gas to oil burner conversion

Dick Charland

Pretty much in agreement with what has been said above, one other issue may be the burner itself. The Riello can tend to have a longer flame and you need to pay attention to the depth of the combustion chamber. There should be a chart in instructions. Too short a chamber and you will be making a lot of CO.

ozone357

gas to oil burner conversion

I'm thinking about taking out of my beckett burner and replacing it with riello 40 120 gas burner in my weil mclain go3. I know that oil has more btus but I can get propane for alot cheaper than oil. Any advise.

Leo

Have you checked

You say you can get propane cheaper, have you compared the cost BTU to BTU? In my area a lot of companies install gas but don't service it when needed so check that in your area also. One last thing is the savings great enough to justify leaving your present oil/service company if you have gotten good service? Just a few things to consider.

Leo

Joe Grosso

Burner

That would be a bad move.

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scrook_2

propane vs oil costs

propane's about 91,500 BTU/gal vs 140,000 BTU/gal for #2 oil, so multiply the propane price by about 1 1/2 times(1.53) to get an equiv oil price. Say oil's $2.40/gal, propane needs to be less than $1.60/gal to be competitive on a BTU to BTU basis, probably much less than that if you want to recover the cost of change over, unless your replacing your heating system anyway and are compemplating a fuel change as part of the process.

Look too at efficiencies, non-condensing gas will be a bit less than oil, especially in a boiler designed for oil, so maybe 1.55 or 1.6 is a better multiplier for the propane price.

scrook_2

propane vs oil costs

Propane's about 91,500 BTU/gal vs about 139,000 BTU/gal for #2 oil, (and about 100,000 BTU per 100 cu ft of natural gas) so multiply the propane price by about 1 1/2 times (1.52) to get an equiv oil price. Say oil's $2.40/gal, propane needs to be less than $1.60/gal to be competitive on a BTU to BTU basis, probably *much* less than that if you want to eventually recover the cost of changeover (burner purchase & install, oil tank and fill/vent plumbing removal & disposal, etc.

Look too at efficiencies, non-condensing gas will be a bit less than oil, especially in a boiler designed for oil, so maybe 1.55 or 1.60 is a better multiplier for the propane price.

Your money's likely much better spent increasing the insulation in or reducing air infiltration into the structure.

Joe Brix

Remmber to read install manual

In the warning sections you might see that the boiler was designed for oil firing only! Sure there's a power burner out there that you can make work but this still technically voids any warranty.

Ken D.

Conversion

Actually, Propane is made out of the same petroleum stuff as fuel oil. Comparing btu to btu, apples to apples, the price is about the same. Propane in a condensing furnace or boiler is, however, more efficient than oil.

Steamhead (in transit)

You must live

in an area with real low propane prices, or real high oil prices, or both. Around here oil is cheapest per BTU, and propane is almost non-competitive.

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Mike E_2

Here in SE Wisconsin, propane is $1.39/gal, oil is 2.22/gal, and natural is 1.37/therm.

So for 100,000 BTU of usable heat:

Propane @95% - $1.60

Oil @85% - $1.86

Natual @95% - $1.44

Michael

Big Ed

Taxes

Don't forget to add in all taxes and surcharges. Most posted prices tend to delete them until you get the bill...


Safety is another concern.Propane scares the geebees out of me... It will creep and pool waiting for a spark...

scrook_2

except...

He's not going to get 95% out of a propane (or NG) conversion burner in a boiler designed for oil (or in a *non-condensing* gas boiler for that matter) but only low 80%, so beware of that gotcha.

OTOH, gas can also be used for dryers, ranges/cooktops, grills, etc. too -- just be *extra* careful if it's LP as it sinks to the floor of cellars and crawl spaces if there's a leak, unlike NG which'll rise and dissipate easier.

In the end, it's as Dan says: "It depends!"