# Running oil furnace but need alternative...ideas?!



## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello...

Since i have the new house i am thinking of getting rid of my Oil furnace...\
Reasons are:
- Price for oil
- Fossil fuel
- Costs, when this tank dumps in the yard

So i was looking around to find reasonable options...
But since i do have baseboard heat, electric is no option, or am i am wrong here?
Also thought about pellet furnace/boiler...anyone doing that?
And i life in the woods, so natural gas from street line is not an option either...
So wood, pellet or electric...or something i haven't thought of...
Hope for ideas and real life experience

Thx in advance


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Electric is dependent on the grid, so you need to consider your winter weather and the possibility of losing power in an ice storm or wind event that takes trees down. 

Your age and health determines if hauling wood and loading a wood stove is feasible. 

What kind of baseboard heat is it? Circulating steam? Electric? 

Why would the current tank dump in the yard?


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello...
It is hot water baseboard...fresh installed/renewed as contingency of the mortgage...so this is kind of set...since money got burned on that already
And wh tank dump? never asked...but since it came with house and age/inner condition is undetermined i dont want to take chances...casue a 250 gallon heatoil leak would be 100k+ remediation cost if that is enough


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

If you could find a source for used cooking oil that might be an option. Used motor oil is inexpensive but not green. How much oil do you use in normal season?


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello...
The how much question still keeps to determine...
First half year so far in this house...and old owner just went...so no chance to ask...
I assume first winter will be bad/expensive, since this house has some bad design flaws which needs to be tackled next year (this year is just to full already with other projects on the house)
My brother in law with slightly bigger buildings goes through 3-4 tanks (250 gallon) per winter...


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Have the tank inspected. The company that delivers the oil should do that.


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

Hot water baseboards - Why not do a combination of solar hot water with a propane boiler backup?

WWW


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

Is oil the best / most cost effective heating alternative in your region?
If natural gas or propane is available, I'd seriously consider limping that unit along until you can afford to replace it. Gas is much cleaner and tends to have less problems. I've heated with both.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Here we can get gas for your backyard tank, oil, wood in abandons...
Just wood is a nice but extreme labor intense thing...and i am not getting younger...
Oil is pretty much the worst you can burn...since coal is finally really dead...Yipiieh
So i will check for these gad furnace thing...lets see waht they come up for


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## siberian (Aug 23, 2011)

Meinecke said:


> Here we can get gas for your backyard tank, oil, wood in abandons...
> Just wood is a nice but extreme labor intense thing...and i am not getting younger...
> Oil is pretty much the worst you can burn...since coal is finally really dead...Yipiieh
> So i will check for these gad furnace thing...lets see waht they come up for



What do you mean when you say coal is finally dead?


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello...without trying to get political or insulting to anyone...
All civilized countries and organisations are divesting and stop using coal due to its impact to our planet and its price compared to any UN-subsidized renewable source.
Even the beginner of Coal usage, England is out of it, and the "Church", major Oil companies and so on are taking its money out of it...
So keep using it here would just put us even more behind the rest of the world.
But i dont want any political discussion...just answering to a question...


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Do you have a link to an article or source? I am curious. Not challenging.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

https://www.ft.com/content/bfc9bc0a-cadd-11e7-ab18-7a9fb7d6163e
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...h-to-make-record-divestment-from-fossil-fuels
https://www.treehugger.com/fossil-fuels/coal-divestment-reaches-japan.html
https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-06-18/england-built-empire-out-coal-now-it-s-giving-it-why-can-t-us
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/12/1...nounce-fossil-fuel-divestment-worth-billions/
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-carbon-emissions-in-2017-fell-to-levels-last-seen-in-1890
and so on...
And again...dont want to start a political discussion...just answering...what a world where you have to state this all the time...


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Thank you for posting this. Interesting changes in the finances. I am thinking that the articles mean that the coal plants, etc., will move to private ownership. 

I will be doing more reading.


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## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

Given your views I am shocked you are not looking at green technologies , but you are still burning oil....


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## 1948CaseVAI (May 12, 2014)

I am puzzled as to why Americans give a rat's butt what other countries do. I am ornery enough that I purchase and some burn coal outside in a fire pit just for the joy of knowing I am getting under the skin of every environmental wacko around me. I don't spend much on it - it is purely for entertainment.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I have been know to burn peat.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

@shawnlee ...thats what the hole subject is about...i want to get away from oil...
But i came with the house...so i have to deal with it until i have a fit in where to go...
Next year my 20 pales will go up, but that is only substituting the energy needs for an US building before air sealing (https://coastalone.com/carlisle-ccw-705-air-vapor-barrier.html) and outsulating it...putting real windows in (https://www.shop.libertywindoors.com/W-72-x-H-48-PVC-Tilt-and-Turn-Window-tiltturnwindow72x48.htm) and so on...but one step after the other...
and furnace is more pressing with the upcoming cold season...
For the rest...thx for the discussion and the ideas...
Still trying to find out is fthis is going to be my way: https://www.pellergy.com/wood-pellet-boilers/ or something else...


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

The underlying assumption is that oil heat is somehow a bad thing... or a worse thing than other options. 

