Grunting And Groaning

 When the oven went out on our Caloric propane gas range we tried to have it fixed but low and behold the parts couldn't be found for our 20 y/o range. So Carol went to Sears and purchased a replacement Hot Point gas stove. That is it in the photo above (wrapped in my old army blanket) attached to a hand truck in our living room. When Sears delivered it we didn't have room for it in our small cabin and needed an installer to convert it from natural gas to propane and hook it up. We had Sears put it in the basement for us until we could line up installation. When it comes to gas appliances I don't trust myself and gas is nothing to fool with so we contacted a gas supplier in Alamosa to install it for us. We first went to the Co-op that we have used for over 20 years but they were reluctant to do the installation even though we have bought our propane from them for a very long time and they did install the first stove. . So we set up an account with another propane supplier because they have an installer.

We may like the new propane supplier better anyway as we can get a firm delivery date for propane refills. When we would call the Co-op, it could be a few days up to a few weeks and we never knew when they would deliver. Not knowing when the delivery date could be can be difficult especially if it is snow season and we have to keep the driveway, the path to the propane tank, and propane tank kept accessible.

So now with the installation happening next Tuesday we needed to get the large stove up to the first floor where it could be installed. The installer requires we provide all the parts (another 100 mile round trip) so I went to Ace Hardware in Alamosa for the parts required as required by the owners manual. So today we grunted and groaned as we pulled and pushed the heavy appliance up the steps (photo above), and we finally got it safely into the house. It will sit in the corner of our living room until next Tuesday. when the installer comes. Then we will take the old one out and roll the new one in place for installation.

Nothing seems easy when you live as we do but with considerable effort and slow and meticulous muscle power we managed to get it up to the living area. While we believe in Co-ops using the one we have been members of for so long just was not practical. They charge $75.00 per hour from the time they depart until they get back plus mileage fees. Since we are 1 1/2 hours one way that was going to be costly especially if they work slowly and it takes a couple hours to get the job done. Besides they acted like they were doing us a favor if they would install it.

We had already paid Sears $805,00 and Ace Hardware $65.00, for installation parts, and if we paid another $400 -450.00, for installation that would be one very expensive stove. We are now hoping that the installation goes well and the installer doesn't mess up our gas line connections trying to install the stove. They are a corporation so if they do mess it up we will have something to pursue. We hope it goes smoothly and we finally have a workable stove again.