Keeping the Home Fires Burning….

unfortunately.

Saturday, Jack noted that cold air was blowing from the registers. He was able to arrange for a service call from the company from which we bought the furnace that morning, which resulted in the news that if we were lucky, they wouldn’t have to replace our whole furnace. As this is a relatively young furnace, bought seven years ago, we were quite bummed about it. Evidently, condensation had gotten into the works, and rusted out two major components. Our warranty was on shaky ground because we hadn’t been having yearly service calls that might have picked up the problem. The guy got the furnace working again with the warning that it was a temporary fix, but the furnace shut down again that evening.

After another service call yesterday, we decided to replace the major elements, which are going to be furnished by the manufacturer under the warranty. We will have to pay a hefty labor charge for installation, since they will essentially be rebuilding our furnace on site. The guy got our furnace going again, and this time it lasted until the middle of the night, when the low was 14 degrees Fahrenheit. We were also given the option of a new furnace at cost, but have decided to repair the one we have, and get twice yearly service calls for a while until we make sure the problem won’t recure.

The parts are being overnighted from the factory, and we hope they can be installed by Friday.

Fortunately, we have a number of space heaters, both ours and some borrowed from a friend, located strategically throughout the house near our plumbing. Incidentally, they are keeping our house from being too chilly. The old electric baseboard registers still work downstairs, so I can always retreat down there if it becomes too cold. Since the high is going to be freezing the next few days, I may have to do so.