Gas Or Oil

FAULKNER -- It's been more than a century since John Wilkes Booth and David Herold hid out in a meadow near here as they fled south after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.And if you can blot out the telecommunications tower and the occasional brick rambler among the old, frame houses in the farm fields, it doesn't take much to imagine how it must have looked back in 1865.But all that could change rapidly if Texaco Inc. finds natural gas or oil 10,000 feet below the surface of a soybean field about a half-mile off U.S. 301 and 1 1/2 miles from the Potomac River.

NEW YORK - Natural gas futures rose in New York yesterday for the fourth time in five sessions on speculation that increasing demand for gas to run factories might hinder efforts to store supplies for winter. Manufacturers are replacing oil-based fuels after gas prices plunged to an eight-month low this week. Rising industrial demand for the fuel is reducing supplies available for storage, which probably posted their smallest gain in three months last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts.

Driving your car is already more expensive. Heating the house with natural gas will cost at least a fifth more this winter than last, the utilities tell us. Will the price of running your toaster and TV go up next? The answer is yes. Six-year-old caps on Baltimore Gas and Electric's residential electricity rates expire next July. BGE has started shopping for the juice that it will need to power metropolitan Baltimore after July 1. The price it pays will determine what households pay. And the news isn't good.

This year's prize for the most timely question goes to a reader in Chicago who wrote to ask what might be causing moisture to build up on the inside of the storm windows on the second floor of the house."

Water heaters and gas furnaces in the Union Village townhouses in Westminster were installed in violation of Carroll's mechanical code 13 years ago and may pose safety hazards, inspectors recently discovered.The heaters and furnaces at the Union Street neighborhood are in tiny closets with inadequate air intakes, county permits and inspections staff members report. The landlord may be ordered to fix the water heater and furnace housings.Officials said gas could build up and explode if the units malfunction, or that improperly installed exhaust pipes may allow carbon monoxide, a deadly colorless, odorless gas, to seep back into the townhouses.

Drew Meyers is replacing the 1970s-era furnace in the ranch house he recently moved into with his family of four in Baltimore County - but not because of the spiking price of fuel. "It's just old and, to me, I don't want the kids breathing any bad fumes or soot," said Meyers, 39, who will take the opportunity to install a new central air-conditioning system in his home near Liberty Reservoir. But he also hopes to enjoy a respite from the high energy prices with the new, more efficient oil furnace to replace his old one. Worries about reliability and home purchasers seeking a fresh start are the main reasons the 8.1 million heating oil users in the United States - mostly in the Northeast - replace furnaces, not spikes in energy prices, say energy experts and those in the home heating industry.

ABOUT THIS TIME of year, those of us who don't already have one start thinking how nice it would be to bask before a nice warm fireplace or wood-burning stove -- something that's not only toasty but also not dependent on gas or electricity.Like any dream, this one requires a reality check. There's a reason that the reliable old utility company has so many customers: Convenience. Modern furnaces and heat pumps require little maintenance, but wood stoves and fireplaces need a lot.They need to have their flues cleaned once a burning season -- some chimney sweeps recommend cleaning once for every cord of wood burned.

Give yourselves a pat on the back, America. In light of soaring energy costs, Americans have given generously this cold season by contributing $34.7 million more than usual to help low-income customers pay their heating bills, says the Washington-based National Community Action Foundation. Normally, about $100 million is raised each year. The good news comes just as the Department of Energy released predictions that, despite mild weather and lower-than-expected prices, residential heating bills still will be 24 percent higher this season than a year ago. So congratulations, rate-payers, stockholders and utility industry foundations, for recognizing that the less fortunate needed more help this season.

ALL IT takes is a few nippy nights, like the ones we've had lately, to remind folks it's getting to be time to turn on the heat. Some of us have personal rules about this -- one of Karol's colleagues absolutely, positively never turns on the furnace until November -- but whatever the imperatives, it's nice to know that when you need it, you can flip the switch and have the apparatus work.Of course, it helps to know what is supposed to happen, and how things are supposed to work. Here's a primer on heating systems, so you can check yours out before you really need it.The term encompassing all the systems that control the climate in your house is the acronym HVAC.

The thick amber liquid reached a hard boil. Rising steam permeated the area with the distinctive aroma of maple syrup, the natural sweetener that makes pancakes taste just that much better.When the thermometer registered 240 degrees Fahrenheit, Marie Martz took the pot off the burner and put it in a pan of water. After the syrup had cooled 20 degrees, it was ready to crystallize for pouring into leaf-shape molds to harden into maple sugar candy.Mrs. Martz learned the skill from her father, J. Curtis Dom, 81, who is making his last trip to the Maryland State Fair to demonstrate his skills this year.