Monday, March 3, 2014
Second slam: Back about February 18th I got a call from the fuel oil supplier for the country house saying that they couldn't get up the (300 foot uphill) driveway to deliver to the country house. I contacted the Hairless Hunk, and he took over.
So this morning I hear from HH. The oil guy tried to deliver late last week, but (HH just found out) was able to pump only 9 gallons when the intake pipe "overflowed". Their conclusion is that the tank is still full from the early December delivery.
ACK!
(HH is suspicious of that because he went up and checked, and there's no evidence of overflow.)
Anyway, the country house apparently has no heat, and may not have had heat since, oh, early December, or maybe even before that. Great.
Lots of possibilities:
The furnace is dead.
The power is out.
The fuel line is clogged.
Who knows.
I told HH there's no panic. With the below 0 temps they've had almost all winter, if there's any damage, it's already happened.
The thermostat had been set at 50. I had turned the well pump off, and opened the faucets in the bathtub and the kitchen sink to allow for expansion. I THINK I had filled all the traps and toilets with antifreeze (but I'm not sure, and even so, who knows how long before it evaporates anyway). To tell the truth, I had been slightly worried about sewer gas from the septic tank filling the house, and the damn place exploding at the first spark.
So I guess I have to go up there later this week and sort it out. If there's any damage from frozen pipes, it will be no more than whatever water was sitting in the pipes, and fixing can wait for spring. I can carry water for my stays.
If there's power, I can have heat while I'm there, because the otherwise defunct old heat pump has electric backup and I can run that. Costs a fortune, but, well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. If the house has already been without heat so long, it won't hurt to just turn it off when I leave. What more could happen?
If there's no power, I'll stay overnight in a local motel and then just come home. No way I can do anything about anything until spring if it's anything more than a tripped circuit breaker.
Bad bad bad winter. Go away.
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Note: More evidence of my mistrust, according to the electric bill for the country house, it used 564 kwh in December and January, and the bill claims this is an actual reading. If the furnace was off, all that's running is a dehumidifier in the basement and a refrigerator in the kitchen, and if there's been no heat, I doubt either has been running much. But those are the same usage numbers as last year. So either the power was on through December and January, or the electric company is inventing numbers.
.
Showing posts with label heat pump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heat pump. Show all posts
Monday, March 03, 2014
Thursday, July 18, 2013
3751 Hot
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Management rarely sees what has been done; they see only what remains to be done. It's up to you to show them.
--------------------------------
I'm amazed at the number of people who refuse to recognize a diamond in a yellow gold basket setting as a diamond. They seem to think if it's not in a platinum Tiffany high-prong setting, it can't be a diamond. Idiots.
Sadly, they do that with people, too.
--------------------------------
I don't particularly want to go to Florida any more. Compare the Zimmerman verdict to this story: Twenty years for a warning shot. Those folks ain't got no common sense.
NOTE: Later update. I did a bit more research on the warning shot story. There's another version of events here. The truth is somewhere, but it does seem that the fault lies in Florida's mandatory minimum sentencing laws. If she had actually killed the guy, her sentence would have likely been less, possibly just time served. Ok, different story, but still doesn't say much for Florida.
By the way, I'm tired of hearing "she used the n-word once twenty years ago". Uh, no. I read the actual text of the actual complaint filed by the ex-employee. I am fully aware that complaints are usually exaggerations, from one viewpoint, but in a civil case they do have to be at least close if you expect the case to be taken seriously. According to the complaint, in addition to other crap, in a restaurant owned by Ms. Deen and her brother, white employees could come in the front door, but black employees had to use the back door only. No black employees were allowed to be seen in the dining areas. White employees could use the customer bathrooms, black employees had to use only the restrooms in the kitchen area, and so on. The "Plantation-style" wedding dinner Ms. Deen wanted was not 20 years ago. It was maybe 2 years ago. And so on.
On the Zimmerman thing, I am also amazed at the number of people who say, "Martin threw the first punch; so Zimmerman had to defend himself."
I'm not aware of it having been asked, but what happened between the time Zimmerman got out of his car, and Martin punching him? Did Zimmerman walk up alongside him, smile, and say, "Good evening. I am so-and-so, and I'm on the neighborhood watch, responsible for keeping people here safe. I'm sorry, but I don't recognize you as a resident. Do you live here, or are you visiting some people here?" and then walked alongside him a bit.
Yeah, sure. Given Zimmerman's "They always get away" comment on the 911 call, I doubt it.
