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Saturday, November 15, 2014

Warm!

Last weekend, I discovered that the furnace wasn't working (again). It hadn't got really cold yet, so running a burner on the kitchen stove (coupled with flannel jammies) was enough to keep me comfortable.

On Saturday, I was able to get someone to come out to look at it. Anyway, while I had been hoping to get one more winter out of the old furnace, I decided to have him install a new one. Among other things, I'd noticed before he arrived that even though I had turned off the power to the unit the night before, gas was still flowing to the pilot; it was an electronic pilot, and the gas should have shut down with the power turned off.

It was pretty chilly when I got home last night (Friday). I turned on *two* burners on the stove, full blast, and carted an electric space heater into the bedroom, and piled comforters on the bed. It was still a chilly night.

But, WARMTH! The guy and his son installed a new, high-effiency furnace today, and an electric water heater (it was past time for the old gas water heater to be replaced) ... and I'm warm!

It's not Thanksgiving Day yet, but in case it wasn't obvious, I'm thankful for warmth ... and for capitalism (*) ... and that I had the money in the bank to pay for this work.

(*) I am thankful that other people have the freedom in America to "selfishly" pursue their own "selfish" interests ... and thereby make my life better, easier, more comfortable. Can you inagine what it would be like if I'd had to wait for some "selfless" government bureaucrat to do this work for me? For one thing, I'd still be waiting for the initial visit to check out the problem.

7 comments:

B. Prokop said...

Same thing happened to me last winter. Woke up one day to find the temperature inside the house to be in the low 40s and falling, and outside it was maybe 20 at most. Took 2 days to get my furnace fixed, and I spent the interim either away from the house or bundled up not only with jackets, but also blankets around me.

Why can't our furnaces break in the summer and our air conditioners in the winter?

Ilíon said...

In my case, it's not that it took a week to get it replaced. It's that since I'm here only on the wekends, that's when I scheduled to have it replaced.

Ilíon said...

Another thing for me to be thankful for -- it failed at the very beginning of winter, rather than in the depths of it.

Unknown said...

There are some things that you can't put off for a later date, and this furnace was one of them. This new furnace should last for a long time, which means you no longer have to deal with major repairs any time soon. This should keep you warm, and at peace, for several winters to come!

Shelley Coday @ C & C Heating and Air-Conditioning

Unknown said...

I'm so glad that you managed to quickly get your hands on a new furnace. Running a burner on the kitchen stove could be pretty dangerous, even if it's a pretty good last resort. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying your newfound warmth. Thanks for sharing that! All the best! :)

Tommy Hopkins @ AccuTemp Cooling and Heating

Jeffrey Hunt said...

I'm happy that you got a new furnace. I just hope that it'll stay longer than the previous one. You just have to maintain it well by having it checked regularly. In any way, thanks for sharing that, Ilion! All the best to your family! :)

Jeffrey Hunt @ Patterson Heating & Air

Ilíon said...

Let's see. I bought the old furnace in 1987 for $700, and my brother installed it (I think I paid him $600 plus materials), and I had it replaced in 2014 for $3000. If this one "stays" longer that the previous one, it will probably last the rest of my life.