Heating · Master Plumber PL17071-M · South Shore MA
Oil to Gas Conversion
Getting off oil means dealing with the utility, the gas piping, the new equipment, the venting and the old tank. Most homeowners end up juggling three companies. We run it as one project—gas fitting and heating under the same license, one point of contact, one schedule.
Worth knowing before you commit: Massachusetts incentive programs have shifted heavily toward electrification, and the large rebates now sit with heat pumps rather than new gas equipment. If you are already replacing your heating system, it costs nothing to have us price both paths. See Mass Save rebates.
How a Conversion Actually Goes
The single most useful thing to understand is that the utility controls the timeline for bringing gas to the house, and we control everything after the meter. Here is the sequence.
1. Is gas on your street?
First question, and it decides everything. If there is a main in front of the house, a service line is straightforward. If the main is streets away, the extension cost can end the conversation—and that is the point at which a heat pump usually wins.
2. Utility application
The service line and meter are the gas utility’s work, on the utility’s schedule. We help you file and we coordinate around their date—but nobody should promise you control over it. Start early.
3. Gas piping
From the meter to every appliance, sized for the total load—heat, hot water, and a range or dryer if you are adding them. Permitted, pressure tested, and inspected. This is licensed work and it is ours.
4. New equipment
A gas boiler or furnace sized to a real heat loss calculation, plus how you will make hot water now that the oil boiler is gone.
5. Venting & chimney
High-efficiency gas equipment vents out the sidewall, which usually means the chimney comes out of service. If anything else was venting into it, that gets addressed as part of the job.
6. The oil tank
Pumped out, cut up if needed, and removed. Do not leave an abandoned tank in the basement—it is a resale problem and, if it ever leaks, a far more expensive one.
Is It Worth It?
Honest answer: it depends on your house, and on fuel prices that neither of us controls. What we can do is show you the arithmetic using your actual oil usage rather than an industry average, and let you decide with real numbers in front of you.
The non-financial reasons people convert are real too: no delivery scheduling, no running out in February, no tank in the basement, less maintenance than an oil burner needs, and a system that is quieter and cleaner to live with.
We will also tell you when converting is the wrong move. If the gas main is far from the house, or if your home is a good candidate for heat pumps, the money is usually better spent going electric—where the Massachusetts incentives are now concentrated. We would rather give you that answer than sell you the job in front of us.
Common Questions
How long does the whole thing take?
Our portion—piping, equipment, venting, tank removal—is typically a couple of days. The variable is how long the utility takes to set the service and meter, which can be weeks or months depending on their queue and the time of year. Apply early, especially before winter.
Will I have heat during the changeover?
Yes. We sequence the work so the oil system keeps running until the gas equipment is ready to fire. The old boiler comes out on installation day, not weeks ahead.
Can I add a gas range, dryer, or generator later?
Tell us at the estimate. Sizing the piping for future appliances while the walls are open costs very little; going back to upsize an undersized line later costs a great deal.
What about my old oil tank and the fuel left in it?
Remaining oil is pumped out and the tank is removed and disposed of properly. If your tank is underground, that is a different and more involved process with environmental requirements—flag it early so we scope it correctly.
Thinking about getting off oil?
We will price gas and heat pump side by side, using your real fuel usage.