oil to GAS

[gregm]

My money pit of a house has had some major expenses the last few years. New roof, new front porch and footing(s). And now most recently a brand new steam boiler and hot water heater. I just converted to gas and no longer am using oil which is a dominant heating source in the northeast US. There was an existing natural gas line coming into the street from the house so I was able to utilize that. The gas is SO MUCH QUIETER !!!! To follow are a few pics of the old to the new... ... first pic here is the old oil boiler which was installed in 1986. (when the previous owner converted from gas to oil)

 

[gregm]

oil boiler disconnected ...

You can see to the right, the new hot water tank in place, and now here is a pic of the old boiler disconnected ready to be taken apart and removed.

 

[gregm]

new gas boiler ...

Here are some pics of the new gas boiler with freshly painted floor in the basement as well ...

 

[gregm]

new (2)

another shot, ... ... (ITS SO QUIET !!! !!!) although if it explodes I guess that wouldn't be quiet but hopefully I won't be home or I will be sound asleep and won't notice a thing, hahahahahahahahah

 

[gregm]

new (3)

another shot of both the new boiler and new hot water heater ... ...

 

[gregm]

shot 4

from a distance, new painted floor, basement hasn't look this clean and good since I bought the house four years ago... ...

 

[gregm]

last shot ...

last distance shot from other side ... ... I am so glad I converted to gas !! I can't wait to get a gas dryer and gas stove in the kitchen !! AND, if lose power, I still have hot water !! thats comforting considering the horrific ice storm we had here back in mid DEC '08 which they are still cleaning up from.

 

[polkanut]

And you won't get the soot build-up in the chimney like you do with oil. If you can, sign up for your utility's budget plan, it will save you quite a bit of money in the long run.

 

[gregm]

oops !

OH and in my first Post# 357309-6/15/2009-21:54 I meant to say coming into the house from the street, instead of vice-versa, you all probably got that, LOL !! pppheeew, I am tired and BROKE !!

 

[rickr]

The basement looks great Greg! Oil is more costly than gas, plus gas burns cleaner also.

Hope you save a ton on energy costs next winter!

 

[toggleswitch2]

Great job. Looks like your energy guide tells us its the most energy-efficient unit in its class.

Looks like a manual water fill; is it? I had the electric/automatic fill put on mine.

Hope it saves you money and is reliable for decades to come!

If I may make a suggestion. Please consider geting a gas-fired gravity warm-air console/room heater (vented) for the basment that will proivide heat during a blackout. Has a pilot light and is complelty non-electric. May or may not have a milli-volt wall-mounted thermostat.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Oil is more costly than gas, plus gas burns cleaner also.

Not here. Oil is dirtier and dirtier fuels are usually less expensive.

 

[toggleswitch2]

....and with natural gas one's own electrical generator is possible too!

Vintage gas cooker or a modern one?

 

[gregm]

toggle !!

yes, toggle, I did look into a "non-electric" heater as a backup if I lose power. Thanks for the good point. Thanks Rick !! and yes, polkanut, gas does burn A LOT cleaner and am grateful for the benefits of that as well !! Here I have attached a pic of the ice storm damage down the street from last DEC. Many people were without power for a week to two weeks in central and north central MAss. They literally just finished sweeping my street today of debris.

 

[qsd-dan]

Not here. Oil is dirtier and dirtier fuels are usually less

Yep, my buddy paid a lot less in oil than I did in gas last winter.

 

[neptunebob]

One safety note...

Hopefully, your contractor should have thoroughly cleaned out the chimney before the switch to gas. I read an article where a family was nearly poisoned by carbon monoxide after a gas conversion because all of the soot from the oil burning fell off the inside of the chimney, blocking off the exhaust flue. Also, do they make boilers that are hi efficiency and vent out the side?

 

[gregm]

chimney ... ...

The chimney was cleaned and actually the guy commented on how surprisingly clean it was. I seem to have a naturally strong draft in the chimney as well. I have installed carbon monoxide detectors as well. Between my own research and being told that with a "steam" boiler you really can't expect to get more than 83-85% efficiency simply because you are heating water to the boiling point whereas in most forced hot water systems you are only heating the water to somewhere between 160 and 180 degrees. In that case those boilers tend to rate with a 90% or slightly higher efficiency rating.

 

[a440]

Looks Awesome!

Greg,
You basement looks awesome!
Was your old steam boiler giving you problems? Or you just sick of the high prices?
I love the new system! Looks Tough.....like you bad boy.
You basement looks great!
Thanks for the pictures.
Brent

 

[whirlcool]

I remember my parents house had this humongous "Iron Fireman" furnace in the basement. It took up a ton of space down there. It was oil fired. Eventually they converted it to gas.

Then about 10 years later it needed replacing. The furnace they bought was a rather small box that just hung on the wall next to the hot water heater. It made almost no noise at all and freed up a LOT of space in the basement.