Arrrgh!

[kerravonsen]

I am going to blame Col, I am. On Friday he suggested my pilot light might have gone out, so yesterday I checked, wasn't sure, and tried to light it. All I succeeded in doing was putting it out. I have, since then, over, and over, and over, and over again, tried to re-light the pilot light, and have completely failed. So now it is New Years Day, and I have no hot water. And won't have tomorrow, either. My father thinks that the entire system needs replacing. So, that means I'm going to be without hot water for weeks, since this is the holiday season and nothing ever gets done in January.

*headdesk*

Comments

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Bum. Did you try holding the flame there for a while so the whole pilot light tip got warm? Because the gas won't flow once it's cold.

[kerravonsen]

Alas, it's not one of those pilot lights that one can light with a match: it's got a piezoelectric thing which lights it: a button you have to press rapidly. You can't actually get at the pilot light at all -- you can barely even see it.

I've been following the instructions. Either the instructions are lacking, or my strength is lacking, or the heater itself is lacking. Considering it's quite old, that's why my father reckons it's the heater.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Ah. I'm sure there are tradespeople working in January. New houses are still being built after all; at least they are here.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. But probably slightly less bad during a heatwave than in July?

[kerravonsen]

I know, my father implied I was a wimp, and started talking about his childhood in Warwick (an inland country town in Queensland) where it got so cold in winter the pipes would freeze and burst, and he'd never had hot water or electricity as a child, yadda yadda yadda. (sigh)

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I'm not a big fan of cold showers any time of year. But I have taken them a couple of times when desperate in hot weather.

My own experience, over a couple of decades, is that boilers always break down on the Friday evening of a bank holiday weekend.

[drednort.livejournal.com]

It'd mean having to get up - but you might have more luck early in the morning - 4am or so. Less people using gas, better chance of better gas pressure.