Keeping Mommy warm . . .

Our furnace has never seemed to keep up this whole winter.  Plus, I've been noticing that it takes forever to boil water on the stove and things are taking longer than I expect to cook in the oven too.  Now, I've got a clue as to why.  There is a leak in our gas line somewhere between the sidewalk and the basement.  That leak made it so the gas could never keep any real pressure.  (At least the leak was before the meter!)  The gas-guy's pressure gauge read 3 in the house just before the furnace, and he said it was supposed to read between 7 and 10.

Now, the gas is turned off, and so, of course, is the furnace, but frankly the house doesn't seem that much colder than it has this whole winter.  Since Mommy has been living with us, we've been supplementing with space heaters.  Last night, I bought one more space heater and we plugged that in.  But, other than that, we're about the same as we were before.

Over the last couple of months, I had started to think that the blow-in insulation that we added to the house must have settled from twenty feet high to about five inches high.  I didn't realize that if the gas pressure was low the furnace would just kick down a few notches, but would still run.  Same thing is true for the kitchen stove.

No wonder we were so crazy-cold all these last few months (and pretty chilly last year too).  The year before last, the furnace had no trouble heating the house.  I'm hopeful that after they replace the line, we'll be in that warm spot again.

If you look at the above picture, the gas line is down near the big SUV that is parked in the lower road.  The gas guys have to dig from there to the house.  One of the guys told me yesterday to pray from them because this is a nightmare job.  So, you all pray too, and hopefully the nightmare won't be so bad for them.  It's awful cold. Pray they can keep warm or, at least, warmish.

(Edit to include a picture that is labeled - so you understand what the poor guys are dealing with . . .  Also, should add that the gas apparatus to turn the gas on and off at the curb was so deep down that the tools the guy had wouldn't reach it.  He said either the valves down there had sunk or the road had been built up since the lines were installed.  He thinks the lines are original to the house.  That would make them over a hundred years old.)

(Additional edit:  I was talking to Jeanie about how old gas lines were made of wood, and I was trying to find the article where I read it (couldn't find).  I found this, and it's pretty scary.  I guess being cold for a little while is really not that bad, especially compared to the possibility of an explosion!  http://triblive.com/news/editorspicks/6772021-74/gas-pipe-explosion#axzz3TclaMViL)