House in Progress Diary

Wheee! Vendors and more vendors!

This morning we had our boiler serviced by A & M
Heating & Cooling Specialists.

When I called them last weekend for a routine check-up appointment, I wasn't expecting a call back until Monday. Their answering service passed along the message and they called me back the same day. The set up an appointment for today.

Bright and early, they came in and went to work on our 6 year old steam boiler.

Just like the pump in the basement, it is good to check the boiler once a month. Well-maintained equipment lasts longer. Costs less money in the long run.

They checked a number of things and were very patient with my questions. Gave me a quick lesson in this particular boiler and its quirks. Now that I think about it, they were particularly nice considering I hadn't had my coffee and was not too quick on the uptake :) I learned about my PSI reading (should be around .05)

And I learned how to do a few other things to maintain it. I also got a lesson in what these things were on our radiators.

They aren't in addition to a steam radiator's regular valve system. They are something that you use instead if you can't (or don't want to) reach down to the valve and still control the amount of steam for that specific radiator. The numbers on the side give you more information than the original turning knobs. But they do look a bit, um, unusual.

I also learned that the radiator in the additional room that the previous owner had built onto the back of the house doesn't work very well. (This is the room with the floor that slants, has little insulation, etc. It is really an enclosed porch that was attached to the house.) We plan on taking this room off at some point and doing something different back there. So, we'll live with this room for now and keep the heat cranked back here so the pipes don't freeze. Which could be a problem.

All in all, a successful visit and we should have heat this winter!

Posted by jeanne on September 17, 2003 at 10:34 AM (1)