My thirty year old boiler broke and we now have no heat or hot water in the house. I live in New Jersey and it is very cold outside. It may take a while to get it fixed. (And will probably be at least $3500 damnit!)
Are there any dopers with any suggestions about what to do in the meantime? Should we buy space heaters? Watch the basement?
Thanks.
I hate this boiler. If you were going to die wouldn’t you chose June instead of January?
See if you can rent electric space heaters with circulating fans, and position them near your piping. Don’t forget the crawlspace, if you have one. No propane or other fuel heaters, or you’ll wake up dead.
buy some heat tape for the pipes. You can buy them precut or buy 100’ roles and make your own. Crawl space pipes and any outside faucets are the most important because they are more exposed to the cold. Your basement will maintain approximately 50 degrees because it is below ground.
If you use kerosene heaters in the house I would recommend the round ones (seem to be more efficient). If there is any kind of efficiency rating then pay attention to that. I would also buy carbon monoxide alarms to avoid killing yourself.
This might be a good time to buy individual electric water heaters for your faucets. they heat instantly and can be installed one by one. You can have your showers working in a weekend. You might also be able to buy a smaller boiler because you won’t need to heat your plumbing.