Old Willamson oil furnace - replace burner or whole furnace?

[kschuck]

We have a Williamson oil furnace Temp-o-matic, model 02-351.
I think it is about 35-45 yrs old. About 14 yrs ago, I had an efficiency test done on it as part of a state home oil weatherization energy audit. They measured it at 76%.

About 9 yrs ago, after having some trouble with the furnace, we had the fuel pump replaced and burner serviced for a total cost of $******

2 yrs ago - power vac for $****
Efficiency still at 76% when tested by technicians after a tune up

This past year, we had some trouble with it and the technician recommended we replace the burner soon (summer price $****) or the entire furnace because he said it was obsolete.

We just wanted to get some other opinions about replacing the burner vs the entire furnace.
We live in Portland, OR and will probably sell the house within the next 6 yrs.
Natural gas line is not available to our house according to gas company.
Thanks for any input.

Pricing is against the rules.

Mod

[Chuck]

Should just replace the furnace, but you may get 6 more years out of it if you put in a new burner.

[tedkidd]

You could probably heat with straight electric for the same energy cost. Run the numbers on replacing with an air source heat pump.

If you cut your heating cost to current x .3, would that be meaningful?

[amd]

Get rid of the oil heat - consider a heatpump with electric backup if your electricity rate is reasonable.

[amd]

Looks like a heatpump would do quite well in your climate - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Oregon#Climate

[BobHome]

If it's just a matter of 6yrs then replacing the furnaces burner would be much more worth your while cost-wise.

[comfortdoc]

If it's just a matter of 6yrs then replacing the furnaces burner would be much more worth your while cost-wise.

Until he goes to sell the house and the prospective owner wants a discount to replace the 50+ yr old heating system.

As others have suggested replace the old system and enjoy the benefits of lower utility bills and increased reliability for the next however many years you live there, and it might just be the difference between your house and the others prospective buyers are looking at.

[BobHome]

Wouldn't the furnace replacement cost be higher for what can be considered to be a short space of time? I do agree that for the sake of selling the house a replacement would better, but then again if it's a small parts replacement job surely that would be better.

[tedkidd]

If it's just a matter of 6yrs then replacing the furnaces burner would be much more worth your while cost-wise.

Not sure I understand that thinking.

Are you thinking the person he sells to will be too stupid to ask how much it costs to heat?
Maybe you think he's bulldozing the house in 6 years so anything he does to it now will have no future value?

Would love to see the numbers you've crunched to come to that conclusion, particularly if the above assumptions are not part of the calculations...

Oil heat costs 3 to 4 times what a heat pump heat costs in his area. I guess the question is how much oil you burn a year? If it's only $200 worth, fixing probably is a good idea. If it's $2000, not so much.

[Chuck]

Not sure I understand that thinking.

Are you thinking the person he sells to will be too stupid to ask how much it costs to heat?
Maybe you think he's bulldozing the house in 6 years so anything he does to it now will have no future value?

Would love to see the numbers you've crunched to come to that conclusion, particularly if the above assumptions are not part of the calculations...

Oil heat costs 3 to 4 times what a heat pump heat costs in his area. I guess the question is how much oil you burn a year? If it's only $200 worth, fixing probably is a good idea. If it's $2000, not so much.

He was probably comparing installing another oil furnace vs. repairing the old one, in which case he is right.

OTOH I agree, a HP would be the best bet if replacing furnace.

[amd]

It doesn't make any sense to buy a new oil furnace. If the op is set on oil, repair is probably the best option. Whoever buys the house will probably rip out the oil tank + furnace anyway.

6 years from now the cost of heating with oil will probably be astronomical.

[timebuilder]

Heat pump.

[heaterman]

Replacing the burner is not a great idea. The increase in temperature as a result of a new flame retention style burner will raise havoc with the old heat exchange and in all likelihood it will fail in short order. While the Williamson brand was built like a tank, the heat exchanger has tempered over the years and the crystalline structure of the metal is set. Any marked increase in temperature will cause an increase in expansion resulting in cracking.
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[danielworkerbee]

Please, please, please price out an air-to-air heatpump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I can't even sell you one, what does that tell you.

luck dan

[catmanacman]

I'll bet heating oil is 4.00 per gallon by mid winter. i would get a heat pump with electric heat strips as propane will also be 4.00 per gallon

[jpsmith1cm]

There are calculators available to figure out your best option as far as heating fuels.

They allow an even comparison of cost per therm across the 4 commons heat sources (electric strips, oil, natural gas, and propane)

That said, it is almost ALWAYS cheaper to move heat than it is to make it.

Go with a heat pump. I'm wishing that I had.

[beachtech]

heat pump with gas back up if you're that stuck on fossil fuel