Heat...What's That?

Heat…What’s That?                      1-13-2015

By John W. Vander Velden

Those that think that they can pass through life without a single glitch are overly optimistic or just plain foolish.  Life has its hiccups, pure and simple.  You can either go with them, ignore them, or fight them, but you aren’t going to live without them!

When I arrived at the farmhouse on a cold January Thursday I found it cool.  I didn’t realize at first just how cool but later the thermometer told me it was twenty – indoors.  I guess that’s more than cool – no matter what you definition might be of that word, temperature or otherwise.  A phone call to my furnace repairman resulted the discovery of a blown fuse.  Couldn’t say what caused the twenty year old electrical safety valve to give up the ghost, but with the new fuse heat returned to that part of my world.  Thought the power had blinked and caught the furnace off guard -- well maybe. 

Late afternoon – ggrrowwll – strange noises – need I say more?  The furnace guy arrived at just after seven – that’s PM.  We came to a mutual agreement that a new – as in expensive – furnace would be required.  Yes, I know the Williamson oil burner was old – more than twenty years old matter of fact.  Yes, I knew that the wonderful Williamson Furnace company of Indianapolis was only remembered by a few – parts unavailable.  So I wasn’t really surprised – well not much.  Don’t get me wrong, they checked out the dinosaur in December and everything seemed fine.  Friday I spoke to the salesman twice – to the gas company three times – and a plan of action was assembled – sorta’.  A new furnace – a gas furnace – on Tuesday.  Tuesday!  It’s winter – it’s Indiana, the northern part – and it’s cold!

But like I said, “Into every life a bit of rain must fall” – or snow.  Sometimes you luck out – and we did a little anyway.  I learned that the trusty old beast would run – some.  Some is better than none.  It would run until the thermostat told it to not run, then it would not start.  So – set the thermostat at eighty, start the furnace and let it roar for a couple of hours then shut things down awhile.  Not handy but kept the pipes from freezing.  Yes, I let the water run, but cold is cold.  I said that already.  That and having two electric heaters run twenty-four hours a day and it looks like we might make it, though I fear the electric bill.

I write this on Tuesday afternoon.  The LP tank has been set and the line run above the frozen yard.  The old furnace has been mostly hauled out of the basement – only the heavy part remains.  They’ll wait until we get heat before they take the time to manhandle the old heat exchanger.  The new furnace is set in the home I hope it resides for many years.  They are working on the electric, vents, and ductwork.  There is hope, and with a prediction of umpteen below in the forecast, the return of heat doesn’t come too soon.

(513 Words)