Hi guys, first post here. I have questions about a potential oil to gas conversion.
I have oil in my home right now. My oil tank has a slight leak that I would characterize as the bottom of the oil tank having a few soft spots. There's no continuous leak, but I've been advised to replace the oil tank sooner than later. Before I do that and spend thousands to replace the oil tank, my wife and I are exploring the possibility of converting to gas.
My oil boiler is the Energy Kinetics System 2000. It is 9 years old. My hot water tank is also 9 years old and 40 gallons. I have myself, my wife, my 3 and 1 year old in the home. I can't rule out having another child, so eventually, there could be 5 people living in my house. Generally, my heat has worked fine, but I have a monoflow system and we've had a number of issues with heating in the bedrooms since air gets into the system and has to be bled to get it working. Also, I've noticed the hot water when we shower doesn't stay hot for too long. I usually take about a 5 to 7 minute shower and the hot water definitely gets no hotter than lukewarm toward the end of the shower.
I already have gas in my home to the dryer, grill, and generator. The gas was brought in by the previous owners of the home. I live in Long Island, New York. I've been in this house 3.5 years and have no expectation of moving soon. My house is 2200 square feet, split level. There is the possibility my wife and I will expand the house in the next 5 years, which would probably add an additional 500 square feet.
I've gotten quotes from about 7-8 plumbers, ranging between $ and $. The job entails lining the chimney, replacing the boiler and hot water tank, running a gas pipe to the utility room where the boiler is, and removing the oil tank. Two plumbers wanted to do tankless. The remainder of them recommended doing the standard boiler and hot water tank, with some of them having a difference of opinion whether to do direct or indirect hot water tank.
My questions are:
1) Is it worth it to convert? I hear that gas is cleaner and cheaper and currently and oil has gone up a lot. Could oil come back down in the coming years as more people use electric cars such that it's better to keep oil?
2) What is better? Indirect or direct? It seems there's a huge difference of opinion that goes 50/50. I know indirect is more efficient, but I was told that having direct means I have hot water in case if the power goes out. I do have a generator that powers the boiler, so I'm not sure if having direct water tank makes sense for me. But on the other hand, does the indirect system mean that my boiler is on during the summer for hot water?
3) Most of the plumbers I met with recommended the Burnham boiler. One plumber under heavy consideration said he could install the ES2 or the Series 2 (price doesn't change in the quote), but he likes the Series 2 more because it's a simpler system and causes less problems. He said he has more service calls with the ES2. However, I can get a rebate with the ES2 b/c it's 85% efficiency whereas the Series 2 is 84% efficiency. The rebate is only for systems with 85% or greater efficiency.
The other side of it is, my oil boiler is not that old. It's 9 years old and I was told by Energy Kinetics the life expectancy for the boiler is about 30 years. However, I was also told the water heater has a lifespan of 12 years and it's at 9 years now, so it could be approaching the end. Two companies told me they could convert the oil boiler to gas, but it wouldn't be as efficient. Also, their quotes to do that were extremely expensive to the point where it would be cheaper to get a new boiler.
I'm no expert in oil/gas and heating and I'm learning a lot of new things with this stuff being a first time homeowner. I would appreciate any feedback or advice so I can make the best decision for my home. Thank you for reading this much and making it to this point.
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