Yesterday evening marked the official start of the heating season for Roseholme Cottage. It was somewhat delayed by my having discovered a large circumferential crack in the flue running from the furnace to the chimney, at which point I had to locate a replacement, find that they were sold flat, and learn how to properly assemble and install them.
When Tam and I went to put the new section in, I managed to let the entire assembly -- several sections, about six feet of sheet-metal flue in the standard two-foot lengths -- fall clean out, which meant learning a bit more and starting over.
Anyway, after a few chilly nights, it was complete (before someone gives me A Serious Fatherly Lecture, I have a CO2 (ETA: wrong-- it's a CO detector, as it should be) detector and it is plugged in and running) and we started up the furnace for the first time this Fall last night. Seems to be working fine. I try to keep the thermostat between 65° and 68° F in winter; the 75° or so that many people seem to prefer strikes me as wildly impractical if you are properly dressed for cold weather. The computer room here at Roseholme stays a bit warmer, for obvious reasons.
Ahh, central heating! It's hard to imagine what life would be like without it, unless you've read, say, A Christmas Carol. The past is another country -- and a colder one, about half the time.
And did you put either sheet metal screws or rivets into any connections that may slip apart?
ReplyDeleteI am extra concerned about this because of a carbon monoxide close call with a family member years ago.
Yes, mother. ;) I did. And I checked for escaping exhaust!
ReplyDeleteYou mean CO detector, not CO2. CO will kill you buy CO2 will just make your tomatoes grow faster.
ReplyDeleteI would have been happy to come fix that for you. Indeed, I think I might have some 26GA pipe in the shed in several sizes for just that purpose. But glad you learned a new skill :)
ReplyDeleteWe run it between 70° and 72° most of the year, here. I prefer it cold and Sally prefers it warm, so we compromise.
My thermostat is set at 61. Mostly because I am cheap, and wearing wool socks and sweater is cheaper than paying for heat via the all-electric heat pump.
ReplyDeleteThe fireplace has been going enough to keep that at bay. I suppose I ought to let the damn thing kick in to be sure it is working... All the dead ash trees have provided a lot of renewable fuel that is free.
As for the doing stuff yourself. It isn't rocket science, and certainly not as technical as what you do in your day job, or what you do in you radio hobby.
We heated with a woodstove for 2 winters, "just because". To prevent cheating, we didn't even light the pilot in the furnace. Although we got by, I'm not anxious to repeat the performance, the gas furnace w/ thermostat set at 72 is SOOOO much nicer!
ReplyDeleteMy old gas furnace is pushing twenty, and every third year or so needs something replaced, but with natural-gas prices in the toilet -- good for me as a customer, not so good for me as a stockholder -- I should be able to keep this place at 71º all winter for less than $300.
ReplyDeleteIt's my impression that modest temperatures are more comfortable with some humidity in the air. Guessing that this is not so much an issue in your locale as it might be in the lee of Long's Peak.
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