January Fun When the Furnace Runs Out of Oil

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Our cozy Pacific Energy Woodstove kept us warm when our furnace died at minus four degrees in South Deerfield, MA.
Our cozy Pacific Energy Woodstove kept us warm when our furnace died at minus four degrees in South Deerfield, MA.

We’re in the midst of the deep freeze, and this time we got snagged in the crossfire.  I noticed it was a bit chilly, what with the minus four degrees outside, and when I went down to the cellar, I saw an ominous sign on the high-tech boiler’s screen. Heating Err. Oh boy.  I just had this expensive system serviced by the expensive guy who is the real expert on these devices, so what gives.

I took a peek at the oil tank and saw that by God I had run out of oil.  Time for the oldest trick in the Yankee ingenuity trove–I went to the gas station and bought a few gallons of highway diesel. This is heating oil too. IMG 6132

But after a snowbank was forded as I poured the noxious fuel into the filler outside our window, and then went back in, it didn’t go as planned.   The burner wouldn’t start so we would have to have no heat or hot water until I reached the oil company the next day.

Thank God again, we have a first-rate woodstove, and still have two sheds filled halfway with wood and more out back. So we’ve cranked up the woodstoves and put off showers until things get back to normal.