propane or oil??

Steve Ebels

Let's talk about the two fuels first.

Oil: more btu's for your dollar, stinky when it leaks, won't disassemble your house if you have a leak, less latent heat lost to condensate, typically easier to change suppliers if you wish. Low sulfer fuel oil burns very clean with little if any residue.

LP: stinks when it leaks, 35-40% less heat content per gallon, will move you and your house into the next county in little tiny pieces if it's not kept where it belongs, you can burn it in your dryer, and stove, more choice of sidewall vented appliances.

Those are the basics.

Around my neck of the woods, fuel oil gets a bad name mostly from poor equipment, poor techs and poor maintenance. Get a good burner, properly tuned and you can plan on long and clean service.

Get a Roth double wall tank and set it in your basement for the least problems.

Dave_13

What's the consensus on oil or propane? I know oil has the higher BTU value, but what about life expectancy, maintenance and cleanliness? I don't have a chimney- so I'm assuming that would also limit my options. Can the oil tank be buried or is it better to keep above ground? I'm undecided on which fuel to use for a radiant/DHW project. Thanks.

Mike Norgan_3

Oil

My Choice would be oil, More bang for your buck.

Mike

hot_rod

Depends on your needs

Just heating and DHW? If cooking and clothes drying, possible a fireplace log, then LP may be best. What is available in your area. How many oil dealers in the phone book? How many LP? In my area there is one oil dealer and about 20 LP dealers in the yellow pages. This makes the decision easier

If you go LP buy your own tank. This allows you to buy LP from any supplier. Around here most people opt to pre-buy in the fall and lock into a price for the season. About $.99 per gallon currently. They do have direct burial LP tanks, check with codes in your area.

All fuels have a risk factor. Rarely a problem if installed and maintained by a qualified pro.

hot rod

Dave_13

There are quite a few suppliers of each. I guess I need to check pricing for each. I have heard horror stories about each:

Oil-Stinky,messy and harder to maintain.
LP- Boom!!!!!!

If I had LP I would use it on my dryer and possibly stove. I plan on a Indirect for hot water, so that's not an issue.