Booniverse

It all started Monday when Dirge and Shar called to say that the furnace was exploding. OK, not literally going up in a ball of fire but whenever it kicked on there would be a huge bang and a flame would come shooting out of the unit. That aint right, BUT it did the exact same thing when I first got the condo (and all it needed was some adjusting and a cleaning) so I called the furnace peoples.

Stepping into the Way Back machine, when I discovered that my furnace to my new condo was belching forth flame upon waking up, I went to the furnace peoples recommended by the condo association. I told the furnace guy that “The furnace is shooting out flames when it starts up”, so the furnace dude takes a cover off, flicks a switch which starts up the heating process and BOOM. Quick reflexes kept the furnace guy from loosing all of his eyebrows, but he looked shocked and surprised to discover that the furnace was belching 14 inch flames up and out of the housing. Do furnaces not normally do this sort of thing or do people just hear “The furnace is blah blah blah”. Did I not say “shooting flames”?

ANYWAY, the dude of ’01 was competent and got the furnace up and running without furnace acid reflux so I figured that I’d give them a ring again when I got the call that the furnace was acting hinky. I like to be a repeat customer (to the good places) because they get to know your stuff and build a history and all that. The furnace dude of ’04 came out (sans a flashlight to take a peek at a furnace that was mired in a downstairs room…errrrr…Ooookay) and poked at the furnace a bit. Maybe he got him out a wire brush and stabbed it at the general direction of the flame maker thingit (oh shut up, like I know furnace guts!) and decreed “Well, I’ve gone done cleaned it up for ya but that might not fix the problem and they don’t make parts for units this old. I think you need a new furnace (and I know where you can get a good deal).” Then he left and the furnace kept on roaring.

That’s a bit of frightening news to hear, but I had some contradictory information at hand that just didn’t add up to “New Furnace”. First off, the pilot light to the gas water heater went out at the same time as the furnace started acting up. Dirge and Shar told the furnace guy that but…well…I suppose he was looking for his flashlight at the time. Second, when I had the condo inspected before I bought it, the inspector said that although the unit was an older model, it was in generally good shape for the age and would probably last me another 10 years give or take. Thirdly, when Mr. Paul installed the AC system last summer, one of the things he looked at was the furnace to see if he ought to replace it then and there or if it was good to go. Mr. Paul’s been doing this sort of thing for a good long time (being a civil engineer by training and having worked with HVAC systems by profession…I think he knows stuff) so I’ll take his “Good to go” over Mr. NoHaveMyTools’s “Yer gonna need a whole dang new furnace” any day.

New furnace my ass.

Since there was a weird gas thing going on, I called up DTE and had them check the gas line. They did and they found a blockage outside the complex (whooo!) and fixed it, but the furnace was still not happy. They came back (with TOOLS!), tore the furnace completely apart, disconnected the flame thingit and WASHED it out, adjusted an air intake and called it good. The DTE guy was also under the impression that the fixit guy of ’04 was smoking crack. My furnace is peachy, but with a bit of indigestion. After a cleaning and adjusting, the furnace works like a charm. Take your “new furnace” and stuff it, fixit guy of ’04.

Did you know that the gas company will not only come and check your gas lines, but they will also come and fix your appliances? It wasn’t cheap but it was much worth it I think, especially in light of the first guy’s incompetence. Shar’s going to talk to the first company and explain to them that they really don’t feel that they should be paying for something the fixit guy of ’04 didn’t bother to do. Man!

In happier news, TheMan and I got in some good EQ and are now so very close to being the right level to group with Dirge and Shar. Sure, my eyes spontaneously bleed every now and then and I have to break the habit of conning people I meet on the street but hey! Level 19 frog paladin and level 17 elf enchanter. We rock! Heh.

In other dork news, we installed the expansion for EQ last night in preparation for some grouping fun and entertainment to come (sadly, I missed a step and didn’t get my free toy surprise *sniff*). TheMan pointed out that the expansion pack came with a free EQ Keychain! Which would be totally dorky except it’s kind of cool (once you remove the bangle that proudly claims EQ). I am contemplating using the weird circular disc with the strange symbols (and no EQness on it anywhere) as an identifying bangle on my set of keys. I have been bangleless ever since my cool ‘font broke off (again) and I gave it to my dad to fix three years ago. Eh, I guess it wasn’t that special, other than I had managed to keep it for 14 years. It was one of the older parts to my ever evolving key ring(s) of doom.

Then again, I would have to actually bring the new bangle downstairs, dig out my keys, thread the new bangle on and you know…being bangleless isn’t so bad really. I’ve lived for three years just fine sans an identifying bangle, maybe I’ll just forget the whole “attach new key fob” thing altogether. Oh yeah, and on your way back could you put a Cheeto in my mouth? Thanks.

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Last Year at the boniverse: I am working on about 2 or 3 hours of sleep here so lets see if this is really as coherent as I think it is now.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2004 at 9:59 am and is filed under General Bloggery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.