I'm Having A Few Little Radiator Problems.......

Okay, if I haven't mentioned it before, I live in the Philadelphia area and the weather now is starting to get much chillier.


I noticed that as the temperatures were going down that my radiators were coming on so I decided that now was the time to start "bleeding" the radiators.

Well it seems as though there is a special kind of key for bleeding the radiators but some of the radiators I can use a screw driver on.

However as I was bleeding one radiator, the screw that holds the air in came out and blew across the floor somewhere where I can't find it.


So since I didn't have a replacement for it I had to use a nail instead. It doesn't fit perfectly but it is keeping the water from coming out and spilling all over the (wood) floor! So now I will have to go to Home Depot to get a replacement for it. This leaves the problem of figuring out why the radiators upstairs are not coming on. But I have to leave this until I get the replacement screw for the downstairs radiator.

I want to bleed the upstairs radiators but first I have to find the radiator key. And I don't want to turn the heat up (to test the water flow) until I replace the radiator screw on the downstairs radiator.

As of right now things are good. The radiators downstairs are working and I have to make my trip to Home Depot before I undertake working on the radiators upstairs.



Oh well, counting my blessing though!

Another Repair! Wooden Steps!

I was stepping down the steps (I only have 2) on my back porch when part of the wood gave way! Of course I attribute this to all the rain that we have been getting in the Philadelphia area - in fact we have gotten quite a bit of rain in the last few months!

I would guess that the back porch is at least 10 years old and the whole back porch is made of wood and I'm really thinking how grateful I am that it was just the steps and not another part of the porch that gave way! (I just thought about this as I was typing this blog post!)

So now I have another repair that has to be done! I wonder how much it is going to cost me? No matter though because it is a repair that has to be done!

Mentally I'm going to have to remind myself to step carefully when I use those steps!

Winter Weather / Drafty Windows!

I'm upstairs now where the computer is and the room is quite cold because the winds are making the room drafty!

I live in Philadelphia and we have had a major snowstorm in the last 24 hours. What makes it even worse is that there are gusty winds outside and the windchill is going to go down to zero!

The window in this room is quite old - in fact I think it is the original window and to make it worse there is a crack in the window and I think that is where most of the cool air is coming from. Also too, the top of the window sill is slightly lowered and everytime I try to raise it up, it goes back down again!

I really do hate change and there are a couple of things that I could do to make this situation a little bit better. Number 1 - I have heard that using heavier curtains would help. Right now I still have the "summer" curtains which are made of very light material.

I tried sealing up the window crack with some duct tape - it doesn't look too pleasing but it does seal out some of the air.

If I got the window fixed that would help a lot but oh I don't want anyone to see the room because it is basically my computer room where I have all of my stuff and that stuff is a LOT of stuff - LOL! - but I'm thinking I'm going to have to get this window repaired at least by NEXT winter!

It wouldn't be so bad if the temperature outside was warmer but like I said the wind chills are expected to be zero!

In the meantime, I'm at work at the computer and its cold!

Actually mu ultimate would be to have a fireplace in this room and that is definitely on my wishlist. Not so much to save on the heating bills, I just like the look and feel of fireplaces and I would love to have one in EVERY room!

Are You Ready For The Switch To Digital TV?

If you don't know it by now we all have to make the switch to digital tv by February 2009!

That means that if the television set(s) that you have are not digital-tv-ready then you will either have to get a converter for your tv or buy a new tv that is digital ready.

If you already have a satalite dish, a dish network subscription or you have cable then this does not apply to you.

The government is providing coupons for those that want to by a converter box to make their tv's digital-ready. You can request one coupon now, and one later, but no more than two per household. They expire 90 days after they are mailed.

Here is the information that you need to know in order to get your coupon(s) for the tv converter:

Order coupons on line at www.DTV2009.gov

Order by phone at 1-888-DTV-2009

Order by mail at PO Box 2000, Portland, OR 97208

Or order by fax at 1-877-DTV-4ME2

Daylight Savings Time Has Begun!

Well I hope that you remembered to turn your clocks ahead 1 hour early this morning!

With the recent power outtages that we have been having in my area I have been changing clocks all month!

My cellphone clock took a while to "kick in" with the daylight savings time thing but I'm glad because now I don't have to worry about figuring out how to change the clock on my cellphone!

My computer's clock already "kicked in" with the daylight savings thing so all I really have to worry about are the regular clocks that are ALL around the house! I did notice that I'm going to have to update the thermostat clock - although I'm toying with the idea of leaving it like it is - LOL!

Power Outage!

There was a power outage in my area early this morning.

