don't have the humid air of the greenhouse rotting the insides. The ones vented from the outside are double the price of the model I have now. I thought I'd ask the experts in here what their experience is with gas furnaces. How is your greenhouse furnaces holding up? Would you recommend it? I'm hesitant about making another investment in a Modine product. Good growing, Gene |
#3
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
Most of the people around here who have greenhouses use Southern Burner.
-danny "wendy7" wrote in message news:j_V%f.10874$TK1.9491@fed1read06... Hi Gene, My mentor has used a Southern Burner heater for more than 30years, still heating. We have had two for over 10yrs & have had to replace the Thermo-couple on each. $11.00 shipped overnight. Not sure of the BTU's but g/h sizes are 10 x 24 & 10 x 20 with varying heights to 10feet. We have the model that has a chimney & one has to purchase the upright pipes from Home Depot about $4 each. I paid about $400 for the heater but the price must be higher by now. http://www.southernburner.com/ -- Cheers Wendy Remove PETERPAN for email reply Gene Schurg wrote: If I had hair I would have pulled it out by now. A week ago my 4 winters old Modine HotDawg natural gas heater stopped working. It would not fire. Luckily it's been warm enough to keep the greenhouse warm with house heat so I am not too concerned. If this had happened in January I would have been frantic. After numerous phone calls to the manufacture and their rep I was told that any HVAC company should be able to work on it. I called a local company who took their good old time coming out and the repairman took two hours to figure out what was wrong ($255.00). The squirrel cage that exhausts the heater has rusted and fell apart. The HVAC company took the part and today 4 days later called to tell me the part was going to cost $650.00. I was shocked since the whole heater only costs $550 online at numerous sites. Once again I called the manufacturer's rep who told me the part lists for $141.00. The HVAC company says too bad that their price is $650....plus installation. Now I'm thinking about cutting my losses and just getting a new heater. I need 45,000 BTUs and it has to hang from the ceiling. The Modine Rep said the greenhouse environment is why the furnace failed after 4 years. He says the new ones that vent air from outside are better because they don't have the humid air of the greenhouse rotting the insides. The ones vented from the outside are double the price of the model I have now. I thought I'd ask the experts in here what their experience is with gas furnaces. How is your greenhouse furnaces holding up? Would you recommend it? I'm hesitant about making another investment in a Modine product. Good growing, Gene |
#4
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
I feel for you...
look up the part number of the squirrel fan at http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/start.shtml, if it is what you need and a good price buy it and find somebody ELSE to install it for you. Those heaters that draw the combustion air from outside the greenhouse are better for a variety of reasons. My heaters have both been on very good behavior this year. Only one nozzle replacement needed on one of the two. On the subject of rust... When they came on last fall they spewed out a fine coating of iron red rusty dust on all the plants below. I can not imagine them lasting 20 years. "Gene Schurg" wrote in message news:MwV%f.6575$MU4.6227@trnddc03... If I had hair I would have pulled it out by now. A week ago my 4 winters old Modine HotDawg natural gas heater stopped working. It would not fire. Luckily it's been warm enough to keep the greenhouse warm with house heat so I am not too concerned. If this had happened in January I would have been frantic. After numerous phone calls to the manufacture and their rep I was told that any HVAC company should be able to work on it. I called a local company who took their good old time coming out and the repairman took two hours to figure out what was wrong ($255.00). The squirrel cage that exhausts the heater has rusted and fell apart. The HVAC company took the part and today 4 days later called to tell me the part was going to cost $650.00. I was shocked since the whole heater only costs $550 online at numerous sites. Once again I called the manufacturer's rep who told me the part lists for $141.00. The HVAC company says too bad that their price is $650....plus installation. Now I'm thinking about cutting my losses and just getting a new heater. I need 45,000 BTUs and it has to hang from the ceiling. The Modine Rep said the greenhouse environment is why the furnace failed after 4 years. He says the new ones that vent air from outside are better because they don't have the humid air of the greenhouse rotting the insides. The ones vented from the outside are double the price of the model I have now. I thought I'd ask the experts in here what their experience is with gas furnaces. How is your greenhouse furnaces holding up? Would you recommend it? I'm hesitant about making another investment in a Modine product. Good growing, Gene |
#5
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
For what its worth I'm with Al.
