One of our society's standing jokes is that plumbers never come when they promised. This weekend we got a lesson on why.
About two weeks ago we would briefly hear a noise now and then. One time we thought it was a diesel locomotive horn. Others we thought somebody was running something in the neighborhood.
Last week we were sure that the noise was in our house, probably in the furnace. Of course, if we went downstairs and listened by the furnace when it went on, then there was no noise. I did hear it enough to believe it was a fan on the furnace.
Yesterday evening, the noise occurred several times each time the furnace came on. I was able to stand by the furnace and determine that it was the exhaust fan. The noise sounds like a bad bearing. The exhaust fan is probably needed to draw fresh air into the furnace; both the intake and exhaust pipes are out the side of the house rather than in openings around doors and up the chimney.
We called the plumber's office and left a message.
We turned the thermostat all the way down, lit a fire in the fireplace, and put an electric heater near the thermostat to fool the furnace into not coming on. My wife got up several times in the night to put more wood on the fire, bless her. Without a special trip to the cabin, we now have no more wood for this season.
I talked to the plumber several minutes ago and someone will come by later this morning. Of course, the noise won't be there when a plumber comes.
Our little emergency means that the plumber can't go to somebody else's house for some routine job. Of course, we don't know how many other emergencies the plumber might have, like a leaky pipe spraying water all over the basement.
Meanwhile, my wife will do some baking to provide a bit more heat.
