Red Tagged!

Gas Company's Red Tag Warning!

That is the tag that the gas company technician put on the furnace/wall heater!  It was "red tagged", meaning, too dangerous to use!

This is the heater that was red tagged - it is called a dual vent wall heater because it opens to both sides of the wall it is mounted on; in this case, the wall between the living room and the hall way that leads to the kitchen and bedroom.

Heater/Furnace - Living Room Side

Heater/Furnace - Hallway Side
(Yes, the hallway is painted lilac!)

That was on Thursday.

On Friday, the service technicians, D and B (the technician D brought along a trainee technician B) arrived to take a look at the heater.  I could see that D was a bit taken aback by the red tag!  We went over what the gas company technician had to say, I showed them the copy of the checklist I was given, and they proceeded to take the unit apart.  The whole time, D was explaining to B what was what and how it worked, etc., which was interesting to listen to.  Then, D showed me the wear and tear of the unit, both outside and inside (he sent a camera up the inside of the firebox).

According to his simple explanation to me of how the heater worked, the switch turned on the gas which was lit by the pilot light and the flame heated up the metal firebox which diffused the heat to the surroundings.  The metal would expand when heated and contract when cooled.  Over the years, the constant expanding and contracting weakens the metal and it could, sometimes, crack.  My heater had not reached cracking point, but, the metal had some discoloration and there was rust, as well as some ashes and dust, etc., inside.  The rust was probably from the drops of rain that used to fall down the vent (I would hear the rain drops falling down the vent), even though the top of the vent (on the roof) had a cover that was supposed to keep the rain off.  

Anyway, they could repair it - it would require taking everything down, cleaning out the vents, etc., etc., etc., and the estimated cost of that was $3,000.  Of course, they couldn't, or wouldn't, give me an estimate of how long the furnace would continue to work well even after the repairs.  How much would a new furnace cost?  They couldn't give me an exact quote as that would have to be done by a senior technician, but, they gave me a rough estimate and it was what I had expected - roughly double what I paid for the current one.  Sigh.

Did I want to spend $3,000 to repair the existing furnace and take my chances or did I want to spend even more for a new furnace?  Was it worth it to spend that much on a 14 year old furnace?  Or should I opt for a new furnace?  I hate making these sort of decisions!  They stress me out!

In the end, I opted for a new furnace.  I knew I would stress about how long the repaired furnace would last, even after getting it repaired.  The old furnace had a 5 year warranty on labor and 10 year warranty on parts and it lasted 4 additional years after the warranties expired.  The new furnace would come with a similar warranty and I will have peace of mind for the duration.  I figured my peace of mind was worth it.  I could have also opted to have estimates from other companies, but, I chose to go with this same company, partly because I've used their services, before, and partly because, well, Covid!  The fewer people I had walking through my house, even with masks on, the better!  

They arranged for the senior technician to come out and give me a quote, later in the afternoon, and, because I was going to buy the new furnace through them, they waived my $70 service call fee.  

The senior technician gave me an initial quote which was a couple of hundred dollars over the rough estimate D had given.  But, then, he said he could give me a $300 discount if I decided to finalize the purchase right there and then, because it saves the company money if they don't have to send their technicians out on multiple visits.  That's when my negotiating skills came in!  I had my file folder with the purchase receipts for the existing heater and some other plumbing work done by this same company and I showed them to him and said I'm a repeat customer who has done business with them for 14 years; surely I should qualify for a bigger discount?  He said he needed to speak with his manager and stepped outside.  Whether he spoke to anyone or not, I don't know, but, a few minutes later, he came in and said he was authorized to give me an additional $400 discount!  So, the cost of the new furnace was reduced by $700, which made it a little more affordable.  *smile*  We signed the paperwork, I gave the 10% deposit, and the installers will be here on Tuesday to put in the new heater, ducts, vents, and thermostat.  

My daughter was both amused and impressed by my negotiating skills!  She said it would not have occurred to her to ask for a discount for being a repeat customer for 14 years.  LOL.  I said it pays to ask!  With the discount, it is not quite double what I paid for the old furnace; almost, but, not quite!  I think I negotiated well.  

The rest of the day went well.  I made milkrice and seeni sambol for brunch.  Later in the evening, I made a pork stirfry with carrots and kale for dinner.  M tended to the garden in the evening and he potted up Clark for me.  Later, I called friend A to check on her and spoke with friend R.

I am decluttering an item a day in October, too.  Yesterday's decluttered item was my banana holder:

Banana Holder

These things were very popular in the 1990s.  They are one of those things that you didn't know you needed until you saw it!  LOL.  I was very amused by the idea of a banana holder!  Of course I wasn't willing to pay the $19.99 or whatever they cost, but, I kept talking about wanting a banana holder.  Until, one day, neighbor T's daughter and a friend held a yard sale at T's house and there it was, a banana holder!  On sale for $1.  My daughter was about 5 years old and she bought the banana holder for me, with the $1.25 weekly allowance she used to receive from her grandmother, saying, "You are always saying you want a banana holder, here you go!"  I've used that thing ever since!  Recently, the top part started to fall down for the weight of the bananas.  I removed the screws that anchored the top to the base and put in different screws, but, have now decided that I can live without a banana holder cluttering up my kitchen counter!  Maybe someone else will enjoy using it!

Today's decluttering was 3 decorative beaded belt buckles that my mother had bought, a long time ago, which we never used:

Decorative Beaded Buckles

There was a round, blue one, too, but, my daughter took that saying she can make a hair ornament with that to go with a blue dress she will be wearing to her friend's wedding, next year (wedding was postponed due to Covid, this year).

Today has been another warm day, with a high of 94F.  Cousin P called me in the morning and we chatted for a bit.  She is planning to attend cousin V's barbecue this evening.  I told her I am not yet comfortable attending a family gathering.  I spent a relaxed day (felt I needed one, after all the excitement, yesterday!)  I ate some leftover milkrice with the ground turkey keema curry for brunch, followed by half a mango a little later (the Van Gogh mango that M brought for us; "Vincent" is now in a jar of water, waiting to sprout!).  Dinner was ramen noodles mixed with leftover pork stir fry.  After dinner, I called friend R and we chatted for a bit.

I am grateful for:

- A new month
- Getting a discount on the furnace
- Being able to pay for it
- Phone calls with family and friends
- Having a garden

Today's joyful activity was walking in the garden with my daughter.   

Plans for tomorrow include taking it easy and relaxing.  There is some mending I could do if I feel like it.  

How was your day?  What are your plans for Sunday?

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October Decluttering:

10/1 - 1 banana holder (to be donated)

10/2 - 3 decorative beaded buckles (to be donated)