snip

I want to get rid of the rental atmospheric vented unit with a pilot light
that I have now. At 14 years old it must be ready to start leaking because
as a retired gas company employee, I know they purchased them real cheap.
I have had a high efficiency gas furnace for the past 25 years and it
really sips the gas. I hope to reduce the gas consumption and monthly
rental payments, as I hate giving a chunk of my pension money back to the
gas company. After it was bought out, it is not the same caring company
any more.


I just re-read that.

Not quite sure exactly what that means but here in the "states" we have
something called "public utilities". They are regulated by elected officials
and traded on public stock exchanges.

Education and healthcare which polite society should offer at a token cost
of their real value, is way over priced.

Energy is just expensive.