Heating Help

oil/gas

hi ,,hope you can help me out,im doing a renovation soon and was thinking about switching over to gas.currently we have an american standard boiler bless her heart she is 50 and still running.my oil bills are quite high but that is down to a leaky house,drafts everywhere and a 89 yr old grandma downstairs.im not opposed to keeping oil,but the gas company is giving some good deals on burnham boilers.im changing the boiler anyway,do you think i should stay with oil or does it pay do go with gas.thanks in advance. y i aconversion soo

Make sure it's done right

Right now natural gas is cheaper than oil (in Boston the gas costs about $2.70 for the equivalent BTU output as a gallon of oil). The gas company claims the cost is a lot less but they are telling lies. If you call right now they will give you the summer rates which are a lot lower than winter rates and they don't mention the delivery charges or the various fees that end up on the bill.

Nobody knows what the cost will be in five years but gas will probably still be less. Just make sure to get the new boiler installed by someone who will do the job right; a cheap install will not look so good when you end up with high fuel bills and an uncomfortable house. If it is a steam system it is absolutely critical that the boiler is properly sized to the system load and that the piping be per the manufacturers piping diagram. There has been some talk of premature atmospheric boiler failure here, if you go to gas you might want to consider a gas power burner.

A new boiler could last 30 years if it's done correctly, make sure its a happy 30 years by doing it right from the start. Also tighten up the house as best you can so you don't heat the neiborhood.

Bob

oil/gas

thanks bob,im a plumber in nyc.we do a lot of conversions,but the fact for me is i cant afford a budures etc.i dont have a gas line in the house.my boss is telling me to convert,i think though with proper insulation etc i dont really need it.everyone in ther house is happy with electric stoves and dryer.i was looking at the burnham mpo/iq and she looks like a beauty.i will be running 4 zones and a radiant zone so im not convinced about changing just for the sake of it.thanks again,also i hear there is a lot of hidden fees with the gas company r

Reality

I know what it's like, we'd all love state of the art equipment but we have to deal with what is possible after looking at the old checking account.

You should see a substantial increase in efficiency with new equipment over your old American Standard boiler

When my 15 yr old Burnham v75 dies I'll probably go over to the dark side (gas) because I'd be looking at replacing the tank as well as the boiler and I figure not having to install a new tank will probably equal the cost of getting a chimney liner installed for gas. I'm retired now so I don't see much of a payback for anything fancy. Maybe by then the Megasteam will be available for gas.

Bob

oil/gas

my tank is in good condition.my bill though is 370 per month 12 months a year.im going to call my oil company tomorrow and see what they can do.i just took over the house so with a renovation again i think i can knock that bill down a bit.i have been told on this board to watch out for these incentives the gas company offers,nothing is free.thanks again for your help

If this is a hot-water system

rather than steam, make sure you use outdoor reset (ODR). That's a fuel saver with ANY boiler.

The MPO-IQ has a well thought out control system that uses snap-in cards. You can get an ODR card as well as a low-water cutoff card, both of which I would use. And it's very quiet when running. So put it on your short list.

oil/gas

thanks steamhead,that is actually the boiler i was looking at,now you have convinced me on it.thats it im sticking with oil and using that boiler and all the controls you sugges ted.id be lost without this site.im looking forward to seeing dan at his astoria class in hydronics