Free Reznor XL-170

[samert111]

Today I picked one of these up for free. It's been hanging in our shipping dept at work since we moved into the building 20 years ago and hasn't been used for probably 8-10 years since we put central HVAC units on the roof.

I believe this model is discontinued and I'd like to find out how old it actually is but having trouble finding out any info on it and thought I would check here.

I believe the first 3 letters of the S/N are key to the age of the unit and the S/N is AEK40A5N342.

I know it's 170K BTU input, 136K output and has electronic ignition. I suspect it's probably a mid 80's vintage.

I'm currently in the process of insulating my 28' W x 48' L x 15' H pole barn and wanted to install it in there. I've putting R30 in the ceiling, R19 in the walls and am located in Grand Rapids, Mi.

Questions:
1) Can anyone tell me the age of this thing based on the S/N?

2) Is this unit too big for my building? If so is there a way to downsize the BTU by plugging off 1 or 2 of the 7 burners?

3) It is not a power vented unit so the exhaust has to go up thru the roof vs. out the side. Is it possible to duct outside combustion air directly to the bottom of the unit to minimize pulling cold combustion air in thru air gaps in the building? I was thinking of fabricating a hood that mounts under the unit and running the same size duct as the exhaust thru the wall directly into this hood.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Mike007]

1 - A quick call to Reznor should answer this.

2 - It definitely more BTU's then you will need. Typically plugging off burner orifices is not a good idea. It causes uneven expansion and contraction of the heat exchanger.

3 - I doubt you will be able to seal the combustion chamber 100%. So in the off cycle cold air will spill into the garage through the vent.

 

[trythis]

Look carefully at the heat exchanger, if it is very old and was used a lot before your company shut it dowm, it may have cracks, leaking Carbon monoxide.