I suspect an angry and confrontational Zimmerman stepped in front of a frightened Martin, and tried to keep him from "getting away", frightening him even more. Did Zimmerman identify himself and his purpose? I doubt it. Maybe Martin did throw the first punch, but it's possible if not likely that an emboldened-by-gun Zimmerman pushed or grabbed him first to hold him until the cops came (we have only his version of events). Martin couldn't turn and run without risking being shot in the back. He defended himself with the only weapon he had - his fists.
Why didn't Zimmerman shoot to disable? The shoulder was as close as the heart.
--------------------------------
A crawl across the TV screen just warned of dangerous heat until 9 pm. It is now 97 degrees F, at 7:55 pm. Earlier today, at 4 or 5, I forget, it was over 100 both here and at the country house according to the weather service widgets on my laptop screen.
I barely notice the heat. I do notice the humidity. It makes it difficult to breathe. I don't know what the humidity is. I drove to the deli and picked up a diet Snapple, and by the time I got home, no more than 5 minutes, there was so much condensation on the bottle the label fell off.
My tomato and pepper plants on the porch and the pansies and geraniums in the porch hanging baskets are suffering. They have enough water, but the sun is burning them. Literally. The sides of the peppers and tomatoes facing the sun are actually cooked!
I am frustrated because I can't go to the country house. I have so much to do, but the a/c there is kaput. It's a groundwater-based heat pump, silted and salted up, and can't be repaired. It has to be replaced with a REAL system. I can cool that house fine by opening the basement door and using fans to pull cool air up, but that works only when the outside temp is no higher than about 87, tops. The back of the house is mostly glass and faces west, so the afternoon sun is less than helpful.
A witty saying proves nothing.
--Voltaire--
---------------------------------------------------------
Management rarely sees what has been done; they see only what remains to be done. It's up to you to show them.
--------------------------------
I'm amazed at the number of people who refuse to recognize a diamond in a yellow gold basket setting as a diamond. They seem to think if it's not in a platinum Tiffany high-prong setting, it can't be a diamond. Idiots.
Sadly, they do that with people, too.
--------------------------------
I don't particularly want to go to Florida any more. Compare the Zimmerman verdict to this story: Twenty years for a warning shot. Those folks ain't got no common sense.
NOTE: Later update. I did a bit more research on the warning shot story. There's another version of events here. The truth is somewhere, but it does seem that the fault lies in Florida's mandatory minimum sentencing laws. If she had actually killed the guy, her sentence would have likely been less, possibly just time served. Ok, different story, but still doesn't say much for Florida.
By the way, I'm tired of hearing "she used the n-word once twenty years ago". Uh, no. I read the actual text of the actual complaint filed by the ex-employee. I am fully aware that complaints are usually exaggerations, from one viewpoint, but in a civil case they do have to be at least close if you expect the case to be taken seriously. According to the complaint, in addition to other crap, in a restaurant owned by Ms. Deen and her brother, white employees could come in the front door, but black employees had to use the back door only. No black employees were allowed to be seen in the dining areas. White employees could use the customer bathrooms, black employees had to use only the restrooms in the kitchen area, and so on. The "Plantation-style" wedding dinner Ms. Deen wanted was not 20 years ago. It was maybe 2 years ago. And so on.
On the Zimmerman thing, I am also amazed at the number of people who say, "Martin threw the first punch; so Zimmerman had to defend himself."
I'm not aware of it having been asked, but what happened between the time Zimmerman got out of his car, and Martin punching him? Did Zimmerman walk up alongside him, smile, and say, "Good evening. I am so-and-so, and I'm on the neighborhood watch, responsible for keeping people here safe. I'm sorry, but I don't recognize you as a resident. Do you live here, or are you visiting some people here?" and then walked alongside him a bit.
Yeah, sure. Given Zimmerman's "They always get away" comment on the 911 call, I doubt it.
I suspect an angry and confrontational Zimmerman stepped in front of a frightened Martin, and tried to keep him from "getting away", frightening him even more. Did Zimmerman identify himself and his purpose? I doubt it. Maybe Martin did throw the first punch, but it's possible if not likely that an emboldened-by-gun Zimmerman pushed or grabbed him first to hold him until the cops came (we have only his version of events). Martin couldn't turn and run without risking being shot in the back. He defended himself with the only weapon he had - his fists.
Why didn't Zimmerman shoot to disable? The shoulder was as close as the heart.
--------------------------------
A crawl across the TV screen just warned of dangerous heat until 9 pm. It is now 97 degrees F, at 7:55 pm. Earlier today, at 4 or 5, I forget, it was over 100 both here and at the country house according to the weather service widgets on my laptop screen.
