Mr. Heater Big Maxx caught on fire...warranty?

[hondaman263]

Well not literally, but one of the bends in the heat exchanger tubes got a hole in it and part of the flame was coming out of the hole. Glad I caught it in time because that really could have started a fire if left long enough. Has anybody had this issue with the Big maxx? I believe mine is the 75000 or 80000 Btu unit.

Mines natural gas, had it about 3 years to heat my 20x4 garage. I have my own gas well so I always kept the garage about ~60F. I have noticed that the bends of the tubes would glow red. But it was very dim and only noticeable when all the lights were out. I read from a few people that meant my gas was too hot but it seemed like a lot of people's heat exchangers had a dim glow.

Anybody know where I can get that kind of part for this? I couldn't find anything online. I'm going to call mr. heater tomorrow and see if they can warranty something like this.

By the way, every appliance possible was converted to natural gas about 8 years ago and none of them have had any problems.

 

[dave67fd]

Some of the main reasons for premature Heat exchanger failure is short and excessive cycling and/or inadeqate air flow.

Call MH and get the correct one. Have the unit cleaned, tested/adjusted.

 

[finn]

One thing I'd check is the composition or quality of your gas. Natural gas usually is primarily methane, but no doubt there are other constituents, which could have differing BTU content.

Sounds like the heat exchanger was operating at an unusually high temperature.

 

[regguy1]

They have a 10 year warranty on heat exchanger

 

[Heatdr]

Did anyone happen to check the gs pressure,you may be overfired.I have a 45000 with lp gas and the pressures have to be checked and set.

 

[Todd.Brock]

Hope it all works out for you. Not to de-rail, but can you tell me about having a gas well? Did you sell mineral rights and just get a free tap? Or how does that work?


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[djjsr]

Your manual tells you what the pressure should be on your gas line and also shows a table with gas valve pressures. Sounds like yours may need adjusting.

If you don't have the manual, it's available online at Mr Heaters website as a pdf file.

 

[hondaman263]

Better check the gas pressure. Never did check it when I installed it. Glad to hear they have a 10 yr warranty! I called about 5 times but couldnt get through to anybody.

 

[hondaman263]

Hope it all works out for you. Not to de-rail, but can you tell me about having a gas well? Did you sell mineral rights and just get a free tap? Or how does that work?


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Signed a Oil and Gas lease. Sold the mineral rights but we are allowed to keep our gas well. Added a stipulation that said when they drill, if we lose our gas well for whatever reasons, (fracking, pipeline running through the path of the well), they would supply us with natural gas or propane.

Having the well is nice, it's dated back to the early 1900's and has constantly produced 175psi since we moved in. Didn't know it was on our property when we moved in. Previous owners didn't know it was there either (deep in the woods) and we only found it when the old well head blew off and sounded like a water fall. Got a new one put on and ran line up to the house.
An older gentlemen with lukemia stopped by one day, saying his father used to live where I am currently and there was a total of 4 gas wells on the property. Not sure what happened to the other 3.

 

[hondaman263]

Some of the main reasons for premature Heat exchanger failure is short and excessive cycling and/or inadeqate air flow.

Call MH and get the correct one. Have the unit cleaned, tested/adjusted.

The heater gets good airflow, its far enough from the wall and there are no obstructions. What do you mean by excessive cycling? Like constantly turning on and off causing the heat exchanger to expand and contract a lot?

When it's on, it usually stays on for a long time, only my walls are insulated and the ceiling is open to the uninsulated upstairs. When its above ~25F, it can get the garage to about 70 and keep it there but below that, it runs constanty to keep it around 60