Oil to electric help

Hailey · April 18

hello I am looking for some advice and some help. We bought our home in 2011 and there was a new boiler at the time of purchase . We have a coil that needs to be replaced for $1300 and now it’s a 13-year-old boiler( and a crappy one from what I understand from our heating guy Slant Fin)I also need a new oil tank because that was original to the home and it’s very old and starting to leak. However, here’s the catch we used two pellet stoves to heat our entire 4000 square-foot home. The only reason we’ve kept the boiler running is to heat water and to heat one zone that is closed off from the stove so that the lines don’t freeze during our winters. Here’s where I need help …we’ve come to a point where i have a huge amount of money that needs to be thrown at this heating system to at the moment. We don’t use this heating system for what it’s intended. How do we convert over to some type of maybe electric system? One idea is just putting an electric water heater in. Cutting off all of the oil supply and basically installing a hardwired electric heater in the zone that needs extra heating in the winter. Can someone please throw in ideas here for us? I know it’s kind of complicated but at the same time pretty straightforward thanks so much.

LRCCBJ · April 18

The electric solution is the most economical based upon installation cost.

However, you ought to take a close look at your cost of electric before you make a long term decision. Usually, it's not an issue for heating only hot water. The usage is not sufficient to matter in the decision.

Another factor to consider is resale value. You may not need a proper heating system but the potential future purchaser is going to discount the value of the house by the fact that it has no proper heating system. This may or may not matter depending on your situation.

Also note that a 13 year old boiler is not typically in need of replacement. The comment that SlantFin is "crappy" is probably incorrect. How about some photos of the "crappy" Slant Fin…………….

Hot_water_fan · April 18

You can swap in an electric tank and install an electric baseboard in the room easily. That’s straightforward.

The rest of the house becomes complicated. You can exclusively use the pellet stoves there. You could also try to replace the forced hot water system with an air to water heat pump or an air to air heat pump. Or decide to replace with electric baseboards. All have their own pros and cons, but to your initial domestic hot water + one zone question, that’s easy.

Hailey · April 18

Jamie Hall · April 18

First things first. There's nothing wrong with that boiler as a class. Whether that particular one or not has problems depends mostly on how well it has been maintained, but it should last for a number of years.

The salesman who referred to it as "crappy" is just that. A salesman. Try to find someone who is actually a decent boiler technician to take a look at it.

Now. On alternate heat. The comment on resale value for the house above is correct — but incomplete. Without a functioning automatic heating system you may not be able to sell the house at all, and the purchaser won't be able to get a certificate of occupancy, a mortgage and, possibly homeowner's insurance. This varies with jurisdiction, but most areas do require that. A pellet stove simply won't do it. If this is your forever home, that may not be a problem.

Now for replacing the boiler. As I note, there's likely nothing wrong with it that maintenance won't fix — cheaply. This means that any replacement is going to be pure cash out the door, and a lot of it, and must be considered for other reasons. It will not save you money.

Depending on where you live, various options are available. If electric rates are reasonable in your area — say $.10 to #.15 — a heat pump, either minisplit or ducted or possibly even air to water, may be a very good option. Electric baseboards, while cheap to install, are expensive to run. And an electric water heater, while good for heating domestic hot water, is not meant for space heating and would be a very poor choice.

mattmia2 · April 18

Is the tankless coil leaking or just the gasket for the coil? If the coil is leaking the boiler will slowly gain pressure as the domestic water leaks in.

If it is just the gasket, someone competent should be able to replace that inexpensively and easily. retorque the bolts after a year or so and it won't start leaking like that gasket did.

Might be cheaper to fix it/blank it off and go to an electric water heater if you have the electric service for it because heating the boiler all summer just to make hot water is pretty inefficient.

As far as the space heating, do you have gas in the house? A gas power burner on that boiler might be better than replacing the oil tank if you have gas available.

