The children and I went ice skating this evening. It was school night at the local ice rink and it was the night for K9's school. So we got in for just the skate rental fee. It was fun although K9 got frustrated because he couldn't skate well. We wandered around the mall for a bit and then came home. I got in the house and headed into the bathroom. I wondered why it seemed so cold back there. So I came out and looked at the thermostat- 62 degrees. Now, we don't keep it overly warm in here but it's currently 15 outside with the temperature dropping.
V took a look at the furnace. It seems to be an ignition problem. We have gas and the fan works but it won't light. It clicks like it wants to light but it just doesn't. We have a call into the local HVAC guys that 1) are closest 2) service Carrier furnaces and 3) we worked with this summer when we had to move the air conditioning unit when we fixed the well. Unfortunately, it seems that one of their service guys hurt his back and is off work so they're short staffed. We're waiting for a call back from one of the remaining technicians. But there is no guarantee he'll make it here tonight. And, we'll probably pay through the nose for the service call.
Now maybe I'll get through to V why I have been pushing for a wood stove or fireplace for back-up heat. We've got the oil lamps lit and I'll probably try to bake something in the oven but I have to work tomorrow so I can't stay up terribly late tonight.
If things come in threes, hopefully this is our third for the week! I'm done.
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We have heat!!
The technician from the original company never got back to us so we called someone else who was here in 20 minutes. Of course he had to drive all the way back to his office for a part- which luckily he had in stock (when he left he wasn't sure he had it so we were left with the prospect of no heat until Monday!)
So, as of 11:40 pm last night, and $376 later, we have heat. We really got nailed on the labor charges because we were paying "weekend/after hours" rates. But, what's a family to do?
But, on a bright side. V did say something to the effect of the importance of getting wood back up heat in the house. Victory! So, maybe it was worth it in other ways as well.
Thank goodness the weekend is here. You are right though-something like a furnace going out helps you see how vulnerable you are if the power goes down, etc. REDUNDANCY is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI think your woodstove will be on its way, Judy! I feel your pain, the last 3 service calls here were weekend/holiday rates for water heater, heatpump, and well pump! Hubby probably could have taken care of 2 of those, but he's always out to sea when this stuff happens, lol! Here's to turning the corner and leaving the old week behind!
ReplyDeleteIt just never fails! Something will break on the weekend and you have to either pay out the nose or wait until Monday. At least you have heat. Maybe a trip to the local hardware store will happen to buy a new stove!! We had 6 more inches of snow last night...bummer and I think we are to get more today. Bob has a nice fire in the fireplace so we are warm...debbie
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got your heat fixed!!! It always happens on the evenings/weekends though, doesn't it. We heat primarily with wood - so if the power would ever go out, we'd be the lucky one's having both heat and something to cook on:) All the wood dust in the house is a pain but I'd rather have that than rely solely on propane....have a great weekend
ReplyDeletekris
I know what you mean about back-up heat! We put a high-efficiency wood-burning insert in our fireplace and I feel so much more secure!
ReplyDeleteYes, multiple heat sources are important. We heat with an electric heat pump, a free standing gas stove and a wood cookstove. We can use whichever heat source is the best bang for our buck depending on the weather. And combining all three keeps all the bills lower.
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