WHY IS IT SO FREEZING COLD IN THE HOUSE?
 

Because, my fucking mentally challenged kids went out to play in the snow and let the door WIDE OPEN.

That was 20 minutes ago.

Where's my book on Skinnerian behavior modification?

"It's SNOWING!"

*scurry*

Spray them with the hose and then lock the doors.

Well, I haven't turned on my heat at all because I'm road-testing my polarfleece sheets. They work.

I just broke down this am... Having a challenged kid is one thing.
Having one that is also sick is quite another.
:( I haven't put the heat on before Thanksgiving in many years.

Psychologically I feel your pain, even though my reality does not come close to matching. Early this morning, I woke up shivering. I thought, "Holy shit, they were right about that cold front coming in. I should have set it to heat before I went to bed just in case." I bundled my robe around me and walked all stiff-legged to the thermostat to switch the heat on.

And you know what the thermostat said?

72. Seventy. Freaking. Two. I am not kidding, I was genuinely shivering and I had been expecting it to say no more than 65 at the very highest. I had to check the other one upstairs just to make sure it wasn't broken. Apparently this summer completely broke my internal temperature sensors.

When I was in High School there was a kid whose father was a diplomat or something like that and the family was from Nigeria. He'd wear a down parka in the summer when it was 90 degrees.

I guess it's what you're used to.

I thought 61 in my house this am was comfy :eek: No snow though. Hub and I did spend 2 hours replacing our back door today. The other one would be open by itself. No kids, ghosts or errant dogs to blame. 68 right now. 37 outside

We keep out house at 62 all winter unless we have guests over, then we throw caution to the wind and and crank it up to 64.

Suck it up and tell me how to light my pilot. kthxbai

;)

Seriously, I've tried. I've watched 67 online videos, printed about 15 pages, and read every forum I could find. But there is nothing that looks like any of the videos, not in my furnace, and apparently skipping the part of the directions that says to put the flame to the pilot assembly are non-negotiable: waving a lighter around in the hole is too imprecise.

This little electric heater works just fine for now...but I'll need heat soon. Ugh, winter.

Open up your furnace. Take a picture. Post on the cellar.

What makes you think you need to light your pilot? Did you shut it off in the Spring? Maybe it's still lit, or maybe you have electric ignition. Our pilot light burns all summer. It wastes a bit of gas, but *shrug*.

Well, I think Bozo would turn it off in the spring because you could still feel the heat coming out of it.

It's a very old furnace.

There is a pilot light "off/on/pilot" button and some sort of gas release valve. I imagine the pilot light is behind the little trap door thingy, but there is nothing with flame anywhere. I can hear the gas when I go through the steps i've found concerning lighting the pilot, but I don't see anything that looks like it would have an eternal flame (so to speak.)

Well, actually there is a pipe looking thingy in the trap door, with holes along it like a musical instrument. But that doesn't light.

I read that one should always keep the pilot lit because condensation can build up making it hard to light.

I'm going to have to break down and call someone but I really hate to have to do that. Sheesh, it's just a pilot light, right? 80 bucks later, it's lit.

Grumble.

The pilot light is pretty faint. Try doing all this at night time when it's dark, and only use a flashlight that you can turn off. You'll definitely be able to see a burning pilot in the dark if there is one.

Otherwise, if you are following the steps, the only suggestion I would make is that you use one of those wand style lighters that you can hold there for a while to wait for the pilot to light. I've accidentally sucked our pilot out when I was vacuuming the burners of our old beast of a boiler. The pilot lights right up again when I hold a match to it. But it's only been a minute or so that it's been out.

I do have the wand lighter. It may be that it's just playing hard to light. Maybe I'll post tonight or tomorrow that I got it!

I'll try looking tonight in the dark.

Thanks!

:eyebrow:

You've been reading too much of a certain poster lately

Yes, and if you knew the restraint I've shown by not posting to a certain poster, you would be quite proud of me. ;)

Oh, we are.

monkey go BOOM!

You mean I might blow up?

May I point out that if you have a modern gas pilot, you may need to keep the flame in place longer than seems necessary? I have such a pilot in my RV and I need to keep the flame on the tip for about thirty seconds in order to heat the safety shutoff switch enough to let it open and allow the propane to flow. Just waving the lighter at it is not enough.

If you have an electric igniter, as my wife does at the house, there is a shutoff switch (like a light switch) near the control circuit board. She was driven to distraction trying to get the heat on one year and paid a heating repair guy $75 to show up, flip the switch and WHOOSH! Heat!

(Note: I was out of state and unreachable at this time)

I hope you get your heat on soon!

Get your drink on, get your snack on, get your freak on, and get your heat on.

Thanks Brian! I hope to report success after tonight.

I am we

you're not she

she is whee

and we are all to-gether, yeah

There. All better.

Oi, munkeeeeh. Are you warm yet?

:mecry:

No. It's so freaking frustrating. I try and try. I know it's something simple I'm missing.

Oh can I bitch for a second? I like living alone. I like my freedom. But jebus gob it's hard sometimes to have to figure everything out by yourself. I'm such an independent nature, I don't like to ask for help...I'm stubborn "I can do it myself" and yet here is something I can't do myself and I just keep putting off calling 'someone.' Call who? The gas company? Will they do it? If not, who is good and trustworthy? My inability to ask for help creeps into my hate of calling people (fear I'll look stupid or something, I guess.)

I'm hopeless. :(

Oh, I held the lighter where I think the pilot light should be, until the lighter acted like it was running out of fluid. Nothing. There is no pilot light already on. I looked in the dark.

It shouldn't be so freaking difficult.

I was wondering, too, if the Monkey got her warm on.

Apparently I'd rather bitch and moan than actually solve the problem. ;)

Sigh...I'll do something today. I have to now that I've said I would. Don't let me snake out of it! :)

You haven't tried the "take pictures and let someone guide you through it" option ...

that's what I was gonna suggest....... but then I didn't.

I don't know that pictures would help. For one, the furnace is in the very narrow hallway, it'll be a tight squeeze to get a decent picture...which I suck at taking pictures anyway. And I can't get a picture inside the hole.

um munkie....... did you pay the gas bill? I mean, do you actually have gas? are you sure? does it make hissy noises and smell funny if you turn it on?

Hahahhahaa! Yeah, my gas stove works. I used it last night. And I hear hissy and smell gassy. (Well, I don't think I smell gassy...I mean I smell the gas!)

I'm going to try one more thing tonight, then I will take a picture. If that doesn't work out, I will call someone tomorrow. We're to have a warm couple days anyway.

I do appreciate the suggestions and stuff: just that much helps my anxiety level.

I really do like you people. ;)

If you're smelling kalor in the area of the furnace, you want to call someone.

Now.

Sooner than now.

Get out the time machine if you have to. It's worth the energy expenditure.

I don't know what is kalor, but I only smell the gas when I'm "farting" around with the pilot light control and the release button thingy.

Is there a model number on this contraption?

Well, if you do end up calling someone, make sure they show you how to do it. You're probably doing it right, there's probably just some other problem.

I've looked for it on the 'net. I don't think the company exists anymore...

I can't remember the name or anything right now though.

You should have a button or knob that must be turned and held down to light the pilot. If the knob is in the pilot position you will have to turn it off, wait 10 minutes put it to the pilot position and hold down while lighting the "holey thingy" in the trap door. Continue holding the ignition knob down for at least one minute then turn the knob to the on position.

I think she's an attention ho in NJ who doesn't actually have a furnace at all.

lol @ monster

I've tried that, Nirvana. I've tried everything. But I'll try again, just as you say it.

If it works this time I will love you forever. ;)

Important item I forgot turn the thermostat all the way to the lowest setting and then follow the other instructions. Good luck :)If that does not work be safe and call someone.

Should the blower be plugged in?

To make sure i have this:

Everything should be turned on as if it's working? There's switch for fan that says "Off On Auto." I have it set to auto, the furnace all the way down, but the blower unplugged (the plug is inside the furnace)

Sounds like you just have to deal with the little gremlin that keeps popping up to blow out the pilot light as soon as it's lit.

Pictures of the HVAC guy ;) coming soon. I would only be assuming that the blower should be plugged in. Most furnaces have pilot lighting instructions on the unit. I have lit my own pilot and changed the ignition control sensor. No other expertise is to be had from me :)

You should see the directions on the furnace. They have no relevance to the layperson at ALL! I doubt they have relevance to the HVAC dude.

Treat him like a hobo

Have you told us the make and model number of the furnace?

No, someone asked earlier and I don't remember. I know there was hardly anything on the net...pretty obscure.

When faced with real life hobos, Infi is a pussycat.
She'd clothe and feed gremlins...

pussycat = pushover. ;)

Did you check the whole net?

There's a hole in the net? Does it lead to other, older nets, where a circa 1940-50 furnace site resides?

I don't know. I used the google. :)

what about the net holes?

I only know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.

srlsy?

I love fixing things. this kind of problem is right up my alley. but .. no pics. no model number. many important, likely critical details missing. makes it impossible to do more than simply random guess.

furnaces, especially old ones, and I have an old one in an old house, are notoriously ... idiosyncratic. some are utterly unique. between my hot water heater (gas) and the furnace (gas), dryer (gas) all the things described here applied at one time or another to get them hot again. dark, LONG burning of the match/candle/wand lighter, press and hold ignition button, coldness, frustration, switches, double switches.

The last thing that worked for my furnace was to flip the position of a regular light switch looking switch on the side of the furnace. No label. clearly not part of the original installation, much less the fucking furnace (it's a plastic switch plate in putty, the same as you'll see in a million new constructions around the world). changing the position of that switch, and doiing a hundred other things made the difference.

It's hard bordering on impossible. don't beat yourself up. it may be broken (or otherwise in need of service). The shit is hard. We / I could be of more help with more info, even poor pictures. Try for using the macro/flower setting if possible, and you needn't put your head in there, just the camera. More info, please!

Big V is ready for a ROAD TRIP!!!