Hi, I'm a grower with a hobby greenhouse in SC. I have a vented Southern Burner heater, and I just found out that the company is no longer in business. Has anyone figured out how to get replacement parts for these heaters? Mine is 11 years old and having some issues.
Alternatively, any suggestions on a gas-fired heater to replace my old Southern Burner?
I'm replacing the Southern Burner heater with a Williams DV30 Direct Vent Gas Heaters from ACF Greenhouses, a more expensive and less greenhouse-adapted heater. But it's the best vented option I could find. I don't expect it to last the 11 years that the Southern Burner did, and it costs quite a bit more. :-(
Over the years, I went from a standard Modine heater to a Reznor with separated combustion (my favorite with the greatest efficiency, but also later without parts available), to one of those. It worked well, but I added a blower to extract more heat.
The VS820A can be used to replace the VS821 gas valve BUT it has a higher heat (btu) output and I'm not at all sure how well that will work in the long term. The thermocouple is easily available, it's a standard 750 millivolt. The pilot is a bit hard to find. Search ebay for all these parts. The main body of the heater can be repaired with some effort. I have four of these heaters so it is worth the effort.
FYI I have a Southern Burner A1 250P keeping my mountain greenhouse warm for 17 years. Needed and found a replacement gas valve so thought I'd share with this board. The unit at the link below is a direct replacement and worked great immediately after installation. The folks at this company were very helpful; gave them the part number of my existing gas valve (VS821 A1046) and they immediately cross-referenced the one below as direct replacement. No photo of this but I trimmed a clear plastic pretzel container to protect the new gas valve from water.