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[Roger2561]

Hi all, Don't worry, I have an OWB that heats my house and DHW nicely.  I wouldn't think of giving it away or going over to oil again.  Having said that, the oil furnace and tank are located in the basement of my house and doing absolutely nothing other than gathering dust and acting as a backup unit in case something happens to the OWB.  My concern is the oil in the tank.  What will happen to the oil if not stirred up?  Will it congeal (it's 73 degrees in the basement), perhaps get stale, etc...?  I'm wondering if I removed the oil burner and replace it with a gas fired burner?  I have a gas oven and a gas clothes drier so the chances of using the gas is much greater than using the oil.  Is it as simple as replacing just the burner but not the entire unit?  Your thoughts, please.  Thanks, Roger

[slimjim]

Good morning Roger, yes the oil will go bad over time, normally good for about 5 years, you should be fine by running the oil burner once in a while, don't fill the tank! Yes you should be able in most cases to change the burner if you choose, ( I would not suggest it )

[Roger2561]

SLim - Do to ignorance, why would you not do it?  Thanks, Roger

[MattyNH]

If your burn it in the summer for hot water your should be fine..I get my tank filled up every other year during the summer when the prices are the lowest..One thing I need to do the summer and I say it every year is I need to get my oil boiler cleaned and have the oil filter changed..I think the last time it was serviced was back in 05'.. But the oil doesn't run except during the summer

[Roger2561]

MattyNH - Sounds like me, I haven't had the oil furnace serviced in over 3 years.  The least I could do is change the filter.  I think I can figure that part out without too much trouble.  Heck, if I can rebuild a diesel engine (1965 JD crawler.  That was one of the simplest designs I have ever seen), I think I can figure out how to change an oil filter.    Roger

[hoardac]

You can keep it from going bad by adding an additive every 3-5 years or so to stop the microbes from growing in it. As far as switching to gas it is not to big a problem to change out the burner but can cost a little. If you knew a oil tech and could do it through a supply house not so bad. I changed one over 6 or 7 years ago and it cost me 300+. The only big benefit of gas in your case is no chance of oil leak in the cellar.

[DaveWertz]

Im actually converting my oil furnace to gas. I have an anderson furnace so all I have to do is switch out the burners and have gas line ran to my house. Pretty simple. Maybe if you are trying to save the oil you could try mixing some diesel clean or something along the lines of that. Something along those lines. 

[slimjim]

Roger, there are several reasons why I don't like gas as an alternative to oil, first by going to gas you lose the ability to shop the market for your fuel, even if you own your own tank you are required to keep proof of ownership, pay to have the tank certified, pay for leak tests on the system by each vendor and last but not least, nobody mentions the reduced BTU per gallon of propane vs oil. Back in 1984 I was hauling LPG out of St. Romauld Que. down into Presque Isle Maine, declared value on the gas at the border was 1/2 of one cent per gallon, retail to cooking accounts was 1.98 per gallon? Either way you are supporting crooks, who is worse ?

[RSI]

The BTUs are reduced but so it the cost.
You get about 92k btu per gallon of LP and about 120K btu per gallon on oil.
Also, you can get more efficient LP burners which cuts down the gap even more.

[slimjim]

There are 144,000 BTU's in a gallon of oil, not sure exactly on gas WOOD IS GREAT

[RSI]

Not since they went to ultra low sulfur.