In my previous post, I mentioned I wanted to write about the adventures of owning a home and the projects I will be working on. I had no idea the first project would require an entry so fast!
Yesterday, I get a call from Robyn saying the house is cold. Our house is heated by Baseboard water heaters with a fuel oil boiler. I figure it must have tripped a breaker or just needed to be reset. I had her go down and check it out. Unfortunately, it wasn't that. Her dad stopped over to take a look, and said the pilot light wasn't on and it appeared to be dead. Hmm...this can't be good. I really don't have a real firm grip on how the boiler system works, so I was out of my element for sure.
I did what any Semi-handy guy would do: I freaked out and called a professional. Little did I know how much fun that would be!
I learned very quickly that to work on Fuel Oil Systems, you need to be certified...and not many people are. I also learned the two big heating companies in the area are not, which filled me with such....dread that I was out of heat until I spent thousands of dollars (which I don't have). Thankfully, our oil company had a recommendation for a company and they agreed to come out and take a look (at after hours pricing of couse!).
Well, I'll bore you with the details, but suffice to say I learned a lot about Fuel oil and boilers last night. I also learned the "cleaning" we required before purchasing was just that: A cleaning that was apparently blind to nagging issues. Freaking great! But now, we have the correct size nozzle and a new relay, which wasn't as bad as I expected...but still a nice punch in the gut.
At least we have heat!
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