Dog Community

Tough couple of days

ron2

Posted : 7/19/2006 9:23:36 PM

I have been having a/c problems this year. The wires to the compressor were getting old and brittle and I ended up replacing them. Then, the system wasn't cooling well enough and would run too long. I have a $376 electric bill to prove that. I know an hvac company and the owner has been feeding me repair tips. Most of what I did was okay. But the last couple of days have been practically without a/c. So, he was able to send out a tech in one day, which is better than a lot of other customers are getting. The last couple of days have been averaging between 105 F and 112 F. I've had a total of 8 hours sleep in two days. Anyway, the tech came out and fixed the problem to the tune of 276 dollars but I paid it willingly and next time, I may just have them fix it since I've lost half a day's pay working on it and it's not my field of expertise. Anyway, I'm happy to report that the house is now down to 83 F when previously, the temp indicator was pegged to the right. It will take a while. By the time we got the outside unit running, it was 108 F outside. So, it's been fighting the heat of the day as well as cooling down drywall, etc. We've been cooling the pets down with wet ice packs, ice in the water, etc. Plus, I think Jade is going into heat. She's showing some if the tell-tale behaviors. And, she's been rubbing on Shadow and he's been taking it in stride. It's weird. We visited my wife's parents this last weekend for a family reunion and he went after their Lhasa Apso. He does that once each time we are down there and I haven't figured it out. She's fairly blind with a weak back. I haven't figured out if he's being totally defensive or if she's giving off a signal that sets him because she's used to being the only pet in the house.

But the cat, he doesn't fight. Which is good, for harmony in the house.

But, I'm here to tell ya, it's nice to peruse i-dog without sweating buckets. Like my dog, I'm part husky and can't wait for a cold snap. We haven't gone for a walk in a couple of days. It's all he could do to withstand the constant heat. Normally, we can still go for a short walk, even in this heat, if we have cool house to be in afterwards. But he's been really good. I can handle working in the heat through massive hydration and it helps if I have a cool house to come home to. I've had an easy, though long work day today, so, I can't complain.

sooner

Posted : 7/19/2006 9:34:40 PM

Oh that is rough Ron, now I feel bad for griping about my 80 degree house. Glad things are getting better for you!

ron2

Posted : 7/19/2006 9:50:59 PM

Believe me, getting the house down to 80 is a miracle, as far as I'm concerned. The service tech said not to be surprised if it ran on until midnight. I said I would be happy if it would run that long. Please bear with a technical explanation. The outside unit has a compressor, condenser coils and a condenser motor, which is a fan that pulls hot air away from the condenser coils. The old one was starting to puke out, hence running all day and half the night. And not cooling much, as it was not as able to pull heat away. The windings swell, creating friction and slowing down the motor, which causes it to overdraw current and heat up, which activates the thermal shut-off in the motor. So, for the last couple of days, we've only been able to run the system for about 15 minutes at a time. And only able to knock down a few degrees. I had bought a new motor and installed it, which I have done before with success. Well, the new motor was bigger, which place the fan blades lower, below the anti-spoil shroud. I didn't realize this, due to not being an ac expert. Since I already cut the shaft for clearance, I can't take that motor back. He had to put on another one that is shorter and brings the fan blades up to where they should be. The freon level is good. The motor is rated for 2.6 amps and it's only pulling 2.1, which means it won't overheat. From hereon, I think it will be worth my while to have a yearly system check.

Jade is definitely in heat. She's been trying to present herself to Shadow. I'm all out of film soI can't quite show you how she's loving on his tail.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 7/20/2006 12:49:45 AM

I finally gave up and turned the AC on for the first time in years - it wasn't so much the heat as the humidity, which we don't normally have. I usually just get by with floor fans & ceiling fans. If the AC is on, I have to go and close all the windows and it drives me nuts to be sealed in with cold air blowing on me. [] I have decided that my next electrical project is going to be getting an attic fan installed.

Joyce

marlania

Posted : 7/20/2006 4:17:35 AM

ORIGINAL: fuzzy_dogs_mom
I finally gave up and turned the AC on for the first time in years

Living in the hot stickiness of south Louisiana, I can't even comprehend this sentence.[sm=biggrin.gif]

ron2

Posted : 7/20/2006 5:58:06 AM

Living in the hot stickiness of south Louisiana, I can't even comprehend this sentence

Amen to that. In some regards, it's a whole different life.

marty_ga

Posted : 7/20/2006 7:22:02 AM

I'm with you, Marlania....the AC is my best friend right now!

sharismom

Posted : 7/20/2006 7:25:06 AM

Even we here in Michigan hit in the high 90s with about 300% humidity and it was a real drag because I don't have a/c. I might as well have been in Louisiana!

I feel for you, Ron. Even 108 w/o much humidity is freakin' hot.

As an aside, you are gonna get Jade spayed, right?

magilacudy

Posted : 7/20/2006 9:16:43 AM

Well I don't have a/c so top that! [

] I packed up the kids and dog and we slept at my MIL's house since she is still away. I was swimming at 11 pm and then crashed in the spare room.

fizzlbriches

Posted : 7/20/2006 9:24:38 AM

Gee Ron, I live not too far south of you and my TXU bill has been over $350 for the last two months.........is that not normal??????? Or is it just because I don't feel my house is cool enough if it is above 72º LOL

Glad you got it fixed because it has been horrible lately.........also really glad that mine went out when it was in the upper 80's and we were able to get it repaired within 2 days (home warranty thankfully).

I hear the heat should break for Saturday (only forcasted for the mid 90's). 11 days of triple digits is way too much.

probe1957

Posted : 7/20/2006 9:48:59 AM

When I lived in Colorado, a lot of very nice houses didn't have AC. I can't imagine not having AC here in Illinois. Here, I prefer the utility bills in summer to those in the winter. We are on propane. Live in the boonies. In the winter, if it is cold, our propane and electric bill combined will be $500 for a month. That really bites.

Kara

Posted : 7/20/2006 10:41:32 AM

we got tired of repairing our ancient AC unit and bit the bullet and had a new 3.5 ton put in 2 weeks ago to the tune of $3k.. ouch! But the house is way cooler because the humidity is gone! yay! Living in South Florida I can't imagine being without AC in the summertime. I really feel your pain, Ron and I'm so glad it's better for you now!

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 7/20/2006 11:39:13 AM

[][] Guys, the central valley of CA is, about 99% of the time, a NO HUMIDITY ZONE. We get humidity along the coast, but the temps there don't get nearly as high as they do in the valley. Temps of 105 or so aren't fun under any condition, but if there isn't any *sticky* factor, it's tolerable. I probably wouldn't survive a week where you are. []

Joyce

cakana

Posted : 7/20/2006 12:04:21 PM

I finally gave up and turned the AC on for the first time in years -

Are you serious??? Oh man, I don't know how you're doing it, but good for you. It feels like the Sahara Desert this week, and I'm only 20 miles from you. We have a whole house fan, but it doesn't do any good if the temp never drops at night or early morning. The last 2 days I've driven in, my temp in the car read 83 degrees and that's at 7:30 AM.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 7/20/2006 3:44:49 PM

Here the temps have been dropping at night and early a.m. Maybe you're too far in to get the delta breezes. We run a pool vacuum 4 hrs. a day all year and even without the AC and/or heater, our PG&E bills are running close to $300 - all but about $40 of that is electricity. I think I'm really looking forward to transferring over to SMUD.

Joyce