recs on who to fix an OLD oil furnace?
oil-fired furnace for hot water and steam heating, has not been on since Feb or March, and was under a bit of water for some time (do not know exactly since I just moved in recently). I’m looking for recs on professionals who know this type of heater very well. This is the last straw…
oil-fired furnace for hot water and steam heating, has not been on since Feb or March, and was under a bit of water for some time (do not know exactly since I just moved in recently).
I’m looking for recs on professionals who know this type of heater very well.
This is the last straw before making the decision on a new boiler/furnace or switching to gas. Gas would be nice but plumber (with Coned) decided that my 1″ gas line is not enough for the house, and digging is expensive…
it sounds more like you need a good cleaning and a new oil gun(that shoots the oil into the boiler and ignites it). You aren’t replacing the boiler.I am fairly sure that the heating gas charge is less than the cooking use and is required by the NY State Public Service commission, but that isn’t important if all you are doing is reusing the old boiler.
Well I found a co willing to check it out and fix it right away. Turns out that it turned on!
The old thing has given me my first warm shower in a long time, and now I am able to check out the heating system (steam radiators) for the first time…
Having said that, it is still dirty and smelly down there, and I doubt the old boiler will be efficient nor reliable, even for one winter.
But I just bought myself a little time to make a good decision, which is the tough part here. Technology is changing so fast that there are more options, and I don’t want to make a move I’ll regret.
I originally wanted gas, but so far I have not been happy with the options presented to me (actually it was more like take it or leave it).
The other issues that coned seems to bring: forcing me to move my meters outside, charging me a different rate for gas used for heating (how annoying), etc.
So now I’m actually considering a new oil boiler (for about a quarter of the cost).
I would definitely love another quote from a good plumber for the oil to gas conversion, but I’m afraid that ConEd will force the same outcome…
I just replaced my 60 plus year old oil boiler and its internal water heater with a new gas heater and separate hot water heater. I never had enough hot water before now its like night and day. Your plumber is either an idiot or a ..
you know what. Coned(or the grid in Brooklyn) runs the gas line into the meter in the house for free. After that its your responsibility and has to be replaced whether or not the the pipe into the house was adequate.
The price has gone up for installations of gas as the demand has increased for change overs. I paid less and it included the removal or the old boiler, the oil tank and a Burham gas heater and a 55 gal hi efficiency recovery gas hot water heater.
You should have seen what the inside of the 65 year old boiler looked like.
You really don’t want to have to do this an emergency as it will be 50% more. As we get closer to the winter the prices have been going up. Any oil company will happily look at your old one and give you an estimate if they are also going to be suppling the oil(in fact because so many people are leaving oil they might work out a deal.)
email me at smeyer418 at yahoo.com if I can help you I’ll try(but I promised I wouldn’t tell how much I paid)….
don’t have a oil company yet, as I just moved in. People (who know more than me) who have seen the boiler either say that it should work with a few new parts and maintenance or that it is toast. So, I thought, before buying a new boiler, to see if it might work at least until the spring, when I’ll have more time to decide.
As for the gas: If Coned digs for free, than the extra expense is for the plumber’s extra work? I was quoted over 12k for this job.
Thanks for commenting.
You’ll be happier with gas, it’s cheaper and cleaner than oil. Keyspan (National whatever) may still have the deal on installing a replacement gas boiler. If you want one with the hot water coils Keyspan may not be willing to supply it free, but maybe you can negotiate.
fwiw, my 160 kbtu steam boiler has a 3/4″ supply from the meter. And Keyspan should ensure it’s ok, they had to change my meter.
First of all, 1″ gas piping is all that most any gas boiler requires and if you needed more than that, ConEd or National Grid would dig and install the new larger pipe for free.
Second of all, you’re comfortable putting money into an old boiler that was “under a bit of water for some time” and trust it to provide both heat and hot water now that you’ve moved in?
I foresee disappointment.
To answer your question, though, your oil supplier probably provides service. Haven’t you tried calling them?
clarify: it provided hot water for the house, and steam for the radiator heating.