I’m still congested, coming up on day 6. I can’t do my job when I’m congested, so I’ve been enjoying some paid sick time the past week.

I’ve been able to take advantage of the extra time by doing a bunch of stuff around the house.

I removed the mower deck from the lawn tractor and put the snowblower attachment on (just in time for 2 inches of snow yesterday).

I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know our oil boiler, which is used for heat and hot water. I heard some air bubbles in the baseboard heaters, so watched some YouTube on how to bleed the system. It went exactly like this. Even after bleeding everything (multiple times) I could still hear air in the baseboards.

I did some more research and it turns out the system has automatic air bleeders (they let air out but not water), and I found mine to be closed! They probably started leaking at some point so someone disabled them instead of replacing them (they cost $20 each, after all). I also read that a failed expansion tank can introduce air into the system, so I got a new one of those ($75USD). I’m glad I did, because the old one was completely failed and full of water (it should be half air/half water).

I also replaced one of the valves which started leaking while I was messing around with everything.

It has been a fun learning experience, and somehow the heat still works! Wife approved!

The boiler is 30+ years old, and we plan on getting it replaced after this winter. Now that I have some sweat equity in it, I’ll be sad to see it go.