Furnace trouble

[bunsen_h]

I was finally settling down to sleep after another insomniac night, then roused... something was wrong.  I noticed an odd burned-electrical smell, and wandered around trying to figure out where it was coming from — more intense upstairs than down, but not localized.  The computer seemed okay; the furnace seemed cool.  A few minutes later, a loud humming started, and I tracked it down to the furnace just before it stopped.  Then I realized that the furnace fan, which usually runs continuously, wasn't running.  I'm guessing that the fan motor has burned out, or something like that.

<*sigh*>  I called the furnace service people's 24-hour number and left a message.  I'm waiting to hear back.  At least it's a mild night.

ETA @ 3:35: Got a call back; the guy says that they'll "try to be there in a couple of hours".  Not the 24-hour emergency service that I hoped for from the maintenance agreement, but we'll see...

ETA @ 5:00: Furnace guy is here.  Replacing a capacitor...

ETA @ 5:15: It's not the capacitor.  The blower wheel seems to be seized up.

ETA @ 5:55: The problem was that the motor had burned out.  No reason in particular, just because it was old.  There's a lot of that going around.  All fixed, time to go back to bed.
 

Comments

[kattale.livejournal.com]

Aw sweetie! Not the night of sleep you needed. :(
May you sleep long and well this morning!

[bunsen-h.livejournal.com]

I slept off-and-on until about 10:00, when I woke up needing food and pain meds. And feeling oddly cold, for all that the furnace was working properly again -- my body's rhythms have been messed up. I'll try to get a nap later today.

[kattale.livejournal.com]

I hope so. *hugs you warmly (but gently)*

[deakat]

I'm glad it was resolved so quickly. I'm sure it didn't seem that fast to you, but with all the horror stories I've heard from other people who had pre-paid for 24-hour emergency service, you came out ahead of the curve.

[bunsen-h.livejournal.com]

In retrospect, yeah, it worked out pretty well. The guy who came out (from Lynx Energy Services) is the one who's been servicing my furnace for many years; he didn't seem to be at all irritated about being dragged out at that hour, and did the job reasonably efficiently. When I mentioned that I'd been meaning to get the annual maintenance check scheduled but hadn't got around to it, he said that he'd tell the folks at the office to call me on Monday.

I guess I should also be pleased that my own 3-a.m. diagnosis of the problem was exactly right.

[beable]

I'm sorry your sleep was so disrupted!

I'm glad the furnace thing was resolved so quickly.

[henrytroup.livejournal.com]

As the proverb goes "if it's not one thing, it's two (or more) things."

Glad that part worked out fairly well.

[suelet.livejournal.com]

You are one of about 7 folks I know wit furnace problems lately. *shakes head*. Wow.
A different kind of winter germ.

Glad you got it fixed.