Oil to Gas Conversion

jimspyro

Hello,

I'm new here, but I happened to see some of the posts and thought that you guys might be able to help, so thanks in advance.

I live in Nassau County NY.
I have a fairly new (installed in 2008) Peerless EC/ECT-03-W/S boiler.
It was being used for the domestic hot water (without a tank), as well as a single-pipe steam system for heating the home.
It's a relatively small 4-bedroom cape, and the funny thing is I have natural gas in house and was already using it for my stove/dryer.

About 3 months ago, my oil tank ruptured, and I lost the full 275 gallons of oil into my basement.

After dealing with the mess, I decided to not go back to oil. I already installed a small condensing unit for the domestic hot water. I was planning on switching the whole system for the heating to also work off a hydronics with baseboard heating and install its own condensing unit. The problem is, I'd need to switch out the steam radiators, and the total cost is not something I can handle at the moment.

I was doing some research and I believe it's possible to simply switch out the oil burning gun (I was told that's what they call it), with a gas burning one. I called a few HVAC people, but it's difficult to get a straight answer from anyone. Some told me it's not possible, others told me it is, so I don't know who to trust.

The current "gun" is a Riello 40.

Can someone please confirm if it is indeed possible to switch out just the burner and leave everything else intact, just for one season until I can save up the funds for a full system replacement? If anyone can also recommend a reliable installer for such a conversion? I've attached some pictures if that helps, and if you have any questions that might help, please let me know.

Steamhead

Sure it is. A Carlin EZ-Gas burner will work well in that boiler. The Carlin OEM Spec Guide has a listing for it. We do these conversions all the time.

That Peerless boiler will last a long time if you take care of it. I wouldn't even think about tearing out the steam. You will, however, need a good Steam Man to work on it who also knows these burners. Try the Find a Contractor page of this site- link is near the top of this page.

jesmed1

@jimspyro Good luck with your conversion. I'm in the Boston area and have been looking into doing the same conversion. Be aware that your chimney may need a stainless steel metal liner for the conversion. We just had a chimney sweep look at our masonry chimney with original terra-cotta liner and were advised that a new metal liner would be needed for us to convert from oil to gas. And our town building inspector relies on what the chimney sweep says, so the requirement for a new liner would be enforced by our town building department. So be sure to check with your local inspector on that.

The other issue I ran into is difficulty getting any contractor who would do the conversion in our area. Everyone wants to sell new boilers, but no one would touch the gas conversion. I don't know why. Several pros on this site have said they've done such conversions many times. Unfortunately none of them live near us.

Mad Dog_2

Absolutely Jim...its done all the time. You can do that with a Wet based boiler.  I'm on the Nassau Queens Line. I know you're probably disgusted with Fuel oil, but you do have a great set up there...Peerless with a Riello....A good tank will last 6 or more decades.  Shoot me a DM and we can discuss it deeper if you'd like.  Mad Dog 🐕 

jimspyro

@jesmed1,
Thank you. Yes this has been my experience as well. Everyone wants to sell me a new boiler. I've found it easier to just buy all the parts, and ask for someone to come do the install. I was just not sure what gas burner would be compatible, and if it would be hot enough. I'm a bit hesitant on doing the chimney liner. The chimney is ill-maintained, and I'm afraid it will open up a can of worms if someone tries to touch it. One of the reasons I wanted to eventually go for the condensing unit. I'm just trying to keep my costs down, since it will only be for one season, and not looking to sink money into something that will be abandoned in a few months.

jimspyro

@Mad Dog_2 @Steamhead Thank you for your replies

jesmed1

jimspyro said:

@jesmed1,
Thank you. Yes this has been my experience as well. Everyone wants to sell me a new boiler. I've found it easier to just buy all the parts, and ask for someone to come do the install. I was just not sure what gas burner would be compatible, and if it would be hot enough. I'm a bit hesitant on doing the chimney liner. The chimney is ill-maintained, and I'm afraid it will open up a can of worms if someone tries to touch it. One of the reasons I wanted to eventually go for the condensing unit. I'm just trying to keep my costs down, since it will only be for one season, and not looking to sink money into something that will be abandoned in a few months.

