h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I *thought* I had prepared pretty well for the big storm: I had done my Sunday laundry a day early, I had gotten my weekend swimming done,
and I had gone grocery shopping twice (carrying my groceries in my arms because the shopping baskets and carts were in use by other shoppers >cross&gt.

So far, so good.

I settled in for the night, happy that the power was still on, and my furnace was doing its job. Outside the wind howled, blowing snow in drifts.

Then, at 4:00 in the morning, I knew something terrible had just happened. I got out of bed and checked the thermostat: yep, the furnace was not working, and the place was getting colder by the minute.

I did the usual diagnostic things: I replaced the fuse that governs the furnace. No improvement. I took the space heaters from their hiding places and set them up.

Then I took a big breath, grabbed the snowshovel, and headed outside. Probably about 12 inches had fallen by that point, but the wind was causing it to drift. I shovelled my front porch and sidewalk. Then I went into the road (which, mercifully, had been plowed within the last hour). I looked at my roof, but could not see the furnace vent, which is basically a smokestack. Okay, the snow had probably blocked off the opening, and the furnace automatically turned itself off. It could be a cold night...

I shovelled a path across my lawn, to the spot nearest where the vent ought to be, then went back inside to fish the 8-foot ladder from its hiding place behind the futon. I managed to get the ladder out the door, across the lawn, and against the side of the house.

Then, taking another big breath, I climbed to the top and used a rake to pull snow away from the furnace vent. Then I went back inside and pulled on the emergency lever that starts the furnace. Success!

Boy, are my muscles gonna be sore today.

Fortunately, my power has stayed on all through the blizzard.

I'm Glad you still have power Paul. Stay warm mate.

That's great! But, you poor guy for having to do that!

Well done Paul So it's not just the Brits who are good in adversity?

How's the snow now?

Yes, I feel very fortunate to still have electricity.

Things seem rosier now than they did a few hours ago. The snow seems to be tapering off. We seem to have 15 to 18 inches on the ground, which is exactly what was forecast for the town next door.

Some places will have gotten 20 to 30 inches, so this will have been a monster storm for them. On the plus side, this snow is very light and fluffy. It was easy to shovel.

I have today off, so I'm going to relax. I'll dig out my car, but won't go anywhere.

Wow, what a night! Glad it all worked out eventually...

The snow seems to be tapering off right now. We may even see some sun this afternoon.

Yeas, living in climate means occasionally hasving to put up with huge Nor'easters that dump two or three feet on you, bringing things to a standstill for awhile. We'll have forgotten about this by late July, when it'll be 95 (F) in the shade.

95f... that's about 35c - so pretty much like our summer here!
Only here any amount of snow brings things to a 'standstill'. We usually get a day or two and everybody's incredibly thrilled about it.

We get more ice than anything down south here in Memphis. The last time we had a good snow was in 85. We got 14 inches of snow that year.

Poor Paul!

I'm glad you're okay! I hope you let someone know that you were about to go up a ladder at 4:00 am in a blinding snowstorm ... if not, there's a chance you could have fallen and been in a lot of trouble. Still, you were very wise to know what was wrong and very brave to fix it.

Stay warm today and don't overdo the snow removal thingie all at once.

I was thinking of you this morning, Paul. I'm glad things are alright .

I can't remember the last time we had more than 3 or 4 inches... I'd be lost in more than a foot! Of course, I'd make sure I built at least one good .

When I used to drive delivery, I loved driving around a few days after a good snowfall to see all the snow sculptures .

How tall is your furnace vent???? Your lucky that you didn't have a carbon-monoxide buildup, instead of just the furnace shutting off.

Here in Ontario, we have regulations for the height of vent-pipes for the heating system: "The vent termination above the roof line shall consist of a continuous section of vent pipe only (without any joints)and must be at least 3 ft. (1 m) to a maximum of 6ft. above the roof line and 2 ft. (.61 m) higher than any part of astructure within 10 ft. (3.1 m)."

The height pretty well eliminates the chance of snow covering the top of the pipe.

Glad you are OK Paul! Sounds like you had one heck of a night

<>(AW)

The guy who lives directly across the street from me was up all night, and he saw me go up on the ladder.

<<... if not, there's a chance you could have fallen and been in a lot of trouble>>(AW)

There's a better chance that I would have fallen into moundds of soft, fluffy snow. Anyway, I had made my mind up that I would rather go out trying to fix the problem than sitting inside and shivering next to a space heater.

<< Still, you were very wise to know what was wrong and very brave to fix it. >>(AW)

Yes, that's me, brave and wise. I had also done this sort of thing before, and had been coached in how to restart the furnace by a repair guy over the phone during a previous servere storm. Seriously, this was maybe the dozenth time I've had to climb that ladder, usually to climb up *on* the roof. I'd like to think experience has been valuable. I just wish it had never been necessary.

<> (Mudhooks)

Yes, my mother is prone to getting on about exactly that. Nevertheless, there is probably some kind of sensor in my furnace, that shuts it off when the vent is blocked.

<>(Lighthousegirl)

It's probably the worst night of the last ten years. But it had a happy ending. That's what I want to remember it by.

to all.

I finally broke down and bought a carbon monoxide detector this year. Almost every night each winter you hear on the news one of two stories: house burnt down by space heater or family dead (or narrow escape) of carbon monoxide poisoning. I never though to buy one before because my furnace was 'new'. It occurred to me this year that seven years old isn't exactly 'new' any more.

They're really not that expensive, and I feel a lot better knowing I have one. You should consider it, Paul.

At Rutgers, we got 9 inches, but the plows blocked the door of one building I hod to work in today and I couldn't get in. Also, the bookstore was closed for the weather, even though that building was shoveled beautifully.

Maybe it was the bookstore staff that was snowed in.

I knew this had to be Paul's journal when I saw the subject line!

Glad everything worked out ok , I was almost afraid you'd had some kind of carbon monoxide problem inside the trailer . Perhaps your furnace has a carbon monoxide detector built into into the vent system?

It may be more basic than that. If the furnace isn't getting the right mix of oxygen and fuel, or if exhaust is staying in the furnace because it can't get out the vent, the system shuts iotself right down, no questions asked. This is a safety-first system.

Even better then a space heater is someone to snuggle with once you get back into the house Paul.

Or a snuggly pet.

Of course - a space heater works great in the absense of the above!

ly warm thoughts...