Tell me about Natural Gas and new furnace

[Mike Henderson]

I'd sure go natural gas. In my area natural gas is fairly inexpensive.

Mike

[Jerome Stanek]

Have you asked about a oil to gas conversion kit for your furnace. I put one on my old oil furnace and it worked out really well. I would still have that setup if I didn't fall into a new gas furnace that I got free and installed for for some work I traded for. The work only took me about 10 minutes but saved the plumber $600

[Jim Becker]

Have you asked about a oil to gas conversion kit for your furnace. I put one on my old oil furnace and it worked out really well. I would still have that setup if I didn't fall into a new gas furnace that I got free and installed for for some work I traded for. The work only took me about 10 minutes but saved the plumber $600

The downside to that kind of thing, especially for a 40 year old system, is that it's unlikely that anything close to current efficiency would be obtained. Current high-efficiency gas furnaces are uber stingy with fuel usage and are better for emissions, too.

[Mike Soaper]

I suspect the underground gas pipe to your meter will be plastic with a metal riser pipe to the meter. For inside I like black steel pipe, but bendable flex pipe has also been used as there's less pipe cutting and threading. If it's in the wall i'd be concerned about a nail possibly going thru flex pipe. Check your local codes.

Regarding a gas water heater, make sure you can vent it properly. Some you may need to vent up, others can go thru the side walls as others have said, however the side venting may need to be x" above the ground so it doesn't get blocked by snow, and x" away from windows and doors. Again, check your codes or the install manual.

Similar venting rules apply to the furnace. Higher efficiency models ( 95%?) draw air for combustion thru a pipe from the outside.

My general take on furnaces efficiency, there are 80%ish, 90%ish condensing, 92-95% condensing with outside make up air. The acidic condensate from the exhaust gases will need to be discarded and a small pump (think small aquarium type) may be needed.

Considerations beyond efficiency include multiple stage heat, multiple blower speeds, etc.

fwiw given that you had oil heat in the past and I suspect the air from the registers was nice and toasty, I don't think you would like a heat pump.

[Ronald Blue]

I seriously doubt you could find a oil to gas conversion kit. But as was stated even if you could it would be grossly inefficient. Natural gas without hesitation. Get on the wait list now. I was fortunate in that I only had to wait a couple weeks. I think it cost me about $700 to run the line 300 feet from the street. They plowed it in to the meter. The HVAC guy did the black iron piping. You don't run copper with Natural Gas. They react to each other. I have ran plastic gas line to my shop from the meter with coated pipe ends coming out of the ground. I don't believe I have a minimum charge. In warm weather my bill is only a few dollars. In cold winter it's about $50 at it's worst. That may change once I turn the shop heat on. First winter for it. 97% efficient furnace. My sister in law went with ground source geothermal and she will never save enough to pay the up charge for it.

[Scott Winners]

I am in a similar situation, but different geography than the OP. Has anyone experience with a dual-fuel furnace/ boiler (I have hot water baseboard heat) that could run on either of NG or oil?

I get about 200 million BTUs out of my cord wood stove annually, currently using about 77million BTU of oil annually for domestic hot water and hot water baseboard heat.

If the power goes out at -40dF I have about 12-14 hours to get the generator running and the furnace running off the generator to prevent pipes from freezing away form the wood stove.

Is there a big efficiency loss of I get a dual fuel boiler?

[Jason Roehl]

Our NG bill ranges from about $35 in the summer running just the water heater (turned up to “surface of the sun”) and the gas range, to about $200 for the coldest month (usually January), when we often have several days below 0°F.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Our home had NG in it when we bought it from the previous owners in 1982. Over 20 years ago when the electric water heater died, I had a gas water heater installed and had them plumb in a tee "just in case". 5 years ago when we did a major remodel/bumpout on the kitchen, we used the "just in case tee" to plumb in the gas range in the kitchen.