I have a Southern Burner heater, vented to the outside. Like an idiot, I decided to turn it off over summer (why pay for the pilot light when its summer time, I thought.) Big mistake. The humidity in the GH froze, rusted or whatever name you want to call it the valves shut. dead dead dead. I was ****ed. Luckily, I had a Grainger's catalog and for about a hundred dollars I bought a replacement valve assembly and was back in business. I have not shut off the heater ever since. The heat from the pilot light keeps enough heat at the valves to keep them from rusting over the summer. While this isn't the same as your squirrel cage assembly, it does lend credence to Al's comment that you can fix this yourself or get someone else to fix it for you for much less than you'd think. K Barrett (if a girl can do it so can you.) "Al" wrote in message ... I feel for you... look up the part number of the squirrel fan at http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/start.shtml, if it is what you need and a good price buy it and find somebody ELSE to install it for you. Those heaters that draw the combustion air from outside the greenhouse are better for a variety of reasons. My heaters have both been on very good behavior this year. Only one nozzle replacement needed on one of the two. On the subject of rust... When they came on last fall they spewed out a fine coating of iron red rusty dust on all the plants below. I can not imagine them lasting 20 years. "Gene Schurg" wrote in message news:MwV%f.6575$MU4.6227@trnddc03... If I had hair I would have pulled it out by now. A week ago my 4 winters old Modine HotDawg natural gas heater stopped working. It would not fire. Luckily it's been warm enough to keep the greenhouse warm with house heat so I am not too concerned. If this had happened in January I would have been frantic. After numerous phone calls to the manufacture and their rep I was told that any HVAC company should be able to work on it. I called a local company who took their good old time coming out and the repairman took two hours to figure out what was wrong ($255.00). The squirrel cage that exhausts the heater has rusted and fell apart. The HVAC company took the part and today 4 days later called to tell me the part was going to cost $650.00. I was shocked since the whole heater only costs $550 online at numerous sites. Once again I called the manufacturer's rep who told me the part lists for $141.00. The HVAC company says too bad that their price is $650....plus installation. Now I'm thinking about cutting my losses and just getting a new heater. I need 45,000 BTUs and it has to hang from the ceiling. The Modine Rep said the greenhouse environment is why the furnace failed after 4 years. He says the new ones that vent air from outside are better because they don't have the humid air of the greenhouse rotting the insides. The ones vented from the outside are double the price of the model I have now. I thought I'd ask the experts in here what their experience is with gas furnaces. How is your greenhouse furnaces holding up? Would you recommend it? I'm hesitant about making another investment in a Modine product. Good growing, Gene |
#6
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
In article MwV%f.6575$MU4.6227@trnddc03, Gene Schurg
wrote: Once again I called the manufacturer's rep who told me the part lists for $141.00. The HVAC company says too bad that their price is $650....plus installation. I'm new in this newsgroup, but have to jump in (violating my own "lurk for a month before shooting your mouth off" policy)... If the manufacturer has quoted you $141, will they ship to you at that price? If so, get the fan, note how the old one is connected, and connect the new one the same way. This stuff isn't mysterious, it's easily DIY. If you're nervous, check your local paper for the handyman ads. Anyone running one of those can replace a furnace fan for you. |
#7
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
OK. Contrarian is not an unusual stance for me , so...
I avoided the Southern Burners as my greenhouse would have needed several, amounting to a severe loss of plant-growing space. (If they only made a higher-output unit.) I was a long-time Modine user until the "specially for the greenhouse" unit turned out - as yours did - to be not worth a damn in the humid environment of the greenhouse. At that point I decided to go with the separated combustion type, but Modine's smallest was overkill for my GH size. I found that Reznor made one that suited the bill perfectly - it has the high efficiency heat exchanger design of the Hot Dawg from Modine, plus the separated combustion. Combined, my propane usage was cut by 40%. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "K Barrett" wrote in message ... For what its worth I'm with Al. I have a Southern Burner heater, vented to the outside. Like an idiot, I decided to turn it off over summer (why pay for the pilot light when its summer time, I thought.) Big mistake. The humidity in the GH froze, rusted or whatever name you want to call it the valves shut. dead dead dead. I was ****ed. Luckily, I had a Grainger's catalog and for about a hundred dollars I bought a replacement valve assembly and was back in business. I have not shut off the heater ever since. The heat from the pilot light keeps enough heat at the valves to keep them from rusting over the summer. While this isn't the same as your squirrel cage assembly, it does lend credence to Al's comment that you can fix this yourself or get someone else to fix it for you for much less than you'd think. K Barrett (if a girl can do it so can you.) "Al" wrote in message ... I feel for you... look up the part number of the squirrel fan at http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/start.shtml, if it is what you need and a good price buy it and find somebody ELSE to install it for you. Those heaters that draw the combustion air from outside the greenhouse are better for a variety of reasons. My heaters have both been on very good behavior this year. Only one nozzle replacement needed on one of the two. On the