Cold Weather & Hot Water Heaters  (December 2002)

This morning –- the day after Christmas – the temperature plummeted to 69 degrees after days in the high 80’s. At 6 o’clock I reluctantly got out from under our down comforter and celebrated the morning with a hot shower. I can always tell by the water pressure just how many people are taking a shower in our little town. There weren't very many people taking a shower this morning! (Not only is it cold, but it's “Boxing Day” – a British holiday when the rich folks box up their left-over food and give it to the po’ folks.)

Almost all Belizeans take a cold shower every morning. My friend and business partner Hugo tells me when the water is just right for a cold shower, and I'm sure he would tell me this morning that it's pretty cold. Some Belizeans and most gringos have installed an electric hot water shower head so that they can at least blunt the initial shock of easing into that cold running water. But I wanted hot running water in my kitchen sink so I installed a Mexican hot water heater outside of the house. (That adventure is described as “El Calentador de Agua” )

Locals here regard a water heater as a real gringo luxury, similar to a dishwasher or a clothes dryer. In the States, a water heater is not a luxury. The cold water in Colorado Springs runs at about 40 degrees in the winter. I remember when the heater went out in my rental house, I had to go right out and buy a “better” heater at Sears and put it in that same day. I remember the experience well because it was one of the few times I remember Eddie, my son-in-law, doing some real work. After having a butane torch for years, I needed it to solder copper pipe and couldn’t find all the parts! So I went out and bought a new one, and used it to unsolder and solder the pipes to the water heater. That was the first and last time I did that kind of soldering. Down here, we use PVC for almost everything.

My friend Gary called me from northern California last night. He said it was 42 degrees. It was already starting to cool down here, and the temp was about 75. The Belize Weather Service told us on Monday that a cold front would settle in late Christmas Day and they were right on. On my website, I've been critical of the BWS, but I want to say that for the past several months they've been doing a bang-up job. You can get their weather forecast every day by sending a blank message to bze-weather-on@mail-list.com.

At any rate, to local Belizeans, I say – watch for a boom in Water Heater sales as the baby boomers begin to retire and arrive in Belize. I, of course, am available to come over and supervise installation and provide moral support.

Just another gringo in Belize,  (Listen to the song here if you have IE.)

Sr. ric

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