Then I'm not sure this is worth doing if it's only for one season. Have you done the math? We burn 1200 gallons of oil per year at a cost of around $5,000, and converting to natural gas would only save us about $1,200-$1,500 per season. I can't imagine you'll save much more than that in one season.

Look up the cost of a Carlin EZ gas conversion burner, and then multiply it by a factor of 3 or more to get the cost of what your contractor will charge you to install it, if you can even find one.

Also, a reputable installer will want to follow code, and code in your area likely says you will need a liner.

ethicalpaul

Honestly you probably need the liner regardless. Keep the boiler, keep the steam, get the gas burner. And get a standalone gas water heater (or a heat pump one with possible utility/state credits). You don't want to have to keep that boiler hot all summer.

jimspyro

@Steamhead
Thank you for the info. I checked out that Carlin OEM Spec Guide site you mentioned. I'm not 100% clear on how to find my specific model though. The sticker on the boiler says Peerless EC/ECT-03-W/S, however on the site I'm not seeing the "W/S" part on their site. I'm guessing that stands for something.

Can you tell from the following pictures?



On Carlin's site the only things that change between the models are:
Input MBH: 105 / 140 / 168/150
Natural Gas Orifice: 7/32 / 1/4 / 17/64
Air Setting: 30% / 42% / 65%

So, it would seem to me that they are all "compatible" with my boiler, but just have different MBH, and would need a different gas line pipe diameter for their hook-up. Did I understand that correctly? It's the 10" pipe that matters only?

I found this on supplyhouse:
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Carlin-Combustion-9859210FRU-50000-275000-BTU-EZ-Gas-Pro-Conversion-Burner-w-10-Air-Tube
Is that what I'm looking for that would work with my system?

ethicalpaul

I believe W/S just stands for "Water/Steam", meaning that boiler can do either

jimspyro

@ethicalpaul lol... I should have thought of that. Thanks!

jimspyro

jesmed1 said:

jimspyro said:

@jesmed1,
Thank you. Yes this has been my experience as well. Everyone wants to sell me a new boiler. I've found it easier to just buy all the parts, and ask for someone to come do the install. I was just not sure what gas burner would be compatible, and if it would be hot enough. I'm a bit hesitant on doing the chimney liner. The chimney is ill-maintained, and I'm afraid it will open up a can of worms if someone tries to touch it. One of the reasons I wanted to eventually go for the condensing unit. I'm just trying to keep my costs down, since it will only be for one season, and not looking to sink money into something that will be abandoned in a few months.

Then I'm not sure this is worth doing if it's only for one season. Have you done the math? We burn 1200 gallons of oil per year at a cost of around $5,000, and converting to natural gas would only save us about $1,200-$1,500 per season. I can't imagine you'll save much more than that in one season.

Look up the cost of a Carlin EZ gas conversion burner, and then multiply it by a factor of 3 or more to get the cost of what your contractor will charge you to install it, if you can even find one.

Also, a reputable installer will want to follow code, and code in your area likely says you will need a liner.

Yeah, I'm getting quotes for the liner.
The EZ Gas Pro burner is listed on supplyhouse.
Its my understanding that I'll also need certain safety switches, like a thermal and gas spillage,

The gas line is already run to the boiler, so I'm hoping the installation cost for the hookup from the plumber will be minimal. If I can keep this as close to $ as possible, then I think it will be worth it, and will probably break even with the oil considering I'd need to buy a new tank and have that installed. I really just want to avoid putting oil in the basement again.

Steamhead

@jimspyro , we do NOT discuss pricing on this site. Please edit the prices out of your post. See:

https://heatinghelp.com/forum-user-manual

nde

Riello makes a gas burner, GS 40 series that pairs well with Peerless or WM wet base boilers. Very reliable but a bit loud.

jimspyro

Steamhead said:

@jimspyro , we do NOT discuss pricing on this site. Please edit the prices out of your post. See:

https://heatinghelp.com/forum-user-manual

fixed, apologies

jimspyro

nde said:

Riello makes a gas burner, GS 40 series that pairs well with Peerless or WM wet base boilers. Very reliable but a bit loud.

Thank you, I'll look into that.