Is converting from oil to propane a bunch of BS?

dmal118

I have an old boiler that may need replacement soon, I'll probably just run it into the ground but was getting some quotes on switching to propane. I currently have a 250 gallon propane tank for a generator and cooking needs. My home heating is through oil. I was quoted about 20k give or take to replace the oil burner, oil tanks, hot water heater. To convert to propane was around 35k. Anyone have any experience going down this route? I have a 3,000 house current cost of propane vs oil in my area is around 2.60 for propane vs 3.20ish for oil. Seems like a ton of additional money to pay to convert but would love to hear from some people on this.

EBEBRATT-Ed

When you compare oil to propane oil has 140,000 btu/ gallon. Propane is about 94000 btu/gallon. Efficiency wise there about the same about 84% for oil 82% for propane. With propane you can use a MOD CON boiler which costs more but can modulate the flame and condense water from the flue gas to gain efficiency so a few options to look at.

No prices we can't talk prices on this forum. Round #s like 20k, 10k are ok.

WMno57

We can't talk labor prices here. Site rules. Please edit your post to remove those prices. We can talk fuel prices.
That said, since you already have a 250 gallon propane tank, what's the difference between a new oil boiler and a new propane boiler? Not much. Ask the contractors who gave you your current quotes to explain them.
I suggest you get another quote from another contractor.
Please try the HeatingHelp find a contractor tool.
https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/
One gallon of propane and one gallon of oil contain different amounts of BTUs. Do your operating cost comparison on cost per BTU, not gallon.

WMno57

Steam or Hot water?
If Steam, all boilers are about the same efficiency. So then you can make your decision on other factors.
As Ed mentioned, with hot water heat, a propane mod con can get higher efficiencies than an oil boiler. But don't make your decision on that alone.

jumper

Is there an option to use an NG boiler by means of a gizmo that blends propane upstream of the boiler? Isn't an oil burner more expensive on account of pump & blower?

Jamie Hall

Based on your fuel cost prices, @dmal118 , propane will cost you about 16% more than oil to heat your house. You'll never recover that on efficiency. Stick with oil.

pecmsg

Punch the #'s in.

https://coalpail.com/fuel-comparison-calculator-home-heating

I think you'll find oil to be cheaper.

EdTheHeaterMan

I offered a price to someone that wanted to do the same thing you are asking about. I also explained the difference in the BTU content of the fuel and how the very High Efficiency Gas boilers are more expensive than the conventional gas boilers.

Of course, My words from 25+ year experience (at the time) went in one ear and out the other. I installed an EK oil fired boiler for his neighbor and they saved lots of money on lower oil consumption. When I asked him about his savings with LP Gas using the conventional boiler (not the expensive Modulating Condensing technology boilers that would lower his cost) and he was not real happy with the question and said everything was "just fine". (I know what "Fine" means when my wife used to say it)

My customer (his neighbor) said that after they installed the new conventional boiler, the propane truck is there every other week and that the service tech was there adjusting the boiler "Efficiency" after each delivery (as many as 5 times). My guess is that the boiler is using too much propane in this customers opinion. Costing more that the oil used to cost.

So think about spending 20K to get a boiler with a similar fuel bill, then think of paying 35K to get a lower bill. You get what you pay for. EK boilers may have higher price going in but will save on operating cost in the end. Like LP boilers at 20K might end up costing more to operate while the 35K boiler will end up with a lower operating cost.

I hope these general prices for low cost v. high efficiency jobs are general enough to not violate the "Don't Talk Price" guidelines of this sight.

EdTheHeaterMan

I just ran the numbers: Based on your prices, 2.60 LP/Gal and 3.20 No.2 oil/Gal
One dollar will purchase you about 35,000 BTU with LP Gas
One dollar will purchase you about 43,000 BTU with Oil
Based on the AFUE rating alone of a heating appliance
LP boiler with 96% AFUE rating will convert a dollar of energy to 33,900 usable energy
Oil boiler with 84.5% AFUE rating will convert a dollar of energy to 36,900 usable energy.
(pretty close this time of year)

So on those numbers alone your more expensive job will yield you a lower net heat per dollar. in other words: a higher cost to heat your home with the "higher install cost LP system".

There are other factors that go into calculating efficiency and end results. You may be more comfortable at a lower temperature with the better equipment as a result of temperature swing from on off cycles, and the fact that the LP boiler has less on/off cycles that result in inefficient operation. But the bottom line is that the extra 15K for the "Better Equipment" is not worth it when you compare those two jobs specifically.

But if you are comparing a 80% AFUE boiler of the same fuel as the more efficient boiler of the same fuel, then there may be some advantages to the better, higher priced job.

Each choice must be based on the location and the prices of the job and of the fuel cost at the time you make your decision. There is no standard answer (like: Gas is cheaper than Oil) that applies to ALL situations.