OT What a Winter!

No $$ in the budget right now to replace the furnace (it's due) and no simple repair since its gas valve is no longer available new and has no drop in replacement that I can find, so this means DIYing a new mount and gas line from the local shut-off valve and I'm not currently up for crawling around/working in the ~36" height available short of a dire emergency such as a gas leak.

Might can just repair the old one, but never have opened one up and can't find any info on the net to show internals or how to 'rebuild' one nor any repair kits, so unless it turns out to be something really simple like cleaning an inlet vent screen or similar I doubt I'm going to gamble on reusing old gaskets sealing well enough long term and don't know what, if any, sealant(s) are acceptable in such cases.

Me too, which considering where I was born n' bred is unusual. Historically, when locals are out enjoying the Summer weather I'm inside and vice versa for Winter. During my years playing at racing, heat was by far my worst enemy, so combined with having to carry an unnaturally light body weight to be at least semi-competitive in small bore sports racing and especially karts and bikes where child size rules for the most part and the non vented, tight fitting racing suits/leathers of the day pretty much ensured I'd be dehydrated/dizzy enough before even a practice session was over to require help getting off/out at the end.

The worst was corner working the '84 Dallas USGP race though. With cloudless 106-107 deg days all week and track temps off the scale, it was a living Hell for me and many of the drivers. Even with a ~constant supply of water and Gatorade, I still wound up with an IV plugged in me that night.

Yeah, in recent years I've only been able to run the A/C after midnight to bring the temp down for the next day, so rotating woofers regularly during the summer months has been necessary. Fortunately, back when I had plenty of disposable income I insulated the house pretty good, so don't really need AC until noon day temps gets into the 90s, though of course once it starts heating up, the insulation does just as good a job of keeping it in. :(

GM

It's interesting the different perspectives on the snow and ice. I actually like it, my wife hates it.
I can sure understand that working on the farm in winter would make you very sick of it.

One February I went to Sweden. It was one of the least snowy winters on record. The folks in the cities seemed very happy about it. But out in the country they hated it. Not much snow meant it was dark, muddy and miserable. And the lakes were not hard frozen, so no racing on the lakes!

All depends on perspective, I guess.

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Originally Posted by GM

Might can just repair the old one, but never have opened one up and can't find any info on the net to show internals or how to 'rebuild' one nor any repair kits, so unless it turns out to be something really simple like cleaning an inlet vent screen or similar I doubt I'm going to gamble on reusing old gaskets sealing well enough long term and don't know what, if any, sealant(s) are acceptable in such cases.

GM

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Your intuition serves you well. Combination gas valves are intended to be replaced, not serviced, and more than a few explosions and fires have resulted when such attempts were made.

I'm guessing it's a floor furnace rather than forced air? Either way, gas valve retrofit shouldn't be too tricky. For an old furnace, it would be wise to replace the pilot and thermocouple assembly too, which makes retrofitting a new valve much simpler (and less likely you'll have to revisit it anytime soon). Using a modern gas flex line on the inlet will simplify re-piping a new configuration. If the current layout was well known, $200-300 in parts and an hour in the "hole" should whip it safely.

Yeah, I agree the perspective on winter probably depends on whether you have to work/survive in it, or are just visiting for a bit of play. Though I now don't have to suffer the pain of it often, I'll never forget how bad it can be, and will always have pity for those still in it. The poor and elderly in drafty old homes, anyone that works outdoors, the homeless...

...and of course bears and frogs...:)

Yeah, it's under the very '70s orange n' yellow hallway rug, so wouldn't have been visually obvious as a furnace when you were here.

Yeah, installing a 'replacement' valve requires I replace the pilot system, so this repair's parts cost is more than I paid for the whole furnace when it failed the first night of Snow Jam '82 (~$306 Vs ~$350), though of course there's inflation to consider. If I wanted to gamble on a used valve, they can be had for as little as $75 plus shipping with the caveat that there's no return policy. The upside is that the new pilot system doesn't require any manual lighting or stopping, it's done automatically via the thermostat setting, so less hassle and slightly less expensive to run.

Yeah, with the flex hoses available now I wouldn't bother with a new hard line adapter if I didn't already have some tubing/fittings left over from '82 and the flaring tool required.

AFA doing the conversion, it's easier to just lift it out of the floor and work on it in the hallway once all the plumbing is disconnected, but doing the shop roof fired up my sciatica to near complete immobilization of my left leg, so pretty much stuck in one room most of the time anyway.

GM

A foggy memory says I have a new combo valve somewhere here. I'll do some digging.

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Originally Posted by bfish

I'll never forget how bad it can be, and will always have pity for those still in it. The poor and elderly in drafty old homes, ..

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My mother was literally born in a log cabin. Not a fancy new "log home", either. No electricity, no phone, no indoor plumbing. Just the farm.
She and her brothers always talk about how bitterly cold winters were when they were kids.

We have it so much easier.

I was born "up a holler" in northern Kentucky...not even a doctor, just a midwife...

I don't have a lot of memories of that place, other than the gas powered Maytag washer.

We didn't have electricity till we moved to Ohio when I was around 6...even in Ohio we didn't have indoor plumbing for a long time...4 rooms and a path.

Danged outhouse can get nasty when it goes below zero.

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Originally Posted by Old Guy

...Danged outhouse can get nasty when it goes below zero.

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Oh man, that brings back some memories... :mooning:

GM, I looked for that valve in the likely places with no luck. I still think I have one, but it's like everything else in my... let's say... collection... can't find the forest for the trees. :o I'll keep looking though.

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Originally Posted by Panomaniac

We have it so much easier.

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Well, most of us do, and it's awful easy to forget the rest in our pursuit of happiness. Less than a mile from me is a guy (a working man) living under a bridge that spans a creek through a golf course (grok the irony of that). Get off the beaten path, and you'll find lots of country and small town dwellings that are a far cry from comfortable. In some cases, they're little different from the cabin your Mom was born in. :(

I'm not trying to be a Danny Downer, but I'm not blind to the plight of others either. That's why you'll never hear me wishing for cold and snow. :)

I have to agree with Bfish. The ones I think have it worst are the oldsters who were never able to get good jobs, mostly due to education/socialization.

They never made enough to put any away. The little shack they live in maybe all they own, or else they are at the mercy of a slumlord for cheap rent.

In central Ohio where I am isn't so bad but rough areas are less than a two hour drive.

OTOH it's beautiful country down there, I can see why some make the choice for lower economics. Most I knew from that area wanted to go back, just no way to make a living.