Robert11 wrote:

Hello:

My present home in New England has gas forced hot water heat, and a
separate gas fired tank heater. Pretty conventional setup.

Looking at new houses, and see some oil fired heating
arrangements, which I'm not too familiar with.

Would like to ask:

a. What are the pros and cons of an oil fired furnace for a home compared
to gas ?


Pros - Here in NY, they say oil is cheaper than gas in producing the
same amount of heat (Caveat: the oil companies say that)
If oil and gas prices suddenly go up, the oil left in your tank will
stay at the same price you last paid. Fuel oil is usually cheaper if
bought in the summer than the winter.
You can have any oil company fill your tank, thereby being able to
select the cheapest supplier.
Since the oil is stored in a tank on your property, someone digging up a
gas line somewhere else won't affect you.

Cons - You have to have a tank installed. Here in NY, new tanks have to
be installed above ground (ugly) or in the basement (space wasting).
Unless you have automatic delivery, you have to check the oil level
occasionally. If you run out, you will have to wait for a delivery. If
lucky, you may get a delivery the same, or next, day. If an emergency
delivery, such as on a Holiday or weekend, you may have to pay more for
the fuel oil.
Kerosene can be used in an emergency, if you can find any.

When I bought this house, it had a oil furnace that heated the water for
both heat and washing. Since there was no storage tank of any great size
for the hot water, it was produced, more or less, as it was needed.
Apparently, the furnace thought that only one person would be taking a
shower in the morning, rather than the four we have here. It didn't take
long before I installed a separate 40 gal propane fired water heater.
The only utilities I get from the street, or more specifically, a pole,
are electric, telephone and cable.
I house the water, oil, propane, and septic system components.


b. Potential oil tank (in basement) leak something to be worried about ?
-how long do the tanks "typically" last ?

c. What type of heater do most folks with oil fired furnaces use for their
hot water ?

d. Relative to (c) above, I saw one house with an electric hot water
tank. What are the pros and cons of this type of system ?
Besides from a "technical" viewpoint, are they (much) more expensive to
operate ?

Anything else I should be asking ?

Much thanks,
Bob