July In Phoenix And No Ac.


Recommended Posts

Well, the $%#&ing air conditioner decided to quit today. I nursed it back to heath twice, but it only runs a few hours and then shuts down. The problem is that it's overheating. And it's old.

My AC guy has been promising to do something with it since last March. Now of course he doesn't answer the phone.

Got home tonight and it was like a sauna in the house. It's 110 outside and probably 109 in the house.

I'm going to stick my head in the freezer. Maybe even see if I can climb in entirely.

:( Joe

Edited by irregularjoe
Link to post
Share on other sites

I've no recollection of how I managed to survive so many years in this house before I got AC (there's no such thing as "a dry heat" in the MidWest), so I have no advice. Fans just blow hot air at you, like a convection oven (More Efficient!). Sleeping's the toughest part, just read an article about that. Seems we're programmed via evolution to sleep during the cool nights, so cooling off, at least at night, is important for your (mental) health. They recommended damp cloths on your forehead (and/ or feet, of all things) to cool you as efficiently as possible. Ice packs are better as long as you can keep them from soaking the bed.

If a new unit's a possibility at least you'll get a MUCH more efficient one, the worst ones today are better than the best ones of yesteryear. Your monthly bill will be obviously smaller.

Link to post
Share on other sites

We thought we were gonna have to call someone about our AC a week or 2 ago. It was making this horrible squealing that the whole damn neighborhood could hear but a few good punches (it sits almost 6 feet above the ground so we couldn't kick it) and it quit doing it. This unit is more than 10 years old and it's been fixed a few times but it's still going strong.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Time for multiple window fans to get some air moving.

Wow, that has "yankee" written all over it :D

Time to put in a couple window units. Might not cool the whole house, but one in the bedroom and one in the computer room adn you're good to go. :thumbsup:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Kids nowadays....

Time to bring in that good old block of ice.

I remember the days of the dish of ice sitting in front of the fans.

Ooooops.... letting onto my age a little bit here...... time to sneak away before anyone notices.... :lol:

Link to post
Share on other sites
... Time to bring in that good old block of ice. ...

Did you take it out of the icebox? :lol:

Why, Yes I did by gosh... Looking at getting one of them newfangled electric ones... But all them coils on top kinda worrys me. Is it an electric icebox, or a moonshine making machine.... :lol:

Link to post
Share on other sites

That is why I still use window units.

Even if one fails , the others will keep the house comfortable and you can move em around as needed.

Having been through no AC when the power fails a number of times, I would definitely not put all my eggs in one basket (central) . Of course there is always the option of a hotel I guess.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I got the fan thing going right now... I didn't bother with putting the AC unites in because this summer in the northeast has been mild. Well 92 and pretty humid right now maybe time to get the AC fired up.

The weather guy just said thunder storms for the next three days. Oh crap, hot and stuck inside.

Link to post
Share on other sites

To every one with working A/C.

Right now, I hate you. The damn A/C just went out at my house today. Oddly enough, the IT room, i.e. my bedroom, was the coolest room in the house for a while. It's usually the hottest. At least I can handle heat well. I can handle better than anyone else at home. I had no clue the AC was out when i got home. It's cause I'm used to living in a room that's normally 5-8 degrees warmer than the rest of the house.

I nay actually like going to work tomorrow though. The A/C is newer there (much newer) and even if it went out, there's always the walk in cooler :thumbsup:

Link to post
Share on other sites

well, we are gettin a new $3800 unit installed tomorrow. I have to spend one more night at my granny's. No internet but I took one of my towers down there so i could watch my anime and play a few single player games. Me and my dad are at home at the moment cleanin out the garage so the guys can have room to work. Today my commute to school was 40 minutes as opposed to the normal 7 minutes. That sucks. At least it's at a time that the highway there is mostly clear of commuters goin from the smaller town my granny lives in to the bigger town I live in.

Currently 103.3 degrees Fahrenheit in the coolest part of my computer's case and approx 86-88 in my room and 83-85 in the rest of the house (and remember, this is TN, so it's humid too). I'm lettin as much of a large torrent get done as it can on my computer and when my dad and I leave, I'm gonna shut it down so it won't over heat when we close the windows. Thank god I have this window exhaust fan in the window. It's suckin most of the hot hot air out and the ceiling fans are blowing the less hot air towards me.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Had the compressor fan go out on my unit a few years back. I rigged a water sprinkler to mist water on the outside coils. The heat was 90+ outside and I had the inside down to 70. I live in a mobile home so you know it is not the most energy efficient home.

This happened to me about 8-10 years back when I worked in the Gulf of Mexico, did the same thing. The office could not get us a tech or parts for 2 weeks. Being on a steel boat in the summer it gets hot quick. We actually forgot about the unit being down until the tech showed up. He did freak when he seen we were keeping the system cool with salt water.

I say keep the filters changed with a decent filter. Find an AC tech you can trust to check your system and not charge for needless service.

M

Link to post
Share on other sites
... we were keeping the system cool with salt water. ...

LOL! Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

My compressor's out in the hot sun all afternoon, a water-spray sounds like a good idea (not that I have the ambition to git 'er done).

Link to post
Share on other sites

I always wondered why anyone would install a compressor in the sun.. Really kinda stoopid. We use a spray bottle assembly to mist for the hummingbirds in the flower garden. Uses very little water but also does the job of cooling the deck too. You can try rigging a shade cover, plant a nice leafy bush, or adapt that mister. I used some drip irrigation tubing and manifold to hook the mister to the garden hose. I think the threads may fit right on a male end of a garden hose. (or could be made too)

It's been hotter 'n hades around SW Michigan. No rain for weeks and it's 93 today. (106 on the deck) Jeesch!

Link to post
Share on other sites
I always wondered why anyone would install a compressor in the sun.. ...

In my case that's what's on the other side of the wall where the air handler sits in the house. the middle of a sun-drenched wall. You'd have to run 30 feet of tubing to get the compressor in a more ideal shady spot. I always MEANT to landscape around it but never did.

We're just getting back into the 90's. Been a mild Summer for us. <jinx!>

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...