Looking to switch from Oil to LPG


  #1  
Old 09-26-19, 11:46 AM
N
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: USA
Posts: 15
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Looking to switch from Oil to LPG

In my area switching to natural gas is all the rage but I would rather switch to LPG
looking to see who hear runs their utilities on LPG and what advice you can give

right now I have a 30+ year old oil burner & a 40 gal hot water holding tank

heat is hydronic through the old school steel pipes and cast iron radiators
 
  #2  
Old 09-26-19, 12:45 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,937
Received 3,951 Upvotes on 3,544 Posts
You'd need to weigh the cost of oil vs the cost of propane. In most areas..... including here in NJ where I live..... propane is the most expensive choice. I have natural gas in my home. Furnace, water heating, fireplace, bbq and stove and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

If I had to move to an area where propane and oil were the choices..... I may lean towards oil as you have the ability to shop for prices. That would push the appliances to electric which is not my favorite choice.
 
  #3  
Old 09-26-19, 12:50 PM
N
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 2,511
Received 21 Upvotes on 18 Posts
You'd need to weigh the cost of oil vs the cost of propane. In most areas..... including here in NJ where I live..... propane is the most expensive choice. I have natural gas in my home. Furnace, water heating, fireplace, bbq and stove and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

If I had to move to an area where propane and oil were the choices..... I may lean towards oil as you have the ability to shop for prices. That would push the appliances to electric which is not my favorite choice.
Funny, here it's Natural Gas where possible (they now bottle it for non-serviced areas, but I can't speak from experience), propane then oil.
Propane is many times cheaper to have delivered then oil.
 
  #4  
Old 09-26-19, 01:04 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,937
Received 3,951 Upvotes on 3,544 Posts
My area here is heavily infused with natural gas providers. It is by far the best choice where I live. However 30 miles away there are no natural gas lines even in the area so the choice depends heavily on what's available in your area.

I had a shop and garage in an area that had no natural gas. I had oil for heat as that's what was there. I had priced out propane and it was considerably higher.
 
  #5  
Old 09-26-19, 01:40 PM
N
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 2,511
Received 21 Upvotes on 18 Posts
My area here is heavily infused with natural gas providers. It is by far the best choice where I live. However 30 miles away there are no natural gas lines even in the area so the choice depends heavily on what's available in your area.

I had a shop and garage in an area that had no natural gas. I had oil for heat as that's what was there. I had priced out propane and it was considerably higher.
When I first joined this forum, I was in an area with no natural gas. There, propane was a fair bit cheaper than oil, but the house I was in was hot water heat and huge (with not top insulation). At the time, oil including taxes and delivery was about $1.20 per letter for oil, and $0.49 for propane.
Just after I moved out of the area, a new natural gas bottling setup opened. Not sure how it worked out.
My last winter in that house was a cold winter, averaging a tank of oil per month.
 
  #6  
Old 09-26-19, 05:58 PM
R
Member
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 2,183
Received 199 Upvotes on 181 Posts
If you have natural gas available, may I ask why you don’t want to switch to natural for your fuel source?
LPG can be very volatile in price, and often times oil is actually cheaper to use.
 
  #7  
Old 09-27-19, 06:13 AM
T
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 955
Received 31 Upvotes on 25 Posts
Also take into account that oil produces more BTU then LPG fuel. Here in NJ, friend of mine did a major renovation at his house and his contractor told him to get rid of the oil boiler and put in a Navien Modcon LPG ultra efficient system. Turned out costing him more $$$ in fuel for heat and hot water then he was paying with the old oil boiler.
 
  #8  
Old 09-27-19, 07:01 AM
N
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 2,511
Received 21 Upvotes on 18 Posts
Also take into account that oil produces more BTU then LPG fuel. Here in NJ, friend of mine did a major renovation at his house and his contractor told him to get rid of the oil boiler and put in a Navien Modcon LPG ultra efficient system. Turned out costing him more $$$ in fuel for heat and hot water then he was paying with the old oil boiler.
This is common it appears for hot water systems.
I suspect forced air may be different due to the way the two systems work.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: