Then I get home last night - bearing in mind it has been -6 degrees here and they are forecasting -12 - and I have no heat!!!! Again bl*****dy hell. I checked to make sure the fuel lines were open and turned it on and off a few times but there was nothing doing. One time a cat must have gotten down in my basement and somehow managed to sit on the fuel tank and flip the fuel supply line to "off", but that wasn't the case this time.
I have a maintenance contract with a very professional local company so I called them immediately and left a message. They called me back at 7 a.m. this morning and the first thing he asked me was if I had fuel in the tanks! Well, of course I do, you moron, I always start the winter season with 2000 litres and when it gets down to about 1000 I order more. Anyway, the guy came out this morning and they called me at work to say that I had indeed run out of fuel (so who's the moron now?)! Well talk about feeling like a bloody idiot. You know the old joke about the woman who goes to the garage complaining about a clunking noise in her car and it turns out there is a golf ball in the trunk! I couldn't understand it as by my reckoning I should still have about 400 litres in the tank (you can't actually see how much is left in the tank). Then I remembered that I had had a leak in the summer and I guess I lost quite a bit more fuel than I thought so the tank was indeed empty. I put in an emergency order this morning but I don't think they will be able to deliver until Tuesday as one of their trucks has had an accident. Thankfully I have a few electric heaters and a paraffin heater so I was ok last night, although I will admit to having what must be the quickest shower in living memory this morning. Still, what with the heaters and an extremely fetching pair of long johns, I think I will survive until I can get this whole fuel tank/water heater system replaced!
Oh dear - I wonder how much that leaking fuel cost you.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar, but not as bad, thing happen here over Christmas/New Year.
I had family staying with me and in the early hours of Christmas morning, teenage grandson bumbled into the bathroom to use the toilet, pressed the cistern flush and - I could hear the cistern filling, filling, filling . . . a long cascade of water. Then I heard the top of the cistern being lifted off, some fiddling with the innards, put back on - and still the water rushed. This went on for about 20 minutes until the cistern filled and the water stopped. Phew!!! I had been lying there, praying he would fix it and that I wouldn't need to call a plumber out on Christmas Day.
Early hours of Boxing Day - same thing happened again! And for several days later, Finally, I called the plumber, who had to replace a large component of the cistern - cost £86. Two days later, we found water spraying in a fine jet from a screw valve in the inlet pipe; plumber called out again, replaced the valve - cost £62. Although not superstitious, I then broke a match! Because bad things are said to happen in multiples of three! So far, so good. And clumsy grandson has gone back to boarding school.
Wow I had never heard of breaking a match. Better buy myself some tomorrow. I thought I had written about it but my water heater started soaking the basement floor on New Year's Day. My son came over while I was taking my visitor to the airport and was able to fix it on 2nd January when he could get the part. And then the furnace problem (they are delivering fuel tomorrow). Oh and I have just come back from the theatre (went to see Bolero) and have just realized I have lost a rather lovely shawl! I will call the theatre tomorrow just in case, but please let that be the "third" thing if not.
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