I barely notice the heat. I do notice the humidity. It makes it difficult to breathe. I don't know what the humidity is. I drove to the deli and picked up a diet Snapple, and by the time I got home, no more than 5 minutes, there was so much condensation on the bottle the label fell off.
My tomato and pepper plants on the porch and the pansies and geraniums in the porch hanging baskets are suffering. They have enough water, but the sun is burning them. Literally. The sides of the peppers and tomatoes facing the sun are actually cooked!
I am frustrated because I can't go to the country house. I have so much to do, but the a/c there is kaput. It's a groundwater-based heat pump, silted and salted up, and can't be repaired. It has to be replaced with a REAL system. I can cool that house fine by opening the basement door and using fans to pull cool air up, but that works only when the outside temp is no higher than about 87, tops. The back of the house is mostly glass and faces west, so the afternoon sun is less than helpful.
Monday, July 05, 2010
3011 Inadequate A/C; Inconsiderate a-holes
Monday, July 5, 2010
When it hit 87 degrees inside the house last night, I gave up and turned the air conditioning on.
I'd been resisting turning on the A/C as long as possible because the heat pump A/C runs off the well water, so while it's on, I have miserable water pressure, and it stirs up the well so there's silt in the water and I have to change the filter in the basement more often. But last night when it hit 87 degrees in the house, and temperatures are supposed to approach 100 degrees over the next three to five days, I gave in.
There are several steps involved:
When I finished freaking out and was able to think logically, I went through all the possibilities, and then realized I'd screwed up step 8. I had turned on the wrong thermostat. The furnace thermostat has a "Cool" setting, but it's not hooked up to anything, and I had forgotten all about the hall thermostat and had flipped the living room thermostat to "cool". Sheesh.
The shutoff valve on the heat pump hasn't worked in years, so water runs through the system constantly. I paid about $5,000 last year (or the year before?) to have the well pipes, pump, and pressure tank replaced, so I hope this doesn't kill them. Plumbers tell me that well pumps like to run, it's going off and on that kills them, so I'm hoping it's ok - as long as I don't pump the well dry.
It's now 11 am, and even with the system having run flat out all night, the inside temperature is already 80 and rising. It's only 84 outside.
I am really starting to hate this house.
----------------------------------------
I'm in a very bad mood partly because my mail box and paper tube have been hit again. It gets hit every few months by people backing out of the driveway across the street. No one EVER stops and apologizes, and that alone pisses me off. And I know how it happens because I have seen the tracks in snow, or in the lawn. Once I was actually in the side yard and saw it.
Three bashes ago, the post for the newspaper tube got bent, so it is no longer in line with the mailbox, making it difficult to reach it from the car. Two bashes ago, the mailbox body got twisted enough that the door no longer closes. There's about a two inch gap at the top. Rain and snow get in. The last previous bash twisted the post far to the left, so the mailbox is not lined up with the street.
Somebody hit it yesterday, twisting the mailbox to the other direction, and destroying the tube. Here's what I have now:
It's impossible now to reach the newspaper from the car. I have to get out of the car, no matter what the weather, no matter how hard it's pouring or hailing. The paper delivery person must be throwing it in or something.
The a-hole must have hit it very hard, because although the mailbox post was designed to twist rather than break when hit by the town snowplow, it's got 25 years of rust and corrosion on it, and when the Hunk straightens it for me, he needs to use a winch on his truck.
And as usual, no one so much as left a note, let alone offered to fix it. I am royally pissed off.
I bought a new mailbox a few months ago, but I want to install it on the other side of the driveway, hoping a-holes will be less likely to hit it, and I haven't decided yet what kind of post I want. I'd prefer something flexible, like a huge spring, but haven't found the right thing yet.
I am really starting to hate people.
----------------------------------------------
The kicker? The "Service engine soon" light is back on steady in Hal. He's going in tomorrow for the bumper replacement, so I'll mention it then.
I'm really starting to hate this car.
.
“Wise men talk because they have something to say;
fools, because they have to say something.”
-- Plato --
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fools, because they have to say something.”
-- Plato --
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When it hit 87 degrees inside the house last night, I gave up and turned the air conditioning on.
I'd been resisting turning on the A/C as long as possible because the heat pump A/C runs off the well water, so while it's on, I have miserable water pressure, and it stirs up the well so there's silt in the water and I have to change the filter in the basement more often. But last night when it hit 87 degrees in the house, and temperatures are supposed to approach 100 degrees over the next three to five days, I gave in.
