Last Saturday (10/7/2009), at about 5pm, I realized that my boiler had stopped working and my heat and hot water were no longer functional. A timely October cold front swept in and forecasted temperatures were in the teens. After "remote diagnostics" (service tech on the phone with me on my hands and knees, neck deep inside a boiler) were complete, it was determined that the blower motor had seized. Being Saturday evening, it was virtually impossible to get a replacement until Monday. Bummer.
So we got a couple space heaters and sweatshirts and hunkered down. We also went and hung out in the restaurant for awhile. The first night was the worst, but the absence of hot water the second night was really a bummer. No showers. No shave. One cold-water hair wash. I know there are many people in worse conditions but don't many of us take for granted that there will be heat at night and hot water in the morning?
So Monday morning comes and I'm up at 7am calling for service. Apparently there were quite a few HVAC issues over the weekend, because every company I called was booked solid.
Fortunately Brad, the original service tech who helped me on the phone, shows up on Monday around noon, removes the motor and promises we'll have heat that evening. With that to go on, we waited until the afternoon sun dipped. He finally returned just before twilight, and true to his word, shortly after the boiler was kickin' steam and the faucets were burnin'. It's epic. High fives. Oh yeah... shower, sweet shower.
So what's the story? Here's what I uncovered...
I found that like most crappy things that happen to you, if you look hard enough you can find the silver linings. We were uncomfortable for a couple days, but it made me realize that the things we take for granted are the ones we miss the most.
I also got a crash-course in boilers. Cool pictures too. I still can't tell you how they work, but I'm not afraid of them anymore.
I made a great contact with a guy who seems to know a lot about a lot of things that I don't. Brad was really dedicated to getting it fixed for us and went out of his way to do so. Good people rule!
And I determined that radiant heaters don't work worth a shit in a really cold room. The kind with the fan kicking dry heat from two feet away are the best for that. Now you know.
Peace.
