Back in hot water.

First of all,  it was oh so nice to sleep in this morning.  I should qualify that by saying "sleeping in"  still means waking up around 6:30,  but that's heaps better than 4:00.
 Since we were up so early yesterday,  I hadn't really noticed that it was a tad cool in the apartment,  but didn't really think too much about it,  since the thermostat does have some sort of "set back" function that kicks in around midnight,  and I figured that was the deal.
Later on the sun came out,  and I was plenty comfortable.
It wasn't until I had a shower later in the day that I began to realise that there was something not quite right in the hot water department.
It's not like I like my showers as blistering hot as does Travelling Companion,  but a little warmer than sort of "tepid"  is always nice.   And....the longer I stayed in there,  the more uncomfortable it was getting.
See,  we have a combination water heater/boiler arrangement,  that has worked just tickety boo since the day we moved in here back in November of 09.
That is,  until yesterday.
 Something to do with not enough water in the system?  The little display was flashing "F-22" which,  after quickly checking the pressure gauge off to one side that was showing absolutely no water pressure at all,  gave me the hint that not all was in order.
You'll note that "F-22" is suspiciously close to "F-U"?   Pretty sure some engineer had a good chuckle over that one.

 I was able to wade through the service manual,  and had a pretty good idea where all the parts were,  but the solution wasn't jumping out at me, and any information on the internet was not for our particular model.
So I ended up having to *gasp*  call a plumber.

 I know I'm not overly keen on letting trades people in,  but this guy was actually pretty good.  The one thing that I was missing was a length of garden hose,  since you have to bring water from the domestic water side of things into the boiler jacket,  and I had no way of doing that.

Here's a look at our naked boiler,  since I've taken all the panels off.
Down on the lower left you can see some copper bits,  which is where the hose is hooked up,  which is then attached up there in the middle on the right where you can see what looks like a hose bib.

 That would be the "Füll- und Entleerungshahn",  just in case you needed to know that.

So I've spent the last couple hours learning a lot of plumbing jargon in German that I may or may not remember,  with the exception of that word "Hahn".

Now,  we're a little sensitive in our North American lingo when it comes to certain farm animals and their names.  We would of course prefer to call a male chicken a "rooster",   whereas if you were to approach a chicken farmer in the UK and say,  "Excuse me sir,  but could I see your cock?",  he would think nothing of it,  and quite simply take you out back to the chicken coop.
Wouldn't he?

Well,  I would certainly hope so anyway,  and just to be on the safe side,  I'm still pretty sure I'd ask to see his male chicken.  No need for any misunderstandings.

Even when it comes to plumbing,  we still prefer to call it a "faucet"  as opposed to a "cock",  or even a "pet-cock".  Just don't go there!


Now that I think on it,  this is probably why a Dutch family I used to know thought it would be unwise to Anglicize their name.

  It was "deHaan".

Not so sure that would have worked.

In German,  (and well,  Dutch)   a "Hahn"  is simply a "cock",  whether of the plumbing or barn yard variety it makes no difference.   That other kind is another word altogether.


Get your mind out of the gutter.



And on that little snippet of some of the intricacies of the German language,  I bid you...

Good Day!


eh!


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