Boiler Dilemma

joe143

Hello folks have a little dilemma here.
I'm trying to do an Oil to gas conversion at my home but keep running into problems.The contractors keep telling me that it.would take months to get permits and I would be shut down for weeks. Also, seems like the price would be astronomical, at least for us it would be.. They're quoting in the 20s that would include water heater and tank removal... I'm running now an ancient Thatcher..Probably from the 50s. Other contractors are saying just get a new boiler which has a higher efficiency level...and would avoid all those problems.. Last winter i was spending $700 to $900 a month.

Alright guys easy on me....

Jamie Hall

I'm going to assume hot water? A boiler that old is probably not really worth the hassle of trying to convert. If you have your heart set on converting from oil to gas, I'd go with a properly sized modern boiler. But as you have discovered, there are other costs. Why are you converting?

jesmed1

First thing I would ask is your house size in sq ft, how much insulation, what type of windows, and where in the country are you?

I do maintenance on a 100-year-old 4-unit condo building in Boston, 4800 sq ft total, with a full basement. We burn about 1200 gallons of oil per year to heat the building (hot water heater is natural gas, so that's a separate bill). So our heating oil bill last year was around $5,000.

Do the math on your house by comparison (gallonsof oil per sq ft). We're burning about 0.25 gallons per sq ft per heating season. We have a mix of original double-hung wood windows and some new replacement vinyl windows, attic insulation, but no insulation in the walls. Our heat loss at zero degrees outside temp is about 20 BTU/hr/sq ft.

If your heat loss is much higher (say, 40 BTU/hr/sq ft), my first advice would be to get a home energy audit and find out where your heat is going. The most common areas for heat loss are (1) air leakage through poorly air-sealed old houses, (2) windows, and (3) lack of insulation. Spending a few thousand dollars on air sealing and insulation could significantly reduce your heating costs. And it won't cost you $20k like a new gas boiler will.

Once you've air-sealed and insulated, then you will (hopefully) see immediate heating cost reductions. Then you can consider new heating equipment. But I would start with seeing how leaky your house is, and fixing the heat leaks first.

Mad Dog_2

They may be right.  In New York now, with the new Natural gas mandated certifications, expect long delays.  Why not save a bunch and put in a Nice Burnham, Peerless, Weil Mc laun or Buderus boiler with a Riello Burner and ODR outdoor reset? Mad Dog 🐕 

EdTheHeaterMan

I need to agree with @jesmed1 to a degree. However, I also believe that a Thatcher installed in 1950s can't be the most efficient at converting oil BTUs into warm radiators. My father's company's sales pitch for new equipment was "If you are going to look at the options for lowering your oil bill, then start at the oil burner." We saved many customers from switching from oil to gas with that sales pitch. Our reasoning was that we would rather keep you as a customer burning less oil that loosing your business completely.

We offered new more efficient equipment and what we called a complete modernization where we installed a new high efficiency burner in your old Thatcher and others like it. That said, You may want to look at EK system 2000 boilers for the lowest operating cost for your home.

As far as tightening up the envelope of your home to reduce the amount of heat you actually need, there may be more cost effective items than others. Look at your States offerings on sealing up your home. There may be grants for new windows, insulation and other things that will lower your costs.

There is always the nuclear option!

That is where you move to a more efficient home and let someone else with more money than you handle the upgrades. And you thought I was going to say blow up your home. Not a chance.

Click on the Spoiler

Jersey2

I converted last year because my oil fired boiler was on its last legs. From the time I sent a request to PSEG for a gas line, to the completed install took 8 months. The delay was mostly because of PSEG, and they said the delay was because of hurricane Katrina. The oil tank was removed two months after that. I live in an expensive state, and all in the price was $. If I had gotten a HE wall hung unit the price would have been $. So the price was in the same ballpark as you and it did take a long time.
You won't be out of business because you can run your oil boiler until the day before the install.

EdTheHeaterMan

Jersey2 said:

I converted last year because my oil fired boiler was on its last legs. From the time I sent a request to PSEG for a gas line, to the completed install took 8 months. The delay was mostly because of PSEG, and they said the delay was because of hurricane Katrina. The oil tank was removed two months after that. I live in an expensive state, and all in the price was more that I expected. If I had gotten a HE wall hung unit the price would have been a couple thousand lower. So the price was in the same ballpark as you and it did take a long time.
You won't be out of business because you can run your oil boiler until the day before the install.

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joe143

Thanks guys.. I wasn't planning on keeping the  Thatcher.. Want a whole new unit.. I already have gas in the house..don't know if that helps. Soo what I'm reading is to Stay with oil and get a nice new boiler.. Do you suggest I stay with a hot water coil or just a get separate Hot water heater/tank

Mad Dog_2

Indirect water heater (Giant Thermos Bottle 🍼).  Yes!  Mad Dog 🐕 

EdTheHeaterMan

Get yourself a very efficient boiler and connect an indirect water tank to it. You will get more hot water than you need and it will cost less to operate than something that has a tankless coil inside it.