Converting Oil to Natural Gas

[cluelyss18]

HELP!!!
Oil company came to check our tanks and sure enough, we would be pressing our luck using these tanks this year. So our option was to purchase new oil tanks....OR for the same amount convert to Natural gas for heating and hot water and potentially save money in the long run.
Has anyone done this??
We have a natural gas line currently going into the house for the fireplace, so it would just mean getting a new boiler, and maybe a water tank, then the conversion and piping.
If you have had this done, what was the cost? What is the size of your house?
Also, not sure if this makes a difference, but we have forced steam heat in those big ol' radiators.
Thanks for any suggestions or input.

 

[donac]

We got a new furnace last year but we were just replacing a gas boiler with a gas boiler. We did save a lot of money each month because of the better efficiency. Depending how old the old boiler is you might be saving a lot of money that it would make it worth it.

 

[dward1961]

My daughter lives in RI and just did this last month, she also had gas going into the house for cooking only. It did cost $5000. for the complete job, including removal of the old oil tank and oil boiler, her house is a 1196 ft cape.

 

[thomas998]

My daughter lives in RI and just did this last month, she also had gas going into the house for cooking only. It did cost $5000. for the complete job, including removal of the old oil tank and oil boiler, her house is a 1196 ft cape.

Why not go to central heat and ditch the boilers completely? For less than $5000 you could have installed a central heat unit and also air conditioner. What am I missing here... My only memories of steam heat was that it was hard to really control it and you often got burned bumping into those huge iron radiators.

 

[Frannie115]

I would switch to natural gas. Wish we could. We're on propane now and it gets expensive. Electric heat just blows out cool air. The ones I've experienced, anyway.

Hoping for that natural gas line to come down our street soon

 

[Gigi22]

We switched from oil to natural gas about 20 years ago, so I am sure anything I could tell you about pricing would be hopelessly out of date. Because gas is a lot cheaper than oil in our area we recovered our costs in about 8-10 years. You might want to ask your local utility how quickly you could expect to recover your conversion costs.
I highly recommend purchasing the most high efficiency gas furnace you can.
In addition, we were able to get rid of our old oil tank, so there is more space in our basement. As well, with the smaller more efficient furnace, there is a space savings there too.
Make sure your installers will take your old oil tank and furnace parts away as part of their contract--you don't want to get stuck with their disposal.

 

[cluelyss18]

Why not go to central heat and ditch the boilers completely? For less than $5000 you could have installed a central heat unit and also air conditioner. What am I missing here... My only memories of steam heat was that it was hard to really control it and you often got burned bumping into those huge iron radiators.

I'm sorry but I'm not sure I know what you're speaking of. Central heat? I know what central air is, my parents have it. But if I'm thinking of this right, that would mean changing the whole system and removing the old radiators. I'm guess that is going to be way out of our price range/budget, we both work for the local pd, and shockingly we don't make a bunch.
I am open to any and all ideas, I may be way off thinking it's expensive..

 

[NotUrsula]

Why not go to central heat and ditch the boilers completely? For less than $5000 you could have installed a central heat unit and also air conditioner. What am I missing here... My only memories of steam heat was that it was hard to really control it and you often got burned bumping into those huge iron radiators.

Ductwork. That's what you are probably missing. The labor cost to install it can be quite high in an old multistory home, and homes with radiator heat don't need it.

Yes, $5K will usually buy you a furnace and a compressor unit and the labor to install them both and haul your old units away, but very seldom will it also buy you the installation of the ductwork. At bottom that would probably run $1500, and if the house is masonry it might be a whole lot more. My house is only 1000 sq. ft., but it is 2 stories plus a basement and easily has 60 feet of ductwork. At between $35-$50 a linear foot to install, it can add up.

Radiated heat is actually normally more effective than forced air in terms of getting a room warm, but very few people use forced air cooling in tandem with radiators.

OP, have a load calculation done on your home, and compare the efficiency of the new system with the old. It may be that you will recoup your investment fairly quickly via a reduction in your heating costs.