You think that I would be used to this and not get myself in such a panic when this kind of thing occurs - but I wasn't and I did!

The first thing about this outage was that it occurred so early in the morning and it was a Saturday - meaning weekend - morning at that. I wondered if anyone else in my area was having this problem - but it was so early in the morning that I thought "who would be up at this time of night?".

I went to check my circut breakers (thank GOD I had purchased a flashlight a few weeks ago and the batteries were still good!) and they all looked fine. Then I went into the kitchen to get something to drink and noticed that the light in the refridgerator was working! OK, I thought that THAT was weird but since it was a new refridgerator I thought maybe it was one of those new "fangled" refridgerators that didn't need electricity in order for the light to work. Then I noticed that the clock on the stove was working (it had the wrong time on it but that was because the knob had broken off and I never adjusted it to the right time) and so I thought that that was really weird!

The lamp by the front door wasn't working but the lamp in the livingroom was working? OK more weirdness!

I looked outside to see if one of my neighbors who always has a light on had any lights on and I didn't see any lights on. So I thought well it must be at least happening in my block!

So I called the utility company and their number to report outtages. Imagine my surprise when I was able to talk to a real live person! She asked if I had checked my circuit breakers and I had told her that I did. ("Checked" meaning I looked at them and they seemed alright - BUT I DIDN'T TOUCH THEM!. She then got a technician to call me and he asked about the situation and I told him about the electricity being out. Since it wasn't a life-threatening situation and I told him that, he said that a truck would be dispatched as soon as someone got there. About 2 hours later the truck arrived but then it left! 'OK' I thought, 'it must have to do with just my house if the truck drove away! While I was on the phone with the utility company again I found out that several other people had reported outages in the area - which I was relieved about because it meant that I wasn't the only one! But as I was talking on the phone I looked out the window and noticed the guy looking at my meter. I hung up the phone and went out to talk to him and he said that there was indeed a problem. It was then that I told him that I had partial electricity. He said that there was a problem with the electricity in the area and that some - not all - of the houses in the area were affected.

Of course the problem was fixed (as you can tell by my being able to post this blog entry) a few hours later and all the power is back on!

Before this I had visions of old electricity in my 100 year old plus house and of expensive electricians and expensive electricity repairs!

I was so jumpy after that I took a nap!

The Big Switch To Digital TV!

I have to remind myself about this!

Before it kicks in February 2009 I will want to be ready!

First some background information:

One February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100 percent digital broadcasting.

Of course I hate that we have to switch at all! I like things the way they are however if I want to watch TV then I am going to have to comply!

Now if you have cable tv or satellite tv then the change won't affect you.

If you don't have the above then you are either going to have to get a new tv or you are going to have to get a converter box for your analog tv. The government is offering coupons off the full price of the converters.

Now here is the situation in my own particular case!

My tvs have satellite / Direct TV - so it shouldn't be a problem for me. (Although I have to say that I want the converter boxes as a backup!)

I do have a TV in one room that's not hooked up to Direct TV so that's one discounted coupon that I can use.

I can use the other discounted coupon (every household is allowed 2 coupons) for the very, very old tv that's in the basement. That TV is so old but it still works!

So I hope that your household is ready for the big analog to digital changeover.

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I should also mention that you shouldn't be confused by the terms "high definition" and digital tv. You don't have to have high definition tv but you will have to have a digital tv (or digital converter box) before the digital tv kicks in February of 2009!

Ambience Versus The Heating Bill?

I managed to get an energy audit for my home from my local utility company. The woman on the phone said that it appeared that my gas usage was "a little bit high". I found out where this "a little bit high" came from.

You see my stove is a gas stove and I do use it a lot! I like to slowly boil water in my tea kettle for things like when I want some tea (and now that the weather is getting colder - hot chocolate) or when I'm making a stew. So it seems that that is where the "a little high" gas usage is coming from. The man that came and did the energy audit mentioned to me that he uses things like a crock pot which is plugged in to the electric as opposed to using the stove when he makes something like stew.

So now it seems I have this little dilemna about ambience versus the heating bill. I like the way that the house smells when food is slowly cooking and I also like knowing that I have hot water boiling for my tea or hot chocolate. It just doesn't seem the same having a crock pot versus having the food/stew slowly cooking on the stove. So heating bill be damned!

There's always something that needs to be repaired.....

I mentioned before in some previous posts about how I was having trouble with my heating system now that the weather is turning colder.

It was working perfectly fine last year around this time and I thought that as the weather got colder the heat would automatically "click" on. When it didn't the first thing I thought was wrong was that I didn't "bleed" the radiators - so that's what I did. Still no heat!

