LesCharles73
Member
Hey everyone. First time poster but longtime lurker here.
I wanted to get some opinions on an idea I have. I found this Modine PAE30AC 30K BTU unit heater on eBay and got it for a pretty good deal since the seller/liquidation company had been sitting on it for a while. It looks to me like it's new old-stock just judging by the fact that it still has the manual (I'm assuming), lack of dust on the leading-edge of the fan blades, and the over all shiny nature of things.
From a cursory search online, I would assume that this heater is from the early-to-mid 1990's. I'm hoping it has intermittent pilot ignition (rather than standing pilot), but I can't be completely sure since I don't actually have it yet. The valve does look about right for an intermittent setup.
I know the usual apprehension of installing a used gas heater is due to a potentially cracked heat exchanger, but what do you think about this "NOS" heater? Should be as good as a brand new one, right? Minus the lack of warranty and possibly hard-to-find parts down the road of course.
I do plan on having it professionally inspected and installed - I just figured I'd test the waters here before I go too much further with it. I actually used to have an almost identical standing pilot model (PA 30A) built in 1979 (I think). It was given to me, but I found a pinhole in the HX where it looked like a tack weld broke, so I ended up scrapping it out. I'm a little wary getting an almost identical heater, but I'm hoping to have better luck with this since it's apparently unused. Who knows what kind of abuse the other heater went through - came from a greenhouse.
I really enjoy things that look industrial/vintage. Tanker desks, porcelain barn lights, etc and I really like the styling of this heater, with the rounded cabinet. But of course safety trumps all.
This would go in an insulated workshop in North Texas. The area is about the size of a two-car garage (~10' ceiling) and it wouldn't get used much -- we have 2 or 3 months where it's cold enough to need heat, and usually only half those days actually dip below freezing. So efficiency isn't a HUGE concern.
Edit: I have posted some pictures in a response below.
I wanted to get some opinions on an idea I have. I found this Modine PAE30AC 30K BTU unit heater on eBay and got it for a pretty good deal since the seller/liquidation company had been sitting on it for a while. It looks to me like it's new old-stock just judging by the fact that it still has the manual (I'm assuming), lack of dust on the leading-edge of the fan blades, and the over all shiny nature of things.
From a cursory search online, I would assume that this heater is from the early-to-mid 1990's. I'm hoping it has intermittent pilot ignition (rather than standing pilot), but I can't be completely sure since I don't actually have it yet. The valve does look about right for an intermittent setup.
I know the usual apprehension of installing a used gas heater is due to a potentially cracked heat exchanger, but what do you think about this "NOS" heater? Should be as good as a brand new one, right? Minus the lack of warranty and possibly hard-to-find parts down the road of course.
I do plan on having it professionally inspected and installed - I just figured I'd test the waters here before I go too much further with it. I actually used to have an almost identical standing pilot model (PA 30A) built in 1979 (I think). It was given to me, but I found a pinhole in the HX where it looked like a tack weld broke, so I ended up scrapping it out. I'm a little wary getting an almost identical heater, but I'm hoping to have better luck with this since it's apparently unused. Who knows what kind of abuse the other heater went through - came from a greenhouse.
I really enjoy things that look industrial/vintage. Tanker desks, porcelain barn lights, etc and I really like the styling of this heater, with the rounded cabinet. But of course safety trumps all.
This would go in an insulated workshop in North Texas. The area is about the size of a two-car garage (~10' ceiling) and it wouldn't get used much -- we have 2 or 3 months where it's cold enough to need heat, and usually only half those days actually dip below freezing. So efficiency isn't a HUGE concern.
Edit: I have posted some pictures in a response below.
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