Heating Update
Dec. 4th, 2016 07:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithWe have a lovely large pile of firewood outside, mostly oak. So we can use that when we have energy to build a fire again.
Today someone arrived from a different heating/cooling company. He said he'd be here on Sunday at 1:30 and it was literally 1:30 when he called to tell us he'd arrived. Color me impressed. He took measurements to see about replacing the piece of shit heat pump etc. with something better. So we're considering options for that. Also I got to spend an hour playing carpenter's helper while we measured the inside of the house to estimate square footage and discussed possibilities.
He mentioned having a laser measuring tape that he didn't have with him, which sent me into at least five minutes riffing on what could be done with that. The hardest thing about that tech is just making something that will measure distance with light. I looked these up and discovered that most of them just measure one line of distance, although there are laser levels with XYZ capability. The higher end models will do calculations for area/volume, which is what I was thinking as useful.
What they need to do is add the XYZ feature, so that you have a handheld light-driven geometric computer. You should be able to, for example, wave it at a furnace and get the dimensions of that device, wave it at a house and capture that volume, then correlate with stored parameters of available hardware to spit out which units would fit. *wistful sigh* In T-America, the simple laser measures are handed out like penlights as promotional swag. Professionals can get the geometric version at a reasonable price.
Anyhow, for whomever has been reminding the Universe to take care of the bard: thank you, it seems to be helping. <3
Today someone arrived from a different heating/cooling company. He said he'd be here on Sunday at 1:30 and it was literally 1:30 when he called to tell us he'd arrived. Color me impressed. He took measurements to see about replacing the piece of shit heat pump etc. with something better. So we're considering options for that. Also I got to spend an hour playing carpenter's helper while we measured the inside of the house to estimate square footage and discussed possibilities.
He mentioned having a laser measuring tape that he didn't have with him, which sent me into at least five minutes riffing on what could be done with that. The hardest thing about that tech is just making something that will measure distance with light. I looked these up and discovered that most of them just measure one line of distance, although there are laser levels with XYZ capability. The higher end models will do calculations for area/volume, which is what I was thinking as useful.
What they need to do is add the XYZ feature, so that you have a handheld light-driven geometric computer. You should be able to, for example, wave it at a furnace and get the dimensions of that device, wave it at a house and capture that volume, then correlate with stored parameters of available hardware to spit out which units would fit. *wistful sigh* In T-America, the simple laser measures are handed out like penlights as promotional swag. Professionals can get the geometric version at a reasonable price.
Anyhow, for whomever has been reminding the Universe to take care of the bard: thank you, it seems to be helping. <3
(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-05 02:10 am (UTC)*pours tea*
Date: 2016-12-05 02:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-05 04:57 am (UTC)Well...
Date: 2016-12-05 05:29 am (UTC)Re: Well...
Date: 2016-12-05 06:19 am (UTC)The furnace in this house is not original but *is* 35 years old. We didn't get our act together to get it replaced in the summer; now we're hoping it'll last the winter, since our fallback is small electric heaters; no woodstove nor fireplace here, alas. :-(
Re: Well...
Date: 2016-12-05 06:45 am (UTC)It works at the current weather conditions, but when the temperature drops substantially, it won't be able to handle that without new parts. Fuck it, I'm pushing for replacement.
>> The furnace in this house is not original but *is* 35 years old. We didn't get our act together to get it replaced in the summer; now we're hoping it'll last the winter, <<
We have been replacing parts about every other year for the 10 or 12 years we've had the bastard. I forget how much is even what we first bought anymore. Not to mention the several occasions in which the heat or cooling was out of order for months and caused broken pipes or health problems. >_<
>> since our fallback is small electric heaters; no woodstove nor fireplace here, alas. :-( <<
That really sucks. I'm a bulldog about fault tolerance just because of all the fuckups I see. Almost nothing is actually reliable. Not much is even adequate anymore. It's like how Japan used to be famous for turning out cheap crap, that's America now.
Re: Well...
Date: 2016-12-05 07:03 am (UTC)Sounds like it's had intermittent problems for its entire "service life". Any chance there are relevant lemon laws that could be applied here?
I certainly hope that whatever does replace it is from a different manufacturer. There's a good, recent (May 2016), FREE article on gas furnaces from Consumer Reports, here: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/gas-furnaces/buying-guide.htm
Re: Well...
Date: 2016-12-05 07:19 am (UTC)I hope so too.
>> Sounds like it's had intermittent problems for its entire "service life". <<
It has.
>> Any chance there are relevant lemon laws that could be applied here? <<
I suggested that, but nothing came of it.
>> I certainly hope that whatever does replace it is from a different manufacturer. <<
Most definitely. The equipment we're looking at has higher performance and quality ratings.
We're looking at electric, not propane. We used to have propane. We had to give that up after the company refused to admit there was a leak in the line, even after the driveway was FIZZING.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-05 05:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-05 09:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-06 04:54 pm (UTC)Yay warm fuzzies about carpentry assistance! That sounds like a really neat tool.
Seems if you had an appropriate setup, something like a surveyor's tripod with a plumb bob, you could not only measure volume, but squareness. That could come in really handy.
Well...
Date: 2016-12-06 06:23 pm (UTC)