subject of rust... When they came on last fall they spewed out a fine coating of iron red rusty dust on all the plants below. I can not imagine them lasting 20 years. "Gene Schurg" wrote in message news:MwV%f.6575$MU4.6227@trnddc03... If I had hair I would have pulled it out by now. A week ago my 4 winters old Modine HotDawg natural gas heater stopped working. It would not fire. Luckily it's been warm enough to keep the greenhouse warm with house heat so I am not too concerned. If this had happened in January I would have been frantic. After numerous phone calls to the manufacture and their rep I was told that any HVAC company should be able to work on it. I called a local company who took their good old time coming out and the repairman took two hours to figure out what was wrong ($255.00). The squirrel cage that exhausts the heater has rusted and fell apart. The HVAC company took the part and today 4 days later called to tell me the part was going to cost $650.00. I was shocked since the whole heater only costs $550 online at numerous sites. Once again I called the manufacturer's rep who told me the part lists for $141.00. The HVAC company says too bad that their price is $650....plus installation. Now I'm thinking about cutting my losses and just getting a new heater. I need 45,000 BTUs and it has to hang from the ceiling. The Modine Rep said the greenhouse environment is why the furnace failed after 4 years. He says the new ones that vent air from outside are better because they don't have the humid air of the greenhouse rotting the insides. The ones vented from the outside are double the price of the model I have now. I thought I'd ask the experts in here what their experience is with gas furnaces. How is your greenhouse furnaces holding up? Would you recommend it? I'm hesitant about making another investment in a Modine product. Good growing, Gene |
#8
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
For what its worth I'm with Ray, too. I thought the Southern Burner heater
was ungodly expensive when I bought it but its what "everyone" was using and I didn't know there were alternatives. A friend used a plain old home wall heater (vented to the outside) in his GH, figuring that when it rusted out he'd just get another one. He figured he could replace the wall heater 5-6 times for what a Southern Burner cost. But I'm not that knowledgable or handy. (I was amased at myself for actually being able to properly identify and instal the replacemnet part for the southern burner.) So, Gene, if Resnor makes an affordable model, go for it. I believe many parts are interchangeable and can be purchased at places like Grainger's. I think I wound up replacing the valve assembly with a Robert Shaw valve assembly that operates the same etc, but wasn't the manufacturer's part. For what its worth, Grainger's has some neat thermostats etc for GH control too. K Barrett "Ray" wrote in message ... OK. Contrarian is not an unusual stance for me , so... I avoided the Southern Burners as my greenhouse would have needed several, amounting to a severe loss of plant-growing space. (If they only made a higher-output unit.) I was a long-time Modine user until the "specially for the greenhouse" unit turned out - as yours did - to be not worth a damn in the humid environment of the greenhouse. At that point I decided to go with the separated combustion type, but Modine's smallest was overkill for my GH size. I found that Reznor made one that suited the bill perfectly - it has the high efficiency heat exchanger design of the Hot Dawg from Modine, plus the separated combustion. Combined, my propane usage was cut by 40%. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "K Barrett" wrote in message ... For what its worth I'm with Al. I have a Southern Burner heater, vented to the outside. Like an idiot, I decided to turn it off over summer (why pay for the pilot light when its summer time, I thought.) Big mistake. The humidity in the GH froze, rusted or whatever name you want to call it the valves shut. dead dead dead. I was ****ed. Luckily, I had a Grainger's catalog and for about a hundred dollars I bought a replacement valve assembly and was back in business. I have not shut off the heater ever since. The heat from the pilot light keeps enough heat at the valves to keep them from rusting over the summer. While this isn't the same as your squirrel cage assembly, it does lend credence to Al's comment that you can fix this yourself or get someone else to fix it for you for much less than you'd think. K Barrett (if a girl can do it so can you.) "Al" wrote in message ... I feel for you... look up the part number of the squirrel fan at http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/start.shtml, if it is what you need and a good price buy it and find somebody ELSE to install it for you. Those heaters that draw the combustion air from outside the greenhouse are better for a variety of reasons. My heaters have both been on very good behavior this year. Only one nozzle replacement needed on one of the two. On the subject of rust... When they came on last fall they spewed out a fine coating of iron red rusty dust on all the plants below. I can not imagine them lasting 20 years. "Gene Schurg" wrote in message news:MwV%f.6575$MU4.6227@trnddc03... If I had hair I would have pulled it out by now. A week ago my 4 winters old Modine HotDawg natural gas heater stopped working. It would not fire. Luckily it's been warm enough to keep the greenhouse warm with house heat so I am not too concerned. If this had happened in January I would have been frantic. After numerous phone calls to the manufacture and their rep I was told that any HVAC company should be able to work on it. I called a local company who took their good old time coming out and the repairman took two hours to figure out what was wrong ($255.00). The squirrel cage that exhausts the heater has rusted and fell apart. The HVAC company took the part and today 4 days later called to tell me the part was going to cost $650.00. I was shocked since the whole heater only costs $550 online at numerous sites. Once again I called the manufacturer's rep who told me the part lists for $141.00. The HVAC company says too bad that their price is $650....plus installation. Now I'm thinking about cutting my losses and just getting a new heater. I need 45,000 BTUs and it has to hang from the ceiling. The Modine Rep said the greenhouse environment is why the furnace failed after 4 years. He says the new ones that vent air from outside are better because they don't have the humid air of the greenhouse rotting the insides. The ones vented from the outside are double the price of the model I have now. I thought I'd ask the experts in here what their experience is with gas furnaces. How is your greenhouse furnaces holding up? Would you recommend it? I'm hesitant about making another investment in a Modine product. Good growing, Gene |
