Replacing Steam (Oil) Boiler - should I switch to Gas?

Jean-David Beyer

When squirrels built a 4-foot thick plug in my chimney one summer, I did not learn about it until I turned on my old oil burner. It did not detect a problem, but I could tell from the smoke coming out of the vent pipe that I had a problem and powered the unit off. At that point, enough of that stuff got into the house that it set off my CO detector. I sure did not need the CO detector for that.

Time passed and now I have a gas burner. The safety inspector asked if I had a CO detector in the house, and I said yes. Not the original one, because I could not get the plug-in units for that one anymore. This one uses AA cells, and the unit must be replaced entirely every so often. I do not test it once a week because I do not want to replace my ears, but I do test it just before the start of each heating season, and I did try it after the boiler was installed. It still hurts my ears.

So back to whether I want the gas leak in my gas boiler in the garage to take the roof off the garage, or would it knock down the wall and get into my house. And is that more likely than if my ex oil burner caught fire and put flames all over the same wall.

I do not remember the firing sequence of my ex oil burner (a Beckett, in case anyone cares). But the gas burners with which I am familiar (three different kinds) all had about a 60 second interval after the thermostat called for heat and when it tried to start the fire. In the meanwhile the blower that pressurized the combustion chamber, or the one that exhausts it, runs to get rid of any gas that might be in there. My latest boiler also does some purging at the end just after it turns off the fire. Of course, that only works when it works.

I would think insurance companies would want to know the answers to questions like this. Mine has never asked what kind of heat I have in the house. Do they wait until after my roof lands on my next door neighbor's house?

Nick_22

Replacing Steam (Oil) Boiler - should I switch to Gas?

I have a very old oil-fired steam boiler. I'm finishing off our half-basement (tight space) and thought I might switch to gas to eliminate the oil tank. Any opinions which is better....oil just seems like such a pain (clean, replace filters, etc.) I know this is completely different but my parents have had a Burnham Gas Hot Water system for at least 30 yrs with not a single issue or service call (I probably should have someone go to their house and check it out though - right?) Anyway let me know what you guys think?

Jean-David Beyer

I had my old oil hot water boiler replaced in mid May with a new gas one. I had to remove the old oil tank before the gas company would run the gas line, since it would go close to where the tank was. I would have had the 1000 gallon oil tank removed in any case. There were what the removal guy said were a few pinhole leaks in the tank, so the state DEP got involved as well as my insurance company. So now, two months later, the old tank is still in my front yard awaiting the pleasure of the insurance company. There have been two sets of drilling operations done to see if any contamination resulted from the leaks. Of 5 cores, 2 were contaminated. So they did more drilling a few weeks later to see the extent. Those results should be back last Thursday, but I do not know them. Then I need a report from the insurance company. Then I may need to get aid from the state to do the remediation. The delays and nuisance are extreme, as is the doubt about how much I may have to pay out of pocket for this.

So I cannot tell if you should convert from an oil fired steam boiler to a gas fired one based on efficiency, reliability, comfort, cost point of view. But having an oil tank on the property seems to just be asking for trouble. You are a little better off if your tank is above ground so you should be able to determine leaking before I did (never had trouble with water in the oil).

Steven Gronski

Its a matter of preferance

If you were making domestic hot water with that old oil steam boiler, I would recommend gas and a seperate source to make your domestic hot water. If not , go with what you feel comfortable with. Oil is more maintanace than gas would be, and if you live in an area where gas networks is offering you a Burnham gas steam boiler for cheap, take advantage of it.

Paul Fredricks_9

Personally, I prefer the safety of oil. I know that if I have an oil leak, there is a mess to clean up. If I have a gas leak, things can be very much worse.

As far as efficiency goes I think it's a toss up, depending on what equipment you put in. If you stay high efficiency either works. If you go for the cheaper equipment, I think oil wins out.

Just my 2 cents.

Jean-David Beyer

I prefer the safety of oil.

I wonder what the statistics are on this. Is oil safer or less safe than gas? Someone may have the statistics on this. I have watched the installation of two Rheem gas air heating furnaces, and the contractor did very good work as far as I can tell. They did it 10 years ago, and we have had no leaks since then.

When the same contractor put in my gas boiler to replace my oil one, they seem to have done a good job, but it would not hold 15 psi test pressure for 60 hours (dropped to about 12 psi in that time). They are required to test at that pressure for at least 24 hours before even connecting to the gas supply. They found the leak pretty quickly and fixed it.

Paul Fredricks_9

I hear ya. I just haven't heard about houses blowing up from an oil leak. I know that these problems are rare, but there is a chance.

And typically, an oil fired unit created high levels of CO also gives off an odor from the incomplete combustion. Gas seems to be more stealthy. I don't know if there are any statistics on gas vs. oil CO poisoning. Maybe someone else on the Wall knows.

Steamhead (in transit)

Why not

get a boiler that can burn either fuel- with factory approval? This way you could switch fuels without buying a new boiler. So you could burn whatever fuel was cheapest per BTU.

Assuming they are installed and maintained properly, either fuel is safe to use. Explosions and leaks are usually the result of someone's carelessness.

Smith and Slant/Fin are two companies that make such boilers. Here's a pic of a Smith, running a Carlin powered gas burner.

"Steamhead"

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Jim_64

Gas explosions

are rare,but that doesn't help this guy

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-lihamp2212989294jul21,0,6908968.story