For the last several years, our heat pump has had an intermittent problem. Ask any Quality Control inspector or plumber or electrician and they will tell you an intermittent problem is the worst kind. The hardest to solve! So these last few years, Himself stewed and worried. He checked and trouble shooted (trouble shot?). He called this plumber. He called that one. He got up in the night to switch to back-up heat if the heat pump shut off. We didn't want to give up on our heat pump because when it is running, it saves us a bunch of money. Also, it was one of the very first geo thermal units in Creston.
Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, who built this house, had the heat pump installed by Franklin Kinkade, a pioneer in this area in geo thermal. There are pipes that go 700 feet in the ground -- down and around -- three separate pipe systems filled with an anti-freeze solution. As the solution of chemicals and air circulates through the ground it cools off or heats up, depending on the season. The solution in the pipes is brought in and the heat or the coolness from the ground is "exchanged" into the house -- it either warms up in the winter or cools off in the summer.
In the summer it takes hot air out of the house and puts it into the ground. In the winter, it takes the warm temperature out of the ground and brings it into the house.
Our electric bill in the early years rarely (very very) rarely went over $100/mo. Of course rates went up and the heat pump began to fail and the bills increased. Sometimes the heat pump worked and sometimes it didn't. Some nights it didn't! There were days when Himself was sleep deprived. It was time to do something.
It was time for action and we called up Franklin Kinkade. Yes, he is still around but as he is retired, we called up the guy that took over for Franklin, we called in Matt Wood and his 2 cronies, Michael Haag from Orient and Rich Egan from Creston. (As chance would have it, Kristy and Erica went to school with Matt and Johanna went to early elementary with Michael and high school with Rich.)
Anyway, as in a screen play, stage right. "Enter the Plumbers".
They came in on Monday and began demolition. Somtimes there were two plumbers, sometimes three.
The took out duct work and removed the old unit.
Demolition continues! What! There's a hole in my ceiling?
Out with the old! In with the New!
That trailer was full by the time they had pulled all the old duct work and the heat exchanger. And here's the new unit, still wrapped in plastic, with the two wheel cart, above. It took 4 strong men to push that baby up three flights of stair, each flight a little bit steeper. But they gotter done!
These little babies gave us all a bit of a fit. The installation was done. The shiny new ducts were in place. The heat exchanger had been bullied up the stairs. The wiring done. The guys were gone home. Oops! Himself went to put the closet doors back on and these babies were HOT! Too hot for their own good! So here came Matt and Rich back for another 2 or 3 hours. It got on nigh to 8:30. After deep thought and speculation amongst the men and Himself, after an evaluation of the big bang theory and a debate about evolution vs the Bible, after trial and error, they rewired the pumps.
They rewired the pumps and the heat pump came on, the motors purred and stayed cool and the house started warming. Problem solved! New Heat Pump installed! Success! And it has purred like a kitten for a full week! Praise the Lord! Himself can sleep in peace.
What gentlemenly plumbers! I wanted to adopt all three! or marry them off to a daughter! lol
PS: the bill came today. Whew, it wasn't as bad as we had thought. And the rebates and tax breaks are going to make it cost effective. And Himself can sleep in peace. Amen.
2 comments:
Guess your talking about Johanna with that marrying off talk? lol!
Thanks for the description of how that works--very interesting!
That's what I was thinking, Kristy!! LOL!! Yeah, I had no idea how that worked, very interesting!
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