Converting from Oil to Gas Boiler (with rebate?)

Hi, Has anyone converted their boiler from oil to gas recently and can recommend a good plumber? We’re also looking into the National Grid rebate program for converting, so any advice on that would also be appreciated. Thanks!

slope2009

in Heating 11 years and 9 months ago

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slope2009 | 11 years and 9 months ago

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Okay — thanks, everyone! In terms of how to coordinate the chimney lining with boiler — would you have plumbers come first or chimney companies come first? Thanks again!!

mousta | 11 years and 9 months ago

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Agree with nalusurf. Ultimately Master Plumber recommended the proper sizing needed for the boiler which we communicated to Andre and his team. We had to modify it a bit because the interior chimney sizing changed but it all checked out in the end.

nalusurf | 11 years and 9 months ago

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Slope2009, the short, non-professional answer is yes, it does matter. You should research some of the archives about chimney lining/boiler options where you are likely to find the very helpful and knowledgeable advice from the regular contributors here like Masterplumber, Brucef, Steamman, and others. From my limited experience some of the biggest factors in getting the proper lining are the type of boiler (high efficiency, atmospheric, steam, hot water, etc…), and the total number of BTU’s that will be generated by your equipment (boiler, hot water heaters). Both of which will affect and determine the size (diameter) of the liner required and whether it can be natural draft or fan induced. Other factors contributing to cost include the condition of your chimney, how many bends it takes, the total run, etc… We got lucky and had a straight, unblocked run from cellar to roof and were able to go with a double-walled, stainless steel liner for a standard atmospheric gas fired boiler that will put out about 230K BTU. Most importantly, you need to have conversations with your chimney guy as well as your plumber.

slope2009 | 11 years and 9 months ago

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Nalusurf, just a quick side-question about chimney linings. I’m sure the cost and type depend on the specifics of our chimney, but any advice on the different types out there? Someone we talked to mentioned that we should get the chimney lining quotes first because depending on the kind of lining we can get, it will affect the kind of boiler we can get. Does chimney lining affect the kind of boiler you can get?

nalusurf | 11 years and 9 months ago

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For our chimney lining we were about $3K and for the oil to gas, staying with steam heat, and a standard atmospheric boiler with a coil for hot water we are looking at about $10K.

Master Plvmber | 11 years and 9 months ago

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Hmmmm For some reason, the link to my profile isn’t working. http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/gatewayplumbing

bedstuybrownstone | 11 years and 9 months ago

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nalasurf, can you comment on approximate cost? I am merely entertaining this idea for now, mostly because I am afraid of how large the cost it.

slope2009 | 11 years and 9 months ago

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Thanks for the advice, Housepoorer and Nalusurf! I will also contact MasterPlumber’s company for an estimate. I know the time is ticking on this rebate, so we wanted to get this done (plus the heating season will be here soon). Thanks again!

Master Plvmber | 11 years and 9 months ago

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Thanks, Housepoorer. We do about 50 of these oil-to-gas conversions every year with great results. I often recommend either A&A or Big Apple for the chimney work depending on the job conditions and complexity.

mousta | 11 years and 9 months ago

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I used Andre from A&A also. He was great. I used Master Plumber’s company (Gateway Plumbing) for my conversion and they took care of filing for the rebate for me. A year in and the heat worked great all through the winter and saved me a ton of money vs. oil.

nalusurf | 11 years and 9 months ago

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We are going through the same process right now. National Grid is offering a 50% rebate on their boilers as well as a gift card through December 2013\. You need to contact National Grid and they will send you the information necessary for initiating their rebate program as well as a contact who will be your point person throughout the process. You will need a licensed plumber who would size and purchase the boiler through National Grid. A couple things, do you have gas in the house ( for HWH, cooking)? If you do, that will save you a lot in time and money, assuming it is the proper size for a heating system. If you do not, you will obviously need a gas line installed (lots more time and money). Second, you need to make sure your chimney is lined properly. If you are not sure you should get a chimney company to check it out, we used A&A to line ours recently and are very happy with Andre’s work. We also looked into converting from steam heat to hot water. VERY expensive, so we are sticking with the existing steam pipes and radiators.Haven’t started the work yet so I can’t really recommend our plumber. We were happy with his evaluation, options he proposed and final plan, so we will see! He came recommended from our neighbor who has been using him for quite a while so he is familiar with our type of home and intricacies. Good luck!