The Heat Is On

Finally…and thankfully!

After 5 days and nights of below zero temperatures with ice on the insides of the windows, we finally have some heat in the radiators, and a thermometer passing up through zero into positive numbers. Luxury.

With water seeping out through the rust of the main pipe coming out of the boiler, the thought of it bursting if pressure was put through it was not very appealing.

So off we set to change the pipework. Out with the rusting stuff, in with the shiny new.

Job done, and on goes the heating…for about 5 hours.

It was a false dawn, as we now realised that the oil level gauges were also blown. Instead of 1000 litres of fuel in the tanks, we actually just had sludge!

And this was a Saturday morning discovery. No hope of getting parts or help until Monday - argh, 2 more freezing nights!

So with some replumbing of the twinned oil tanks and the return flow system, the oil filters changed, and a rapid delivery of new oil, we were ready to go again!

Once again French service has been exemplary. Huge thanks to the guys from Martin Côte Flamme and Angelini Pineuilh for a very rapid delivery of oil (truly angels!).

This should hopefully keep us going until we can compete the planned installation of heat pumps and underfloor heating.