Replacing McQuay PTAC Units in New York Towers and Co-ops

Published October 20, 2026 by New York PTACs, powered by Air Distributors Company, Inc.

Ask a super at a Bronx co-op, a Queens garden complex, or a postwar Upper East Side tower what is in the walls, and the answer is often McQuay. The company stopped building PTACs in 2014. The units it sold in the 1960s and 1970s are still running, and every winter more of them fail. Here is how New York buildings replace them without touching the facade.

The end of the McQuay PTAC line

McQuay International, now Daikin Applied, built packaged terminal and through-the-wall units for more than 50 years under the McQuay, Singer, Remington, and Climate Control names. In March 2014 it ended the PTAC line, and the last orders closed March 31, 2014. Daikin Applied still makes other HVAC equipment, and parts for many McQuay units remain available through distributors. New McQuay PTAC chassis are not built.

Why the problem is bigger in New York

Postwar New York housing was built at a scale no other city matched, and developers bought through-the-wall units by the thousand. Co-op City, Mitchell-Lama developments across the boroughs, white-brick Manhattan towers, and Palisades high-rises in Fort Lee all went up in the McQuay era.

Two features of those installations rule out a standard PTAC:

Sleeve size. Many McQuay series were wider or narrower than 42 x 16, used a different height or a sloped top, or used the three-piece K design. A GE Zoneline does not fit.
Boiler heat. Most New York McQuay units heat with a hot water coil fed by the building boiler. An electric replacement moves heat off the boiler and onto each apartment's circuit.

Identify the series

The nameplate sits on the chassis behind the front cover, sometimes on the base where you see it only after sliding the chassis forward. See how to find your PTAC model number.

Series found in the field include PNES, ENH, and Series 16; PDAE, PMES, MEA, and EA; PKES, MEK, and K; PDHE, PMRS, and RS; and J. Hydronic models carry designations such as PDAA, PDHA, PDE, MQE, MQS, PDAN, PDAC, and PDNS. The prefix tells the distributor the sleeve family. The rest gives capacity, voltage, and heat type.

No plate? Measure the sleeve and photograph the chassis, controls, and piping. That usually identifies the series.

Path one: a chassis built to the McQuay sleeve

Applied Comfort builds chassis to the dimensions of discontinued McQuay series. The unit slides into the existing sleeve, uses the existing louver, and connects to the existing hot water lines with the coil in the original position, top or bottom. The apartment is back in service the same day.

This path fits when:

The building is occupied
The sleeves are structurally sound
The facade cannot change, because of Landmarks, a historic district, or the board
Units get replaced as they fail, or line by line

Replacement chassis come in hydronic, electric heat, and heat pump versions. See McQuay replacement and Applied Comfort.

Path two: convert to 42 x 16

Pull the McQuay sleeves, rebuild every opening for standard sleeves, and install new louvers. In New York that means masonry permits, a scaffold or swing stage on a tower, board approval, possible Landmarks review, and weeks of disruption in occupied apartments.

Conversion makes sense during a gut renovation, when the sleeves are rusted through across the building, or when the building is deliberately moving off boiler heat. Otherwise, most boards and owners choose path one.

Leaving the boiler is a big decision

Some owners consider replacing hydronic McQuay units with electric heat pump PTACs as part of an electrification plan. That shifts heating cost from the boiler to electricity, may require electrical upgrades in every apartment, and changes whether tenants or the owner pay for heat. In buildings covered by Local Law 97 it also changes the emissions math. Run those numbers with an engineer first. See Local Law 97 and PTAC heat pumps.

Match the rest of the installation

Voltage. 208/230V or 265V. Many McQuay units in towers are 265V and hardwired.
Circuit. Breaker size, which limits electric heat where used.
Controls. Unit-mounted controls or a remote 24V wall thermostat.
Coil and valve. Top or bottom connections, and the valve type.

Spares and a survey

McQuay replacement chassis are often built to order. A unit that fails in January means an apartment without heat until the replacement arrives, during the months the city requires heat. Two habits prevent that:

Keep one or two spare chassis per sleeve type in the basement shop.
Survey the building now. List each line, the McQuay model, and its condition. Replace the worst lines on a schedule the board approves instead of waiting for failures.

For phased projects, see planning a building-wide PTAC replacement and PTAC replacement in co-ops and condos.

Repair or replace?

Some failures are a fan motor, a control board, or a valve, and a part keeps the unit running. Ask about parts for your series with your quote. A chassis past 25 years on its third major repair is usually a replacement candidate.

Next step

Send the McQuay model number, sleeve dimensions, voltage, heat source, and quantity. Air Distributors has supplied McQuay replacements since the line ended in 2014. Request a quote or call 800-866-1210.