Buying Guide: Modine Heaters

It’s the cold season once again. With heating bills and household budgets getting squeezed these days, choosing the right heater matters more than ever. For garages, workshops, and other big, drafty spaces, homeowners and small business owners are increasingly turning to commercial-grade solutions for robust, reliable heat. 

In this light, Modine Heaters, a mainstay in industrial and light-commercial heating for over a century, present an attractive option for both homeowners and commercial businesses because they’re built for one thing: moving a lot of heat efficiently where it’s needed.

About Modine

Modine Manufacturing Company is an industrial HVAC brand with deep engineering heritage and a wide product footprint.

The brand traces its roots to 1918, when Arthur Modine built a heater out of spare parts. Noticing how uncomfortable his employees were in the frigid Wisconsin air, Arthur took an automotive radiator, fan and some leftover steam pipes to provide heated air for the building. Thus was born the company’s first unit heater, which soon became a mainstay of its business. 

By 1923, the brand established a dedicated Heating Division to cater to the burgeoning field of unit heaters in America, and its success soon propelled it into becoming a publicly traded company. By the 1930s, Modine held the patent for the unit heater and cornered over 90% of the market. 

Today, the storied brand continues to dominate the unit heater market. It has since expanded into a broad lineup of heating and cooling products for residential, commercial and industrial uses, boasting six manufacturing plants. The company’s 100,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Buena Vista, VA is solely dedicated to Modine Heating products.

Modine Milestones

1916: Modine Manufacturing Company is established, specializing in thermal hardware.

1918: Arthur Modine creates the first unit heater to safeguard employee well-being.

1930: Patent for unit heater awarded to Modine, which is then licensed to 15 other manufacturers.

1960: Modine buys 24 acres of land in Buena Vista, VA, where Modine Heating products continue to be made today.

1976: Introduction of the oil-fired heater.

1980: Modine adopts eco-friendly initiatives, including Nocolok aluminum bonding, the use of water-based paints, and powder-painting.

1997: Debut of the popular gas-fired Hot Dawg unit heater, which continues to be an essential product lineup today.

2010: Launch of the highest-efficiency unit heater in North America.

2023: Unveiling of the Amp Dawg electric unit heater to revolutionize electric heating.

What Sets Modine Heaters Apart?

Short answer: industrial design, wide power range, and application flexibility.

✅ Built for scale

Modine’s heaters span small garage units to very large commercial models rated in the hundreds of thousands of BTUs, which means they’re meant to heat big, open areas where room heaters can’t. That product breadth is a big reason contractors and shop owners pick Modine.

✅ Proven heat-exchanger design and warranties

Modine emphasizes robust heat exchangers and often backs key parts with long warranties (for example, the Hot Dawg series lists a 10-year heat-exchanger warranty on many models). This provides peace of mind for heavy-use installations.

✅ Efficiency and engineered controls

Many Modine unit heaters, especially power-vented models, advertise seasonal efficiencies in the 80% range. This is accomplished through features like time-delay relays, power exhausters and ignition controllers, which improve usable heat and minimize wasted cold air at startup. These controls add up in operational efficiency, especially for large commercial and industrial spaces.

✅ Installation flexibility

Modine offers ceiling-hung low-profile units, vertical or horizontal venting PDP family units, hydronic options, and electric models, a plus when retrofit constraints or ceiling heights limit choices.

Taken all together, these elements make Modine a practical pick when you need reliable, low-maintenance heat for larger spaces or challenging installations.

Modine Heater Categories

1. Hot Dawg Garage / Ceiling-mounted Gas Unit Heaters

Modine’s signature unit heater, these low-profile, ceiling-suspended gas unit heaters are designed for garages, shops and small commercial spaces, available from ~30,000 BTU to 125,000 BTUs.

They offer good balance between size and power: compact enough for ceiling mounting, yet can heat multi-car garages and small shops. They are easy to install and compatible with standard thermostats, making them user-friendly for retrofit projects. Many Hot Dawg units include a long heat-exchanger warranty and field-friendly wiring/venting features.

Featured Modine Hot Dawg unit heater:

Modine HD100AS0111 Hot Dawg 100,000 BTU Garage Heater

This garage heater features 100,000 BTUs input / 80,000 BTUs output.  It hangs from the ceiling and is easy to install. It is a low profile unit, at just 20.5″ high and runs quietly, making it ideal for cramped garages with limited overhead space, as well as those used as workshops.

This heater is certified for residential, commercial and industrial use and is powerful enough for a large garage or warehouse-type space. It works with any standard or programmable thermostat, the kind generally found in your home. 

 2. PDP Series: Vertical Powered/Vented Unit Heaters

These high-capacity, power-vented unit heaters are designed for commercial use, when you need maximum heat output and flexible venting for warehouses, distribution centers, large workshops, or any site where long vent runs or high ceilings make natural draft venting impractical. They can be vented horizontally or vertically and include an onboard power exhauster for fan-assisted venting.

PDP models ship with industrial features like time-delay relays (which warms the exchanger before the blower starts), ignition controllers, and safety interlocks.

Featured PDP Series heater:

Modine PDP400AE0130 400,000 BTU Vertical Powered Vented Unit Heater

This flexible heater can be vented vertically or horizontally and the power exhaust can be rotated a full 180°. Rated for commercial use, it offers 400,000 BTUs input / 326,000 BTUs output. 

The heater has an 82% thermal efficiency, and uses a collector box and power exhauster for maximum seasonal efficiency. These units are designed to use the smallest diameter vent pipe possible and the 100% shut-off intermittent pilot-ignition system allows for continuous retry every 6 minutes.

3. Electric Unit Heaters

Electric unit heaters provide distributed heat where gas isn’t available or where local codes/space constraints favor electric. They are a good fit for small shops or utility rooms where electric service capacity is present and fuel or venting is not possible.

Modine’s lineup includes electric blowers and specialty forced-air products for light commercial use. These boast simple installation (no combustion venting), reliable operation, and often lower upfront complexity. 

Your Source for Modine Heaters

If you need robust, dependable heat for garages, shops or commercial spaces, Modine’s long history, broad product range, and industrial engineering make it a sensible starting point. 

At Total Home Supply we carry Modine’s best-selling Hot Dawg garage heaters for light commercial and residential garages, and larger PDP and hydronic models for heavy-duty, high-output needs. Whether you’re warming a weekend-project garage or heating a production floor, Modine has a reliable and dependable solution.