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Old 01-05-2014, 08:34 AM
 
3 posts, read 2,714 times
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We bought a home in Westchester with 1800 sqft a year ago. I keep the house at about 65F because my wife and myself feel comfortable at this temperature. Between December 2012 and December 2013 we used about 800 gallons of oil. The house is moderately insulated (newer windows and doors, insulated Attic)
We have natural gas in the house and I am thinking about converting our heating system by swapping the burner to gas. There is not a lot of plumbing to do since the gas meter is about 10 feet from the furnace. The proposals I got from the plumber seems ridiculous to me, they want $8K. I have no plans to sell the house in next 5 years, but I still wonder is this all worth it? Is the price they offered us reasonable? What savings can I expect? Questions, questions....
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Old 01-05-2014, 09:41 AM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,670 posts, read 29,556,070 times
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1. Will save you money on an annual basis.
2. Will make it much easier to sell the house.
3. Get more bids.
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Old 01-05-2014, 09:54 AM
 
Location: NE USA
120 posts, read 307,754 times
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Does that include the price of the furnace?

Have you checked to see if you can get any energy rebates for the conversion?

Also, I agree with davebarnes in getting at least 2 more bids.
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Old 01-05-2014, 10:11 AM
 
Location: Columbia SC
14,191 posts, read 14,550,553 times
Reputation: 21994
Yes. Get other bids. While I do not know, do not assume it is simply exchanging one fuel source for another. It might require a whole new furnace.
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Old 01-05-2014, 10:12 AM
 
41,815 posts, read 50,783,714 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hudsonwolf View Post
I have no plans to sell the house in next 5 years, but I still wonder is this all worth it? .
Roughly speaking it will pay for itself 4 years, I'm basing that on $3.50 a gallon for the oil which is $2800. The natural gas fuel cost will be around 1/3 to 1/2 that. I can give you some specific numbers if you know the rate for the gas in your area. If you plan on selling in 5 years you'll be right in that range where you start to see a return on your investment. Certainly be a plus for selling it.

Without knowing specifics $8K if it includes installation of the gas pipe, new boiler/furnace and everything required to hook it to existing system that is not outside of the cost especially if it's a boiler.
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Old 01-05-2014, 01:20 PM
 
359 posts, read 1,094,764 times
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don't just change the [guns] from oil to gas,change the furnace, because oil furnaces are bigger inside the furnace to let out the oil fumes where as the gas furnace have smaller passages made for gas,cheaper to run . 8k for a gun? is a lot of money. I would say under 2k for a new gas furnace 15ft of gas piping , gas boiler w/piping 6k-8k.
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Old 01-05-2014, 03:43 PM
 
8,073 posts, read 9,990,476 times
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Without knowing your specific set up, there may be certain 'issues' with which your contractor needs to deal.

Running the gas line an extra few feet is minimal, but is the gas pipe the street of sufficient sizing to accommodate the increased volume in the feeder lines to the furnace?

You will buy a new furnace--so there is that sort of 'fixed' cost. I don't know all your details--figure $5,000.

There is the issue of venting, Your oil burner likely vents to a chimney? Your gas furnace is WAY more efficient and will vent through PVC pipes directly to the outside. There is "some" work involved in routing these pipes (air intake and vent) from/to the outside. And the chimney vent must be closed off.

The new furnace must 'match up' to the old duct system. This happens at the plenum which might have to be reworked to "fit" the new furnace to the existing duct network.

And lastly, and most importantly, finding a contractor who will do these things is not easy. The project involves dismantling and removing the oil furnace --and what about the underground tank and the oil lines? Huge (environmental) issue. Getting rid of the old oil furnace. And actually doing all of the work. Most of these Heating guys can find work putting in new service in new construction--and in many cases doing 50-100 units in a condo complex, so why would they want to deal with your old mess?

It is hard getting people interested in doing this work, even though that is what it "seems" like they do. Try dealers who represent all of the major manufactures of furnaces, (Trane, Lennox, etc.) and give them a call. If you make ten calls, you will get a half dozen who "say" they are interested, and maybe one or two who will actually come out and bid the job.

It is hard to say whether the estimate you have is fair...but trying to get additional estimates against which to compare is VERY difficult for reasons which don't make sense to most of us.
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Old 01-05-2014, 04:41 PM
 
Location: Columbia SC
14,191 posts, read 14,550,553 times
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Get them to price in removing the old oil tank.
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Old 01-05-2014, 05:49 PM
 
359 posts, read 1,094,764 times
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underground tank , oh boy????????????
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Old 01-05-2014, 08:53 PM
 
Location: Western Pennsylvania
2,429 posts, read 7,213,476 times
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Oil furnaces need regular "tune-ups". Oil naturally burns "dirtier", and so a lot of soot builds up in the combustion chamber, clogs the oil jet, etc.

I was using a similar amount of oil per year. When I decided to add air conditioning, I got a heat pump instead. The heat pump handles the heating load down to 35 degrees or so, and then the oil furnace takes over (I don't have electric heat strips like many heat pumps do). Oil use dropped to 300-400 gallons per year, while my winter electric bill went up only $50-75 per month.

Total cost about 7-8 years ago for new oil furnace, new heat pump, connecting to existing ductwork, etc., was $8000.
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