Oil Burner Conversion

Steamhead

oil is cheapest per BTU in most areas. Natural gas is next, and propane is by far the most expensive. It's possible to replace the oil burner in an oil-fired boiler with a gas burner, but why do this if you'll pay more per BTU?

Now if you have an older oil burner in a boiler that is fairly well designed and in good shape, it would pay to replace it with a high-efficiency oil burner (and a new firing chamber if needed). Results may vary but you can reasonably expect to reduce your oil consumption by 15-25% if you do this.

Tell us more about the equipment you have- make and model of your boiler (or furnace if it's a scorched-air system) and those of the burner also. Take some pics and post them here if you can- it's really easy if you have a digital camera.

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John_34

Can an oil fired burner.....

be converted to propane or natural gas? If conversion is possible, what would a ballpark figure be to have this done? Is propane generally less expensive to heat with than oil?

John_34

Thanks Steamhead!

My question is concerning a house that my parents are buying, but they don't close the deal until next month so I don't have access to get pics or model info. I do know that it's a burnham boiler, fairly newer because it looks the same as our boiler which was installed new about 2 years ago. My father seems to think propane would be better, he's moving here (PA) from MN.

Steamhead

If it's that new and is well taken care of

it will run very nicely and efficiently. As you're probably aware, Burnham makes a great boiler, and it will already have a high-efficiency burner. Just make sure the annual service is done by a tech who knows his business.

Another problem with propane is that it's heavier than air, and can collect on the basement floor and be ignited. This is another reason I prefer oil to propane.

It would be well to look over (or have a pro look over) the system (not just the boiler) to see if it's in good shape and not losing efficiency between the boiler and the rooms. This is especially true of steam systems, on which some simple upgrades can save lots of fuel and increase comfort levels.

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John_34

A couple more questions

Thanks for your help steamhead, I just have a couple more questions/comments:
-The system seems to be set up pretty nice, every room in the house is zoned with it's own thermostat! Just last year I added a quite a few radiators to our system and split it into two zones, one for each floor. When I saw this place, with each room zoned, I was green with envy!
-Although it has a newer boiler, they didn't replace the old fashioned expansion tank with a new bladder-type. Generally speaking do you think this upgrade should be done?

Steamhead

Not necessarily

If the plain steel tank is connected to the air separator, system air will be routed into the tank so it won't lose its air cushion. I have a bunch of systems out there piped this way- they work great.

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John_34

Okay

Thanks again steamhead!

The Kid

Burnham boiler

Just a word of advice, If the house your parents are buying has a Burnham V-73,74 series (hydronic boiler) make sure you check the casting in each section under the clean out plates. Burnham if they haven't publicly mentioned it yet there is defects in this v7 series boiler. The company I work for installs only Burnham and I have replaced dozens under warranty.Also if it's steam boiler pull the flue pipe and check the flue passage ways for cracks as well...