I assume you don't have access to natural gas.

Is the furnace also 14 years old? Then it may make sense to replace the burner, keep the furnace, and get the heat pump in time for next winter. I would curious as to why an oil burner needs to be replaced after 14 years.

In most parts of the country heating with oil and propane works out to be about the same cost. Propane may be attractive if you have plans to convert your hot water heater, stove, and clothes dryer to propane. There you would get some savings over using electricity, but probably not much.

If you are not going to switch to propane appliances then staying with oil would make sense. However you should should invest the money in a quality heat pump. Others on this forum have used this strategy and it has worked well for them.

No, we have no access to natural gas; maybe in a few years. That sounds like an even better option than propane.

The furnace and the burner are both 14 years old. In early February, the service technician said the furnace hadnâÂÂt been maintained properly (even though itâÂÂs been serviced every year since it was installed) and cemented the heat exchanger openings closed. His company recommended replacing the entire furnace vice just the burner or heat exchanger; they indicated that a new burner or heat exchanger could cost up to $1000 to $2500 depending on the availability of replacement parts, and that the new part could cause older parts to go bad or not perform as well. I hate to think this was just to create new business for themselves. In the meantime, I replaced the air filter (it had been at least six months) and the furnace has been running fine ever since.

I had considered converting our electric hot water heater to propane. Our electricity is $.1725 per kWh (including distribution and taxes), so it may make a slight difference as you said. I plan to invest in a good HP once the AC dies, but would rather not hurry it along just yet.

Where in MD is electricity $0.1725/ Kwh? Just curious from here in MD suburbs of DC.

Keep the oil. It's better for your wallet in the long run. Propane is more volatile and consistently more $$ per btu delivered. Try using a company who is willing to get dirty and properly clean and service that unit. If your oil burner has a problem, replace it or fix the problem. 14 years is nothing for an oil furnace. I second the recommendation for adding a heat pump.

The propane option would be more attractive if you were certain you could connect to natural gas in the near future at a reasonable cost.

Was the furnace serviced by another company? What does "cementing the heat exchanger openings closed" mean?

I am skeptical about the advice you are getting. It sounds like this company wants to sell you new equipment. Get another opinion.

Oil furnaces require more maintenance than do propane. But with oil, one can shop for price for each purchase.With propane, if the supplier owns the tank, filling by others (shopping for price) is not an option. And propane dealers are notorious for price gouging and opportunism. Propane furnaces are easily converted to natural gas.
Propane does not go stale in storage. Oil can become contaminated but otherwise lasts well in storage-- I speak from experience.

mike_home, the furnace was serviced by the same company (recently merged) that is pushing the switch to propane. Here is a picture of the heat exchanger with the three openings cemented closed. Is this normal procedure, or done only when there is a safety issue? Will this prevent further maintenance on the furnace?

So far IâÂÂve only heard rumors that natural gas will be an option in the future, nothing definite, so I would rather repair the oil burner for now.

Electricity in Southern MD (courtesy of SMECO) is $0.1725/kWh, $0.1183/kWh without distribution or taxes.

Thanks, berlin. The NEPA Crossroads fuel calculator indicated that propane was more expensive per BTU, but I didnâÂÂt know if I was reading it correctly.

bus_driver, by âÂÂoil furnaces require more maintenance than do propaneâÂÂ, do you mean that service once a year is not enough? Are propane furnaces serviced less often?

I've never had a propane furnace, but I have had many years of oil, some years of NG, and electric furnace in Seattle.... and, a Heat Pump.

The ONLY service I have ever had on my oil furnaces is an annual "tuneup" - cleaning, new filter, new nozzle, measure efficiency, adjust damper.

Takes maybe 30 minutes - largely because as a former Submariner I'm drawn to the smell of the oil and have to regale the Tech with Sea Stories.

Seriously oil burner maintenance is VERY simple and not really very expensive to accomplish.

This post was edited by saltidawg on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 21:47

The once/ year maintenance is enough. Get rid of that company and find someone who really knows what they're doing. That mess on your cleanouts is inexcusable.

If you have an A/C; the evaporator coil can be too close to the large heat-exchanger causing too much back-pressure & too low an airflow.

I'd go with the 95% propane furnace; don't oversize it.

Use the free load-calc to help you size the furnace[ In only require a 40,000-Btu/hr using 15ðF design here in SW WI on a 1937 2-story farm home.

Here is a link that might be useful: free whole house load-calc

The story seems to get worse with each post. Let me make sure I understand the situation.

You have a 14 year old oil furnace and burner which you have been servicing every year by the same company.

Was the equipment installed by the current service company?

Now the service company says your furnace was not maintained properly and it needs to be replaced. The temporary fix is to cement the clean out openings in the furnace. They recommend you buy all new equipment and switch to propane.

Oil furnaces which are serviced yearly should not need replacement after 14 years. It appears the original installation was bad and the service company never pointed this out to you. It seems they took your money every year and now are now saying you need to spend money on something else. I think this is grounds for a law suit.

You need to fire this service company now, and bring in a competent oil service company to see if they can salvage or repair you current equipment.

Call the gas company and ask what are the plans to bring a gas line to your neighborhood and what would be the estimated cost to connect to your house.

I am not sure if switching to propane makes financial sense. Get quotes and make a spreadsheet of all the costs of the options.

Yes, the equipment was installed by the current service company. The invoice states that the âÂÂheat exchanger ports are deteriorating and falling apartâÂÂ, presumably because it had not been maintained properly. The original AC H-coil was replaced with an A-coil in 2006 due to some airflow issues; itâÂÂs located on top of the furnace, so that may have contributed to the heat exchanger deterioration.

IâÂÂll check on the plans to bring a gas line to our neighborhood and the associated cost to connect. Thanks for the advice.