Hurrah. We have hot water again. Until last night, I hadn't had a bath for a week. No, I wasn't mingin' - we have a power shower - but I do like to lounge in the bath of an evening. As avid readers of blethers will know, our gas boiler gave up the ghost last weekend. We had a visit from A Gas Man on Sunday - he'd to come from The Other Side and was waiting when we returned from church. He diagnosed a fan problem - and maybe a wee circuit failure - and left.
On Tuesday The Gas Man came - our own, familiar Gas Man who comes to service the fires. He poked about for quite some time, reconnected bits, shoved in new bits - and found that the fan came on when we weren't heating water and went off when we were. Bad, this - meant that there was a great deal of steam and condensation and horrid hot smells. Incidentally, the original horrid hot burny smell was the circuit board, which had emerged blackened when he began his investigations. However, he now found he needed not a part but a whole fan unit - and went off. Still no hot water.
Now it is perfectly possible to boil water in a kettle for dishwashing - but a kettle doesn't go far after a proper meal. And you just can't wash dishes in the shower. So by this time, knowing that TGM couldn't be with us till Friday, we were becoming disgruntled. You don't want to be around The Blethers when we're both disgruntled.
But to the saga. On Friday, TGM returned. A good two hours later he staggered off, sweating but finally triumphant. He'd been banging and heaving and dripping water from the severed arteries of the boiler, and climbing up and down the ladder and putting the power to the fan on and off again (he finally roped Mr B in to help with this). It had been a herculean effort. But why was it so damned difficult? This boiler is only 20 months old. I think it was a bit soon for it to break down, let alone cause so much angst to the faithful Gas Man. Apparently it is Old Technology, because we only want to heat water and not a central heating system. Maybe this is why it takes Old Brute Strength to fix it. We may end up having central heating just to get a decent boiler. There's only one problem.
I hate central heating.
Less of the old, dammit! What's the point of central heating if you keep putting it off? Makes your floorboards wonky and dictates your furniture arrangements!
ReplyDeleteAnd it totally ruins your piano! If there is an untuned piano there is a 'disgruntled' Blether family. And having been under the direction of both of them when they are disgruntled, it can become quite scary.
ReplyDeleteCentral heating is very handy in the winter, I have to say. But you need to think of your instruments!
lack of heating has never really bothered me, in fact, my room back home is one of the only ones in the house not to have a radiator installed, as I am lucky enough to have a coal fire, and window and a plentiful supply of knitwear, leaving all eventualities covered
ReplyDeletegosh, Sagremor - thought you'd shuffled off this mortal coil .....
ReplyDeleteGlad you haven't, though.