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Oil vs gas boiler for steam heat

ryancmoore02
ryancmoore02 Member Posts: 1
in Oil Heating
I recently bought a house with an oil boiler that needs to be replaced. Additionally we found out that we can bring gas into the house and are planning to do so for the stove and washer/dryer. Would it make sense to covert the boiler to gas as well or is oil my best bet for steam heat?

Comments

  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 24,600
    edited August 2019
    Depends on how old the boiler is. If it's relatively young, no -- but provide a large enough gas line so that, down the road, you can replace it with a gas boiler (natural gas, so far at least, is cheaper than oil) when the present one dies. If it's older or has problems and you need to replace it, probably switch to natural gas.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,240
    Steam doesn't care what fuel you use to make it.

    If you need a boiler, go for it and get a gas boiler.
    If your current boiler is in good shape you may be able to have it converted to gas.

    You need to compare the price of oil to gas, but generally you'll find gas is significantly cheaper. The last time I checked I think it was 1/4 the price in my area.
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 6,242
    What make and model is the boiler?
    Pics?
  • Fizz
    Fizz Member Posts: 547
    In previous home, I converted a SGO-6 in 12/11, and it paid for itself in 2yrs. The boiler was 10 yr old at time. Best decision I made at the time.
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,505
    Where is nat gas 1/4 the price of heating oil?

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,240
    edited August 2019
    > @STEVEusaPA said:
    > Where is nat gas 1/4 the price of heating oil?

    I don't know that it still is, but it was the last time I checked. Might have only been a 1/3.
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,505
    Care to post a pic of your gas bill? Depending on your location and gas company fees associated with generation and distribution for each btu, recurring monthly 'customer charges', etc. and sales tax.
    Probably almost even.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,240
    > @STEVEusaPA said:
    > Care to post a pic of your gas bill? Depending on your location and gas company fees associated with generation and distribution for each btu, recurring monthly 'customer charges', etc. and sales tax.
    > Probably almost even.

    No, I will not.

    The comparison I did was the final cost vs friends that were using oil. It's easy to compare cost btu vs btu you don't need my bill for that. There are even online calculators.

    The last time I did it was 2011 when I made the decision to get rid of oil but the gap between my bills and my friends never seemed to change over the years. When oil dropped a lot so did gas.
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,240
    Wow.

    My boiler is already 8 years old. Holy crap.
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment

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