Question:
I'm looking for a natural gas, sealed combustion, forced air garage heater
for my 20' X 20' insulated garage workshop (which also has to house our two
cars). From my research so far I can only find a Reznor unit that meets the
above specifications. From what I can tell the Modine Hot Dawg units do not
have sealed combustion chambers. I have already decided that I want a
sealed unit and also that I don't want radiant heat. One contractor that
has come to my house gave me an estimate of around $2000 to install even the
30,000 Btu Reznor sealed unit (which apparently is about the right size for
my installation). I wasn't under the impression that Reznor would sell
direct to customers, but I would certainly consider self-installation, as my
brother-in-law is an electrical contractor and has a gas guy that would do
the natural gas work for only the cost of materials.
Answer:
I have a Reznor; it uses a co-axial flue to get cold combustion air in
and exhaust out. Mine is vented out the side of my garage instead of
going up. Since moisture is a by-product of combustion and the
exhaust tube is surrounded by a cold air coming in, the water tends to
condense on inside of the exhaust flue and run downhill. Initially
that meant back into my house and into a storage shelf!
The heating company made good and fixed it, now the chimney tubes are
all sealed with high temperature caulk and the inner tube is tilted
slightly so the water runs out of the house. I often have a 4 to 6
foot ice stalagtite under my heater's exhaust. If you have one of
these units installed, make sure you know where the water will go.