Over 10 years ago when I built my stand alone woodworking shop, I had them run a NG line to the shop. Keeping it at 64ºF when I am not using it in the winter and then turning it up to 68ºF while I have a cup of coffee before going there to work is extremely convenient in our Idaho winters and very inexpensive. I insulated the walls to R-21 and had R-36-R-40 blown in to the ceiling, 4mill plastic moisture barrier with the electrical boxes sealed has really paid off. I think heating my 30'x24' with 10' ceiling shop added about $3-$4 to our monthly heating NG bill. Yes, I paid more during construction but I did most of the insulation and electrical work. Now retired on a fixed income, it's paid off.

[Dave Lehnert]

Thanks to everyone. Good info.
I did look in to a conversion kit a few years ago and my HVAC guy was not a fan of them.

[Bill Dufour]

A older gas furnace with no moving parts to speak of is about 50% efficient so I suspect a oil furnace would be similar. A modern furnace will be 80-90% efficient for a good price. 95% will cost a step up. Not sure the extra 5% is worth the cost, certainly not in my climate. It ios easy to plumb gas since the pressure is so low. When I replaced the cap with a supply valve for my dryer I did not turn off the gas to the house. I got everything ready removed the cap and put my thumb on the end of the pipe while I applied pipe dope . Then I screwed the valve on and wrenched it tight. gas pressure, after the regulator, is about 6-10 inches of water column. propane is double that. I could not feel any pressure with my thumb.
Bill D.

[Bill Dufour]

Are drip legs still required for gas installations? I put them in but I think they are a hold over from coal gas days. I do not understand the rule against galvanized pipe since all the zinc is on the outside and never touches the gas until there is already a leak. I love the stainless flex connectors for gas.
Bill D.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, drip legs are a normal part of the installation to account for any latent moisture so it doesn't enter the gas fired appliance.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

When we first moved to a drafty old farmhouse. The old oil boiler used $600 in oil just for January and half of february. At 1998 prices. In 2003 we switched to a dual boiler system the old oil fired one in the basement and a wood fired boiler outdoors. We purchased no oil for 12 years. Of course I was spending about 4 hours a week from November to beginning of May cutting wood. (we have 20 acres of woods, so the wood was both close and free. There are still deadfalls I never got to cleaning up. ) Oh I riped walls apart and insulated, pulled up the attic floor and insulated under that. Replaced a few windows and the house was much cozier but went through a lot of wood. IN March 2015 our house burned down from a faulty freezer according to the fire marshall. So we built a new house. 2500 sq feet two story with full basement. the builder put two furnaces in the house. One upstairs and one down stairs and there is no heat in the basement. Propane. We put in out own underground 1,000 gallon tank. We filled the tank the 1st of july in 2016 when we moved into the house. That 1,00 gallon tank more than gets us through a 12 month period. Normally in late June the tank reads about 35% We shop around and order the cheapest. So far we have always been able to fill the tank for less than $600 for the year, including cooking. Major difference with a new properly designed and insulated house. Friends bought a drafty old Victorian style home in town, they are on natural gas, but also have a coal furnace that heats part of the house. Their bill for heat for a year exceeds $3,500. Their house is all fixed up, but was never insulated or had storm windows. My parents have some bizarre, oil fired hot water heater that also heats the house. The thing looks like a regular water heater but is about 40 inches in diameter and about 5 ft tall. Their house was built in 1960, a one level house. Their oil bill is running less than $500 a year for a 800 sq ft house. They also keep their thermostat set at 67 degrees all winter. My Mrs. won't settle for anything less than 70 in winter.

[Anuj Prateek]

Previous house, in Seattle area, we had gas for heating, cooking and water heater. In summers our bill used to be less than $50. In winters, with thermostat set at 68, we saw spikes upto $250.

One more thing I would add, if someday you want to sell your house, gas will be a positive addition. Oil is something not "preferred".

[Dave Lehnert]

I just called the gas company. There is a $35 to $40 minimum monthly charge if I use the gas that month or not. I can have it turned off in the summer months for a reconnect fee of $17.
Any idea the cost difference running a water heater on gas vs electric? A gas water heater will cost me at least $35 a month.