I am not sure that assumption is true.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

As long it adds long stored away CO2 to the running system it is bad...
If it emits CO2 from the running cycle its not perfect but better
And if it does not emit any CO2 it is awesome...
So a heat pump or electric heater driven by photo voltaic, paired with warm water collectors on the roof would be good...
Solar produced H2 burned in a boiler for heat and transformed to electricity via fuel cell would be best...
But my budget and the last option are at a little conflict...
https://hydrogenhouseproject.org/index.html


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Understand that part. I didn’t put solar on my new house, either, due to cost. 

I just don’t think eliminating the oil burner is urgent. Take time to research until you are sure about benefits and affordability.


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## siberian (Aug 23, 2011)

1948CaseVAI said:


> I am puzzled as to why Americans give a rat's butt what other countries do. I am ornery enough that I purchase and some burn coal outside in a fire pit just for the joy of knowing I am getting under the skin of every environmental wacko around me. I don't spend much on it - it is purely for entertainment.



We love burning coal. But as wood burns from the top coal burns from the bottom and needs air flow under it. Not good on the ground


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## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

Its quite clear, we just need to stop breathing.....


I would select the system that fits your region and is the cheapest and easiest to operate...……. co2 from my house heat would not come into the selection process. The cheapest options just happen to be green right now.


Geo thermal heat pumps if installable in your location are the cheapest/easiest to operate...….followed by parabolic vac tubes for water heat, being the cheapest to operate...….good wood gas reburner stoves are the cheapest if you have a local wood supply, just not the greenest...….

I will be burning cut wood until the geothermal install is complete and then a mix of both.


I would be more concerned with the three rivers gorges dam and what it is doing than some co2...…...you do know the planet loves co2 right , people pump massive amounts into the green houses, the most heathiest and productive times of vegetation in the planets history were extremely high co2 times. Its the humans that do not like the side effects, the planet loves it.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Bingo.


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## StL.Ed (Mar 6, 2011)

My understanding is that home heating oil is basically #2 diesel, with dye added and road taxes left out. 
Would biodiesel, bought or home made, be an option?
Tank leakage could still be a concern, but a containment basin might mitigate that.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

He still needs the tank inspected.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Its hard to discuss a subject like this with someone who did not grow up in a "safe where ever you can and polluting is a character weakness" mentality country.
Having a smoking fire pit already gives Germans an unease feeling of polluting...so burning Oil even more.
For me subject closed due to the idea gotten out of it so far...
Thx for all


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Thank you for clarifying. It helps.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Oh boy...this subject is a wasp nest...once you poke it it does not end...
Looking at so many options now...boy...why des everything has to end up n its own little science project


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## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

What ya got going ?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Life IS a science project.


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## StL.Ed (Mar 6, 2011)

I still think you should investigate biodiesel, at least temporarily.

Biodiesel is carbon neutral, biodegradable, and, according to the EPA, non-toxic. I don't know if New Jersey environmental regulations agree. It should be no worse, environmentally, than burning wood or pellets.

If you can find a source of cheap waste vegetable oil and make your own biodiesel, it could be half the cost of fuel oil and on a par with purchasing wood pellets, or less, and a lot less work than harvesting your own wood. Obviously, purchasing B100 would cost more than fuel oil, so would not meet your criteria of saving money.

Startup cost of equipment for making biodiesel would be minimal; the cost of a wood system or pellet stove would be higher, and a solar array for electric would be much higher. Biodiesel should be able to use your current furnace/boiler and baseboard heat. (A solar thermal system might be able to tie into your baseboards, but I don't know enough about it.)

The final advantage is that biodiesel would get you away from fossil fuel quickly, and you can still switch to something else later.

If you are set against all "oil" systems, that's obviously your prerogative; but, I thought I would mention some of the advantages.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Biodisel would be nice...will check my diners around if someone is already taking their grease...
And if that takes a dump i am not screwed...
Looking at Pellet stove in parallel right today after work...
So lets see...luckily i have the space to store 3-4 tone of pellets to buy cheap on bulk


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## oldasrocks (Oct 27, 2006)

The first thing you need to do is over insulate your house which will cut down on any fuel usage. We went from using 600 gallon of propane a year to 360 last year.

Remember also that electricity is NOT a clean fuel. If you add up the nuke/ coal, or other means of making the electricity, transmission lines etc it is just as dirty.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

On my next year House repair list is to rip down sheeting and replace the useless tyvek with air/water barrier in a peel and stick version, overlapping/covering the foundation to wood gap...like : 



On top of that i will putt outsulation with overlapping ridgid foam and back cover it with sheeting for look
So that should get me to R30 or such all around without any air infiltration, since i am going to replace the drafty Sash windows that are typical around here with this: https://www.shop.libertywindoors.com/W-72-x-H-48-PVC-Tilt-and-Turn-Window-tiltturnwindow72x48.htm
On top will be my 3.5 kw solar grid tie system...that is already waiting in the garage to be put up


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

If you want to go green, move to warmer climes. Even solar leaves its footprint. Those panels, wiring, batteries etc are all manufactured, require maintence and eventual replacement. I'd have that tank inspected, if at all questionable, replace it and get on with my life.


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