There are several steps involved:
- Turn off the living room thermostat that controls the oil furnace.
- Change the water filter at the tank in the basement, a very dirty job.
- Fight through the spider webs and throw the circuit breakers: furnace off, heat pump on.
- Remove the damper from the heat pump, so the cool air can enter the ducts. This involves standing on a chair and pounding with a hammer.
- Insert the damper in the furnace ductwork to keep the cool air from dumping through the furnace into the basement.
- Turn on the water to the heat pump, which involves a tall stepladder and wrist strength.
- Check for water leaks.
- Turn on the hall thermostat, that controls the heat pump A/C and electric backup heat.
When I finished freaking out and was able to think logically, I went through all the possibilities, and then realized I'd screwed up step 8. I had turned on the wrong thermostat. The furnace thermostat has a "Cool" setting, but it's not hooked up to anything, and I had forgotten all about the hall thermostat and had flipped the living room thermostat to "cool". Sheesh.
The shutoff valve on the heat pump hasn't worked in years, so water runs through the system constantly. I paid about $5,000 last year (or the year before?) to have the well pipes, pump, and pressure tank replaced, so I hope this doesn't kill them. Plumbers tell me that well pumps like to run, it's going off and on that kills them, so I'm hoping it's ok - as long as I don't pump the well dry.
It's now 11 am, and even with the system having run flat out all night, the inside temperature is already 80 and rising. It's only 84 outside.
I am really starting to hate this house.
----------------------------------------
I'm in a very bad mood partly because my mail box and paper tube have been hit again. It gets hit every few months by people backing out of the driveway across the street. No one EVER stops and apologizes, and that alone pisses me off. And I know how it happens because I have seen the tracks in snow, or in the lawn. Once I was actually in the side yard and saw it.
Three bashes ago, the post for the newspaper tube got bent, so it is no longer in line with the mailbox, making it difficult to reach it from the car. Two bashes ago, the mailbox body got twisted enough that the door no longer closes. There's about a two inch gap at the top. Rain and snow get in. The last previous bash twisted the post far to the left, so the mailbox is not lined up with the street.
Somebody hit it yesterday, twisting the mailbox to the other direction, and destroying the tube. Here's what I have now:
It's impossible now to reach the newspaper from the car. I have to get out of the car, no matter what the weather, no matter how hard it's pouring or hailing. The paper delivery person must be throwing it in or something.The a-hole must have hit it very hard, because although the mailbox post was designed to twist rather than break when hit by the town snowplow, it's got 25 years of rust and corrosion on it, and when the Hunk straightens it for me, he needs to use a winch on his truck.
And as usual, no one so much as left a note, let alone offered to fix it. I am royally pissed off.
I bought a new mailbox a few months ago, but I want to install it on the other side of the driveway, hoping a-holes will be less likely to hit it, and I haven't decided yet what kind of post I want. I'd prefer something flexible, like a huge spring, but haven't found the right thing yet.
I am really starting to hate people.
----------------------------------------------
The kicker? The "Service engine soon" light is back on steady in Hal. He's going in tomorrow for the bumper replacement, so I'll mention it then.
I'm really starting to hate this car.
.
Monday, June 09, 2008
1845 A/C
Monday, June 9, 2008
It was 97 degrees in Rochester when I left there on Friday. It was 100 degrees here and in NJ Saturday and Sunday. When I got home yesterday, it was 84 degrees in my house.
So I decided when it was already 94 outside by 10 am today that it was time to go through the pain of switching over to the groundwater-based heat pump air conditioning (moving baffles, throwing switches, opening valves, etc.). It was 84 in the house when I got it going. It's been running about five hours, and the temperature is now 85.
Sigh. I suspect the tubes are so full of silt from the well that little water is getting through.
It's probably time to give up and look into conventional A/C. Not a happy thought.
.
It was 97 degrees in Rochester when I left there on Friday. It was 100 degrees here and in NJ Saturday and Sunday. When I got home yesterday, it was 84 degrees in my house.
So I decided when it was already 94 outside by 10 am today that it was time to go through the pain of switching over to the groundwater-based heat pump air conditioning (moving baffles, throwing switches, opening valves, etc.). It was 84 in the house when I got it going. It's been running about five hours, and the temperature is now 85.
Sigh. I suspect the tubes are so full of silt from the well that little water is getting through.
It's probably time to give up and look into conventional A/C. Not a happy thought.
.
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