So the next thing I did was call the people that installed it. They said that it was probably something simple like the pilot light being out. So I checked that! The pilot light was on.

Since they charge $69 for a service call I decided that since I got the heating system with a grant maybe they wouldn't charge me anything for looking at it to see why the heating system wasn't working.

I had to wait a few weeks in order to get in touch with them since their program didn't start again for the year yet but then it was relatively warm outside and my need wasn't immediate.

Well the weather got colder and so did the house and subsequently so did I! I finally got in touch with them and explained the situation and they sent someone out to look at it. He came to the conclusion that the problem with the heating system was the thermostat - because the heater itself was only two years old. So he noted the problem and told me that a contractor would be doing the work.

Well the contractor came out and guess what the problem was?

It seems the chimney is collapsing and it was collapsing into the chute resulting in a lot of dust gathering thus clogging up the chute meaning that the heater was working overtime and it just overworked itself!

How about that!????? I mean I know that I have a chimney but you know it never occurred to me that the chimney would collapse. I mean the house is over 50 years old and I don't remember any repairs being done to the chimney for at least 20 years so I'm sure that its not in the best of conditions!

But it never occurred to me once that the problem had to do with the chimney!

Pilot Light? - Dilema!

Okay so its finally getting colder after days of high humidity and heat. As a matter of fact its quite breezy outside which makes it feel even colder!

So that means its time for the inside of the house to get warmer.

I kind of thought that the colder temperature inside the house would make the heater (actually its called a boiler) come on automatically - but it didn't. So I go through my its-starting-to-get-cold routine that has to be gone through at the start of fall each year by "bleeding" the radiators. I hear the water circulating in the radiators and thought that everything was ok. So I turn up the thermostat to a higher temperature (around 75 degrees) thinking that it would warm the house up sooner - it didn't! So now I'm wondering what's wrong. I know it can't be the condition of the boiler because its only a year (if that) old. So I call the company that installed it and the guy on the phone says that it sounds as if the pilot light is out. Ok, I know WHAT a pilot light is but that is about it.

So he tells me that it should be a simple fix and that all I really have to do is light the pilot light and that the instructions for doing so should be there on the boiler itself (it is). Fear comes over me! I don't know what to do! So I go into the basement and find the instructions that are on the boiler. Now first of all there is a piece of the boiler that is partially blocking the instructions which makes it hard to read them and the "piece" is not removable! So one of the first things that I see in the instructions is that the controls should be visible but if they are not then the control panel should be removed - the what? I took a piece off but what was inside didn't look like the picture on the instructions. Plus there is this warning that if the instructions are followed exactly then serious harm could result! So now I have pictures in my mind of me blowing up the house (along with myself included).

Since I don't know what to do I have to wait until the company sends somebody out. They charge $69 for that but I'm hoping since I got the boiler with a grant that they will look at it and not charge me. I just don't want to do anything wrong (or explosive - if you catch my meaning)

Just in case you're curious, this is a picture of what my boiler looks like. Small isn't it? But last winter it kept my house toasty warm! The brand name is Peerless. It seems that my old boiler was so old that the company had went out of business a long time ago!

Taking Out The Trash!

I'm always in this mini dilemma about when to take out the trash. If I put it out the night before then I'll put it in one of the recycling buckets so the cats can't get at it (we have a LOT of cats in my area) and then I won't have to worry about getting up earlier in the morning to put it out.



On the other hand there are those times when I just don't want to be bothered with it and I vow that I will get up earlier the next morning so that I can put it out - which sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. There have been a few times when I have awoken to the sounds of the trash truck going down the street and in that instance I remember that I didn't put out the trash and then I sign and vow to have it out the next week. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.

Sticky Remote Control

I have Direct TV and now the remote is sticky. I don't know if I did this or if its just regular wear and tear as far as the remote is concerned. I haven't had it for even a year yet and I'm pondering what to do. I don't want to "fiddle" with the remote cause I don't want to break the darn thing and I don't want to call up Direct TV and ask them about it because I certainly don't want to pay for another remote control.

I suppose I could switch TV remotes from another one of the other TV's - guess I'm just lazy!

I'm thinking in the back of my mind that if I do switch them then I would have to re-program the remote control to work with both the TV and the VCR and somewhere else in the back of my mind is this voice saying that I may still need to fix it with whatever TV I switch it to.

The literature and the instructions that came with the Direct TV installation is full of what they will repair or replace and what they won't repair or replace and in that literature somewhere I'm sure that they don't say anything about "sticky" remotes. I don't think that comes under the warranty.