Converting from Oil to Gas

CiaranTheGreat

Hi,

I am currently in the process of buying a house. It has an oil heating system of which the surveyors report stated that the boiler isn’t working. I would much prefer a gas heating system in the house (gas line is present as there is a gas cooker with the meter located under the stairs). Is the conversion worth the effort and is it a ridiculously expensive job? How was your experience converting??

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: forgot to mention that a small leak on the oil tank was noted on the surveyors report

punisher5112

I would stick with the oil as the gas is very expensive imo.

Replace the boiler and it will of course be more efficient as they have come on leaps and bounds.

my3cents

punisher5112 wrote: »

I would stick with the oil as the gas is very expensive imo.

...

Natural gas or LPG or both?

punisher5112

my3cents wrote: »

Natural gas or LPG or both?

My experience is with both oil and gas and found the gas cost quite an amount more.

my3cents

punisher5112 wrote: »

My experience is with both oil and gas and found the gas cost quite an amount more.

My only experience is in the UK where Natural Gas is about the same and so much easier than oil but really depends on the price of oil. Oil iirc worked out over a 10 year period to be a little cheaper when we were using natural gas but not a huge amount. LPG is always more expensive.

CiaranTheGreat

I don’t like the idea of I could forget to order oil and run out and have no heat and the fact that there is a tiny leak on the tank makes me just want it gone and not have to worry about ordering oil and making sure the tank doesn’t leak etc. Possibly a bit OTT I know

The Mulk

CiaranTheGreat wrote: »

I don’t like the idea of I could forget to order oil and run out and have no heat and the fact that there is a tiny leak on the tank makes me just want it gone and not have to worry about ordering oil and making sure the tank doesn’t leak etc. Possibly a bit OTT I know

Our first house had natural gas, when we moved to our 'new house' it had oil. After 1 year using oil , i changed to natural gas.
I hated having oil, the smell, the large tank, forking out €500+ at a go. Dipping the tank(I know there are easier ways than this, but i didn't want to spend a penny on the system)
Gas is paid on an equalizer system by direct debit. Tank and outside boiler house is gone.
My Gas is 60 a month, so 720 for the year. 4 bed detached. I reckon the oil was over €1000, but that was on an old boiler with 1 heating zone.
New system has been upgraded

CiaranTheGreat

The Mulk wrote: »

Our first house had natural gas, when we moved to our 'new house' it had oil. After 1 year using oil , i changed to natural gas.
I hated having oil, the smell, the large tank, forking out €500+ at a go. Dipping the tank(I know there are easier ways than this, but i didn't want to spend a penny on the system)
Gas is paid on an equalizer system by direct debit. Tank and outside boiler house is gone.
My Gas is 60 a month, so 720 for the year. 4 bed detached. I reckon the oil was over €1000, but that was on an old boiler with 1 heating zone.
New system has been upgraded

You thoughts are very similar to mine. How much did you pay roughly to convert if you don’t mind me asking?

The Mulk

CiaranTheGreat wrote: »

You thoughts are very similar to mine. How much did you pay roughly to convert if you don’t mind me asking?

Mine was done as a full re-fit of the heating system, my boiler was in an out-house at the back door, so i moved the new one into the utility room.
I was re-wiring the house, so i put new pipes and rads in while i had all the floors up.
The new gas line alone was €250.
If you're doing a straightforward swap, you might be lucky on price. if you're keeping the boiler where it is, i can't imagine labour being too much.
https://www.gasworks.ie/services/gas-boiler-replacement/
Give the above a shout maybe,I couldn't guess what it will be, sorry.

CiaranTheGreat

The Mulk wrote: »

Mine was done as a full re-fit of the heating system, my boiler was in an out-house at the back door, so i moved the new one into the utility room.
I was re-wiring the house, so i put new pipes and rads in while i had all the floors up.
The new gas line alone was €250.
If you're doing a straightforward swap, you might be lucky on price. if you're keeping the boiler where it is, i can't imagine labour being too much.
https://www.gasworks.ie/services/gas-boiler-replacement/
Give the above a shout maybe,I couldn't guess what it will be, sorry.

Deadly thanks a million. I’ll give them a shout. The house has to be rewired as well so it’ll be the right timing to get it sorted.

The Mulk

CiaranTheGreat wrote: »

Deadly thanks a million. I’ll give them a shout. The house has to be rewired as well so it’ll be the right timing to get it sorted.

Best of luck, i'm 2 years doing up mine:pac:

The summer is always a good time to start this type of work.
I've everything done now, it's a very comfortable, modern looking home, well worth the time and investment

CiaranTheGreat

The Mulk wrote: »

Best of luck, i'm 2 years doing up mine:pac:

The summer is always a good time to start this type of work.
I've everything done now, it's a very comfortable, modern looking home, well worth the time and investment

Thanks my plan is to get it sorted before we move in so it’s off the list. It’ll get there ðŸ‘

ravendude

CiaranTheGreat wrote: »

Thanks my plan is to get it sorted before we move in so it’s off the list. It’ll get there ðŸ‘

Did the same. As always, - watch who you get to do it. Ours cut a few corners as some piping was left routed out the back garden. Paying more money now again to set this right

If you are investing in a new gas boiler, - you may as well go with a condensing ( you would be mad not to).
Consider going zoned as well, - at least get a quote, - grants available
https://www.seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/heating-upgrade-grants/


Be careful of a couple of things:
1/ Boiler has enough KW capacity for your house, - use an online calculator
2/ If the house is big-ish, make sure the feeder pipe is big enough, - when you go over 20odd KW boiler, you need a bigger pipe coming in, - if you are borderline, - get the bigger one in case you want to extend in the future. ie. Think now about whether you might want to extend down the line.

Otherwise, - very happy we changed over.

okidoki987

I would stick with the oil as the gas is very expensive imo.

Absolutely agree.
Had Oil in house, moved to new house which had Gas.
Big big regret.
Gas for a bigger house and used for more things is 3 times more expensive than what I was paying for oil.
Never again and if had choice, I would go back to oil tomorrow.
Gas is so expensive nowadays and little choice pricewise.
At least with oil you can ring up a few companies and negotiate the price
of a fill.

jhenno78

Punisher & Okidoki - you're definitely talking about mains gas, not delivered?

Also there are loads of billers...8 I think? Same system as electricity.