#9
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
I appreciate all the comments. I'm still not sure what I want to do at this
point. The Southern Burner sounds great that it works without any electricity but I would need at least two of them since they have lower BTU output and I would also have to bring gas into another area of the GH which would be a pain in the butt. They also are only floor model and like Ray said that takes valuable plant space. The Graingers catalog was interesting but they didn't carry parts for Modine There is a local parts distributor for Modine that sells to the HVAC trade. If I decide to fix the POS that I have now I would probably do that. I am afraid that I will fix this one and worry all next winter that it might break again. I'm thinking about a new unit but am unsure what I'll get. I'll check out the Reznor site. I'm still open to more suggestions. Good Growing, Gene |
#10
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
Ray,
Thanks for the lead. I like what I've read about Reznor so far. How long have you had your Reznor unit in use? Have you had any problems/repairs in that time? Thanks, Gene "Ray" wrote in message ... OK. Contrarian is not an unusual stance for me , so... I avoided the Southern Burners as my greenhouse would have needed several, amounting to a severe loss of plant-growing space. (If they only made a higher-output unit.) I was a long-time Modine user until the "specially for the greenhouse" unit turned out - as yours did - to be not worth a damn in the humid environment of the greenhouse. At that point I decided to go with the separated combustion type, but Modine's smallest was overkill for my GH size. I found that Reznor made one that suited the bill perfectly - it has the high efficiency heat exchanger design of the Hot Dawg from Modine, plus the separated combustion. Combined, my propane usage was cut by 40%. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "K Barrett" wrote in message ... For what its worth I'm with Al. I have a Southern Burner heater, vented to the outside. Like an idiot, I decided to turn it off over summer (why pay for the pilot light when its summer time, I thought.) Big mistake. The humidity in the GH froze, rusted or whatever name you want to call it the valves shut. dead dead dead. I was ****ed. Luckily, I had a Grainger's catalog and for about a hundred dollars I bought a replacement valve assembly and was back in business. I have not shut off the heater ever since. The heat from the pilot light keeps enough heat at the valves to keep them from rusting over the summer. While this isn't the same as your squirrel cage assembly, it does lend credence to Al's comment that you can fix this yourself or get someone else to fix it for you for much less than you'd think. K Barrett (if a girl can do it so can you.) "Al" wrote in message ... I feel for you... look up the part number of the squirrel fan at http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/start.shtml, if it is what you need and a good price buy it and find somebody ELSE to install it for you. Those heaters that draw the combustion air from outside the greenhouse are better for a variety of reasons. My heaters have both been on very good behavior this year. Only one nozzle replacement needed on one of the two. On the subject of rust... When they came on last fall they spewed out a fine coating of iron red rusty dust on all the plants below. I can not imagine them lasting 20 years. "Gene Schurg" wrote in message news:MwV%f.6575$MU4.6227@trnddc03... If I had hair I would have pulled it out by now. A week ago my 4 winters old Modine HotDawg natural gas heater stopped working. It would not fire. Luckily it's been warm enough to keep the greenhouse warm with house heat so I am not too concerned. If this had happened in January I would have been frantic. After numerous phone calls to the manufacture and their rep I was told that any HVAC company should be able to work on it. I called a local company who took their good old time coming out and the repairman took two hours to figure out what was wrong ($255.00). The squirrel cage that exhausts the heater has rusted and fell apart. The HVAC company took the part and today 4 days later called to tell me the part was going to cost $650.00. I was shocked since the whole heater only costs $550 online at numerous sites. Once again I called the manufacturer's rep who told me the part lists for $141.00. The HVAC company says too bad that their price is $650....plus installation. Now I'm thinking about cutting my losses and just getting a new heater. I need 45,000 BTUs and it has to hang from the ceiling. The Modine Rep said the greenhouse environment is why the furnace failed after 4 years. He says the new ones that vent air from outside are better because they don't have the humid air of the greenhouse rotting the insides. The ones vented from the outside are double the price of the model I have now. I thought I'd ask the experts in here what their experience is with gas furnaces. How is your greenhouse furnaces holding up? Would you recommend it? I'm hesitant about making another investment in a Modine product. Good growing, Gene |
#11
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
I just went thru my 3rd or 4th winter. No problems at all.
-- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "Gene Schurg" wrote in message news:l2i0g.6093$yQ.6004@trnddc07... Ray, Thanks for the lead. I like what I've read about Reznor so far. How long have you had your Reznor unit in use? Have you had any problems/repairs in that time? Thanks, Gene "Ray" wrote in message ... OK. Contrarian is not an unusual stance for me , so... I avoided the Southern Burners as my greenhouse would have needed several, amounting to a severe loss of plant-growing space. (If they only made a higher-output unit.) I was a long-time Modine user until the "specially for the greenhouse" unit turned out - as yours did - to be not worth a damn in the humid environment of the greenhouse. At that point I decided to go with the separated combustion type, but Modine's smallest was overkill for my GH size. I found that Reznor made one that suited the bill perfectly - it has the high efficiency heat exchanger design of the Hot Dawg from Modine, plus the separated combustion. Combined, my propane usage was cut by 40%. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "K Barrett" wrote in message ... For what its worth I'm with Al. I have a Southern Burner heater, vented to the outside. Like an idiot, I decided to turn it off over summer (why pay for the pilot light when its summer time, I thought.) Big mistake. The humidity in the GH froze, rusted or whatever name you want to call it the valves shut. dead dead dead. I was ****ed. Luckily, I had a Grainger's catalog and for about a hundred dollars I bought a replacement valve assembly and was back in business. I have not shut off the heater ever since. The heat from the pilot light keeps enough heat at the valves to keep them from rusting over the summer. While this isn't the same as your squirrel cage assembly, it does lend credence to Al's comment that you can fix this yourself or get someone else to fix it for you for much less than you'd think. K Barrett (if a girl can do it so can you.) "Al" wrote in message ... I feel for you... look up the part number of the squirrel fan at http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/start.shtml, if it is what you need and a good price buy it and find somebody ELSE to install it for you. Those heaters that draw the combustion air from outside the greenhouse are better for a variety of reasons. My heaters have both been on very good behavior this year. Only one nozzle replacement needed on one of the two. On the subject of rust... When they came on last fall they spewed out a fine coating of iron red rusty dust on all the plants below. I can not imagine them lasting 20 years. "Gene Schurg" wrote in message news:MwV%f.6575$MU4.6227@trnddc03... If I had hair I would have pulled it out by now. A week ago my 4 winters old Modine HotDawg natural gas heater stopped working. It would not fire. Luckily it's been warm enough to keep the greenhouse warm with house heat so I am not too concerned. If this had happened in January I would have been frantic. After numerous phone calls to the manufacture and their rep I was told that any HVAC company should be able to work on it. I called a local company who took their good old time coming out and the repairman took two hours to figure out what was wrong ($255.00). The squirrel cage that exhausts the heater has rusted and fell apart. The HVAC company took the part and today 4 days later called to tell me the part was going to cost $650.00. I was shocked since the whole heater only costs $550 online at numerous sites. Once again I called the manufacturer's rep who told me the part lists for $141.00. The HVAC company says too bad that their price is $650....plus installation. Now I'm thinking about cutting my losses and just getting a new heater. I need 45,000 BTUs and it has to hang from the ceiling. The Modine Rep said the greenhouse environment is why the furnace failed after 4 years. He says the new ones that vent air from outside are better because they don't have the humid air of the greenhouse rotting the insides. The ones vented from the outside are double the price of the model I have now. I thought I'd ask the experts in here what their experience is with gas furnaces. How is your greenhouse furnaces holding up? Would you recommend it? I'm hesitant about making another investment in a Modine product. Good growing, Gene |
#12
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
Hey Gene,
