Boiler? I hardly know her.

Ah, doing my part for the economy: both the local service economy, and the national industrial economy.

My boiler decided to spring a leak. (Part of the hot-water system in my house, the boiler provides hot water for the occasional shower that I take and for the baseboard radiating heat in the winter.) My local oil heat/plumbing guy comes out and tries valiantly to fix it inexpensively, but determines that it needs a grand's worth of this and that, and there's a good chance all that may not make the boiler functional, and I'd still need to buy a new one.

Fine. I'm convinced. Get me a new one. My choice is between a steel boiler and a cast-iron one, with the cast-iron one being 10% more expensive, and reputedly slightly more efficient and certainly longer lasting. ("If you're going to be in the house for a while - ten years or more - this one will last longer before it needs substantial maintenance.") Okay, fine. Get me the cast-iron one.

So they showed up yesterday to remove the old one and install the new one. A crew of three started at 8:30 and finished at 5:15, and they weren't goofing off. So I guess I got my money's worth out of the installation cost.

This new boiler sure puts out hot water - substantially hotter than the old one - and runs for shorter periods, and is quieter when it does. And - knock on wood - it won't spew water all over the utility room. Sounds good so far.

And it only cost me everything I've earned with my freelance legal editing work since the beginning of May. sigh