Steamhead · April 18

@mattmia2 said "As far as the space heating, do you have gas in the house? A gas power burner on that boiler might be better than replacing the oil tank if you have gas available."

This. I can tell you the Intrepid boilers run nicely with Carlin EZ-Gas or Midco EC burners, properly tuned of course.

Hailey · April 18

No gas lines to the house or in this part of town where I live. Boiler has been maintained yearly by the same service person who gave us the quote today for the coil.

pecmsg · April 18

the same person that says he doesn’t like them, that doesn’t put up a few red flags?

Mad Dog_2 · April 18

Slant Fin got a bad wrap because The Big Orange Box store carried them. All things aside, Slant Fins were perfectly good boilers. Mad Dog

pecmsg · April 18

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1852816#Comment_1852816

keep the oil.
Get heat pumps for the mild weather.

Kaos · 1:11AM

A couple of things we need to figure out. First is your heat load. Roughly how many Therms of pellets you are burning in your stove and how efficient are they?

What is your local electricity cost? How big is the existing service? Do you have any big electrical loads like a pool / hot-tub or EV charger?

Insurance company will want a thermostat controlled heat source, so if you replace the boiler with an electric unit, it needs to be able to heat the whole place. This can usually be done if your heat loss is reasonable and you have the capacity on your panel.

EdTheHeaterMan · 2:14AM

There have been some interesting things mentioned here.

Why does the coil need to be replaced? describe the symptoms that you are experiencing that lead to the decision by the servicing company to recommend that repair.
1. The coil has an internal leak and is causing the relief valve on the boiler to release water on a regular basis
2. There is nothing wrong with the coil and that little bit of crust around the gasket is the reason you need to address the coil. (not a good reason to replace the coil)
3. You asked about the crusty build up around the gasket and the technician took that as an opportunity to sell you something
Can you replace the oil tank with a propane tank?
1. They usually are offered for free when you sign up with the propane company, but the propane will cost more per gallon.
2. You can purchase a larger propane tank and have it buried or above ground. When you own your tank you can shop for the best propane prices or sign up with a propane company for automatic delivery. Then you can install a Midco power burner in that SlantFin boiler. I have worked on several boilers like yours in my career and have known them to last for well over 30 years.
You can abandon the tankless coil if it is truly defective and put those $$$ towards a more efficient water heating source, like an indirect that runs off of the boiler (but uses much less fuel) or a stand alone propane water heater (since you have a new propane tank)
You can abandon the entire boiler and radiator system and install a new 250 AMP electric service to accommodate electric baseboard radiators that will qualify as a central heating system for mortgage, resale value, and insurance purposes, even if you never use them, because you are using less expensive pellets.
1. But don’t get injured or old while you are living in that home with all electric heat. If you are no longer able to do the pellet thing as a result of being 90 years old or are hurt in a car accident.
2. Make sure that your son never moves out of the house if #4a. happens. then he can keep feeding the pellet stoves

I have been repairing and installing all kinds of HVAC systems my entire adult life. I never thought about what might happen if I were stuck in a wheelchair (like I am now). So I had to sell my business and retire, move to another state where the cost of living is much lower, and I have a heat pump that is about the worst heating system I have ever lived with. But that won't happen to you so make your decision as if nothing will ever go wrong with your life. That’s my advice. (NOT!)

Hailey · 2:39AM

@EdTheHeaterMan

a. It’s leaking water

We literally keep this whole thing going just to heat one zone so it doesn’t freeze and of course it froze when we lost power 🤪 which is when we think air got in the line and caused this mess. Propane is an option.

Jamie Hall · 12:26PM

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1852860#Comment_1852860

Got that. Bu7tn that's vague. Is it really @EdTheHeaterMan 's 1.a.? If it is, the best and easiest option is to simply stop using the boiler for domestic hot water, cap the lines going to the coil, and install a conventional electric water heater.

This is something even the dimmest plumber should be able to do in an afternoon…

Oil to electric help

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