Boiler offline, thank goodness for wood/coal stoves
Roughly once a winter, there will be a few days where I mutter to the people around me "remind me to check the oil level, we're probably getting low soon" and then promptly forget to actually check said oil level. Then we run out. Unfortunately after that, two days later, just after we think we're past the danger zone, the boiler cuts out. Seems whatever happens when it runs out of oil screws it up and after about two days of running it just can't take it any more and needs servicing. No idea why, it just does. Maybe we need a new oil tank, I don't know. Every repair person that comes by has their own unique suggestion.
Fortunately, this year we have a wood/coal stove operational and I have a chain saw and a pile of deadfall from the freak October snowstorm. Most of it isn't seasoned, just the branches that were dead for a couple years before coming down, and some of it is still outright green, but it is a pile of maple and oak. And if you put green wood in a nice hot fire it'll dry out and burn well enough, and as long as you stay out of the danger zone of low fire temperature you won't get creosote buildup as punishment for burning green wood.
After burning wood all day there's a great thick bed of wood coals on the fire grates with so much thermal mass that you can just toss on some anthracite coal to hold it over for the night and it'll start burning without all the fussing that it would take if I was trying to go straight to coal with a little wood fire first.
Anyways, off to bed. Cold shower in the morning, but the upstairs will at least be toasty from all the heat rising out of the parlor stove.
Fortunately, this year we have a wood/coal stove operational and I have a chain saw and a pile of deadfall from the freak October snowstorm. Most of it isn't seasoned, just the branches that were dead for a couple years before coming down, and some of it is still outright green, but it is a pile of maple and oak. And if you put green wood in a nice hot fire it'll dry out and burn well enough, and as long as you stay out of the danger zone of low fire temperature you won't get creosote buildup as punishment for burning green wood.
After burning wood all day there's a great thick bed of wood coals on the fire grates with so much thermal mass that you can just toss on some anthracite coal to hold it over for the night and it'll start burning without all the fussing that it would take if I was trying to go straight to coal with a little wood fire first.
Anyways, off to bed. Cold shower in the morning, but the upstairs will at least be toasty from all the heat rising out of the parlor stove.