Two Months with a Broken Furnace

One item which we haven't mentioned here - our furnace stopped working sometime towards the beginning of October. And it was only at the end of November that I finally got it fixed. Yes, I know, that's a long time. And with a newborn in the house, it's even worse! It's a long story...

Ever since we moved here, this furnace has given us trouble. First there was a blown gasket that resulted in exhaust fumes leaking into the house. Then the furnace would occasionally not come on, like during our Florida trip in January. Well, this year that latter problem went from intermittent to frequent to constant. No wonder some people have dubbed the "Heatmaker" brand as the "Hatemaker".

So for almost two months, we heated the house solely with the wood stove. The stove is actually fairly efficient at heating the place, although it certainly takes more work. We also went through our firewood stash much faster than we had planned, particularly since at least one of us was always home taking care of Anders.

Anyway, we eventually gave in and called the HVAC folks out again. The good thing about a constant problem (rather than intermittent) is that it is easier to debug. Thus, within an hour or so they had diagnosed it as a failed ignition circuit, and about a week later I received and installed the new unit.

At the moment, we're loving the heat from our "Hatemaker". It sure is nice to come home - or wake up - to a warm house!

- Mike, Corinne, and Anders Rocket