It is Cold!!
This morning I had a hard time getting out of bed. It was warm and cosy. When I finally did get up, I found it unusually cold. Put on some clothes and went downstairs to get something to eat.
Then I noticed the thermostat: 62 degrees (F)! Wow! No wonder I was cold. And I was very surprised I was not cold in bed.. guess that down-filled duvet I bought last year really works. Funny how you don't get really hot under one - just really comfortable, no matter what the outside temperature is. This morning it was about 7 (C) below zero.
Hmmm.. so the furnace was not working.. why not? I went down into the basement and opened the cover. There were some LEDs flashing on the controller board: I counted off the flashes: 3 short and one long - '31'. Nothing mysterious about that one: seems to be the catch-all for every problem - as far as I can remember, every problem I have ever had with this furnace was a '31', which means the burner did not fire because there was an air flow blockage. This could be caused by anything from a blocked air filter to a blocked external vent, or an internal component failure. When I called the company for service, I did not even mention the error code this time, as I know it is completely meaningless to the service technician.
To my surprise, I was told a tech would be there between 10am and 2pm. What?! On a Sunday? Same day service?! Hard to believe - last time I called for service it took 4 days.. and the problem was caused by a previous technician who had come by a few days earlier to perform the 'annual routine maintenance' on the furnace. Turns out, he came on a warm day when the furnace was not in use; a few days later when it got cold, the furnace would not start - the jerk forgot to turn on the gas switch inside the furnace. Needless to say, I cancelled my 'annual routine maintenance' and just kept the service contract for failure problems.
So now I have a real emergency, and I am told a tech is on his way. Whoopee! He shows up within two hours, and starts his examination. Turns the power off and on to fire up the furnace, but of course it doesn't. Instead there is a loud rasping noise - he knows right away what it is - the blower is broken, most probably the fan blades have come off the unit and are rattling around inside the assembly. That he has diagnosed this so quickly is the good news; the bad news is that he does not have a replacement, and he will have to order one. Tells me it will be delivered directly to my home - when it arrives, just call back and the company will send someone to install it. Said it may even arrive today, despite it being Sunday.
Well, it didn't arrive. Called the company, and they have no idea where the part is or when it will arrive. And it is now 10pm.
I went outside to get some firewood in the back yard, then I lit up the fireplace trying to get some heat in the house. But it only marginally heated up the living room from 62 to 66 degrees. The rest of the house was still cold. I moved one of the sofas in front of the fireplace, grabbed a blanket and my notebook and did some work, but my hands were just too cold. So, I watched a course on Web Fonts which did not require the use of my hands.
I am now back in bed, under my duvet. I even dug out the old electric blanket to warm it up a bit before getting it. I can assure you that I am quite warm right now - even my hands, which are outside the blankets and typing this entry, are warm.
Will the part arrive tomorrow? Will I have to wait days for a service tech to replace it? Only time will tell. For now, good night.
Then I noticed the thermostat: 62 degrees (F)! Wow! No wonder I was cold. And I was very surprised I was not cold in bed.. guess that down-filled duvet I bought last year really works. Funny how you don't get really hot under one - just really comfortable, no matter what the outside temperature is. This morning it was about 7 (C) below zero.
Hmmm.. so the furnace was not working.. why not? I went down into the basement and opened the cover. There were some LEDs flashing on the controller board: I counted off the flashes: 3 short and one long - '31'. Nothing mysterious about that one: seems to be the catch-all for every problem - as far as I can remember, every problem I have ever had with this furnace was a '31', which means the burner did not fire because there was an air flow blockage. This could be caused by anything from a blocked air filter to a blocked external vent, or an internal component failure. When I called the company for service, I did not even mention the error code this time, as I know it is completely meaningless to the service technician.
To my surprise, I was told a tech would be there between 10am and 2pm. What?! On a Sunday? Same day service?! Hard to believe - last time I called for service it took 4 days.. and the problem was caused by a previous technician who had come by a few days earlier to perform the 'annual routine maintenance' on the furnace. Turns out, he came on a warm day when the furnace was not in use; a few days later when it got cold, the furnace would not start - the jerk forgot to turn on the gas switch inside the furnace. Needless to say, I cancelled my 'annual routine maintenance' and just kept the service contract for failure problems.
So now I have a real emergency, and I am told a tech is on his way. Whoopee! He shows up within two hours, and starts his examination. Turns the power off and on to fire up the furnace, but of course it doesn't. Instead there is a loud rasping noise - he knows right away what it is - the blower is broken, most probably the fan blades have come off the unit and are rattling around inside the assembly. That he has diagnosed this so quickly is the good news; the bad news is that he does not have a replacement, and he will have to order one. Tells me it will be delivered directly to my home - when it arrives, just call back and the company will send someone to install it. Said it may even arrive today, despite it being Sunday.
Well, it didn't arrive. Called the company, and they have no idea where the part is or when it will arrive. And it is now 10pm.
I went outside to get some firewood in the back yard, then I lit up the fireplace trying to get some heat in the house. But it only marginally heated up the living room from 62 to 66 degrees. The rest of the house was still cold. I moved one of the sofas in front of the fireplace, grabbed a blanket and my notebook and did some work, but my hands were just too cold. So, I watched a course on Web Fonts which did not require the use of my hands.
I am now back in bed, under my duvet. I even dug out the old electric blanket to warm it up a bit before getting it. I can assure you that I am quite warm right now - even my hands, which are outside the blankets and typing this entry, are warm.
Will the part arrive tomorrow? Will I have to wait days for a service tech to replace it? Only time will tell. For now, good night.
posted by Anon Emous at 10:07 PM
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