For what it is worth, I have 4 lp units here; one Dayton and 3 Modines. They have given me no more problems than the oil units, boiler, or heat pumps we also use. The Dayton is pushing 15 years old, well maybe already pushed it but who is counting. They all use greenhouse air for combustion and are power vented. Try and figure out why the fan failed. There is most likely some underlying cause, these things should not fail in only 4 years. The heater might be cheap junk. The heater might be of bad design, but easily modified. Your installation may be making the fan unit more vulnerable than need be. Water is not your friend here, watch for condensation paths. Dirt buildup on the fan may have caused the failure and now you know the fans must be cleaned every so often. Or the failure might just be a fluke, a bearing damaged in shipping could take years to fail. As you have a better understanding why the fan failed, the repair/replace decision may be clearer. I have had good luck doing Goggle searches on furnace part numbers. I can often find the part at 30 to 50 percent off Grainger prices. More than once the repair part deal has been found on eBay. Pat "Gene Schurg" wrote in message news:9yh0g.413$_s5.104@trnddc04... I appreciate all the comments. I'm still not sure what I want to do at this point. The Southern Burner sounds great that it works without any electricity but I would need at least two of them since they have lower BTU output and I would also have to bring gas into another area of the GH which would be a pain in the butt. They also are only floor model and like Ray said that takes valuable plant space. The Graingers catalog was interesting but they didn't carry parts for Modine There is a local parts distributor for Modine that sells to the HVAC trade. If I decide to fix the POS that I have now I would probably do that. I am afraid that I will fix this one and worry all next winter that it might break again. I'm thinking about a new unit but am unsure what I'll get. I'll check out the Reznor site. I'm still open to more suggestions. Good Growing, Gene |
#13
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
Have you tried HeinLein Supply?. They carry Modine parts. Replacing the squirrel cage can't be that hard to do. I've done it on clothes dryers, etc. The unit should have come with an exploded drawing and parts list; with those, a little common sense and some basic tools, you should be able to do the job. If you attempt it, be sure to shut off the current at the breaker box first. J. Del Col |
#14
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
That's true about googling for repair parts and directions. I got a repair
manual for my maytag refrigerator ice maker online and was able to take it apart and fix it. K Barrett "Pat Brennan" wrote in message ... Hey Gene, For what it is worth, I have 4 lp units here; one Dayton and 3 Modines. They have given me no more problems than the oil units, boiler, or heat pumps we also use. The Dayton is pushing 15 years old, well maybe already pushed it but who is counting. They all use greenhouse air for combustion and are power vented. Try and figure out why the fan failed. There is most likely some underlying cause, these things should not fail in only 4 years. The heater might be cheap junk. The heater might be of bad design, but easily modified. Your installation may be making the fan unit more vulnerable than need be. Water is not your friend here, watch for condensation paths. Dirt buildup on the fan may have caused the failure and now you know the fans must be cleaned every so often. Or the failure might just be a fluke, a bearing damaged in shipping could take years to fail. As you have a better understanding why the fan failed, the repair/replace decision may be clearer. I have had good luck doing Goggle searches on furnace part numbers. I can often find the part at 30 to 50 percent off Grainger prices. More than once the repair part deal has been found on eBay. Pat "Gene Schurg" wrote in message news:9yh0g.413$_s5.104@trnddc04... I appreciate all the comments. I'm still not sure what I want to do at this point. The Southern Burner sounds great that it works without any electricity but I would need at least two of them since they have lower BTU output and I would also have to bring gas into another area of the GH which would be a pain in the butt. They also are only floor model and like Ray said that takes valuable plant space. The Graingers catalog was interesting but they didn't carry parts for Modine There is a local parts distributor for Modine that sells to the HVAC trade. If I decide to fix the POS that I have now I would probably do that. I am afraid that I will fix this one and worry all next winter that it might break again. I'm thinking about a new unit but am unsure what I'll get. I'll check out the Reznor site. I'm still open to more suggestions. Good Growing, Gene |
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Furnace Failure...UGH!
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