Hot temps, don't know how southerners do it

[Marlowe]

I worked this weekend on putting in a set of stairs in my garage. The temps got to around 100. I start early and the heat just kind of builds as the day wears on. I drink water often and try to keep a fan going if I'm inside. It was actually quite tolerable in the shade this weekend. A couple of years ago I hung siding on a similar weekend. That was brutal. I was in the sun part of the time and the fan was hard to keep up with. You get used to it somewhat, but those who say the heat doesn't bother them aren't kidding anyone else, much like someone who says forty below is a piece of cake.

 

[jinman]

Well, I got a nice Father's Day surprise. At midnight Saturday, our air conditioner quit suddenly. The compressor just hums and goes to overload. Our York heatpump was new in 2002, so I sure did not expect the compressor to freeze. Everything seemed completely normal with it cooling well before it went out. You'd expect at midnight it would not be under any heavy load either. The start/run capacitor is not discolored or I would maybe have suspected that. Anyhow, I would not call our repairman on Father's Day because he deserves to not be disturbed. This morning I will call him and see when he can come over. It's always somethin'. . . .

The good news is that we have a walkout basement with a raised deck overhead. It was in the low 80s in the basement. With fans, it was very tolerable. The main part of the house got up to 93 late yesterday afternoon. Last night, we slept in our cabin that has a window air conditioner. What a great thing it is to have a backup.

 

[cowboy357]

I worked this weekend on putting in a set of stairs in my garage. The temps got to around 100. I start early and the heat just kind of builds as the day wears on. I drink water often and try to keep a fan going if I'm inside. It was actually quite tolerable in the shade this weekend. A couple of years ago I hung siding on a similar weekend. That was brutal. I was in the sun part of the time and the fan was hard to keep up with. You get used to it somewhat, but those who say the heat doesn't bother them aren't kidding anyone else, much like someone who says forty below is a piece of cake.

Its been in the 100,s here last few days & I can honestlly say it Dont bother Me like it used to . I soak it up these days because I cant take the cold anymore at all , Unless theres snow to move . . Anything below 75 is chilly to Me . . Bob

 

[jimmyj]

Well, I suppose you get used to it but I'd be pretty saggy if the weather was that hot here. We don't even have air conditioning in the house (although in the hottest part of the year we use the spare bedroom in the basement which is quite a lot cooler).

 

[The Dougster]

Jinman, hopefully they can have your AC unit humming by the end of the day... Texas weather can be brutal this time of year.. Here in Central Texas it has been 100-plus for several days and it looks as if that will continue for the foreseeable future... Have I mentioned how I hate Texas summers?
Da warden and I spent the weekend as we normally do at our place in Lampasas County and working outside all weekend we both confess that we over did it... The heat was brutal but we had things we wanted to get accomplished and now that it's Monday, we are both suffering. We don't necessarily get smarter as we get older... OY!

 

[Bird]

Like you, Jim, I would not have expected a 2002 unit to die yet, but I do wonder sometimes about how long my 1999 Rheem heat pump will last; so far, so good. And yes, it's great to have some kind of backup. My 21' x 25' "shop building" has a window unit and has an 8' pool table right in the middle. If the house air dies, I'll go get an air mattress and be sleeping on the pool table.

Hope your repair isn't too expensive.

I started mowing the yard this morning at 6:45 a.m., was through mowing by 7:30 a.m. and was wringing wet with sweat already.

 

[tallyho8]

I just got back from Alaska yesterday where we had a week of average high temperatures of 58 degrees. When I stepped out the air-conditioned plane in New Orleans into about 110 degree heat in the non-air-conditioned jetway wearing a flannel shirt, the heat hit me like a slap in the face. I sure wanted to turn around and go back.


In this weather, the most important thing to do to maintain your air conditioner is to make sure that the condenser coil is clean. A dirty coil will cause a compressor to cut out on the overload and soon burn up, not to mention having extra high electric bills and not cooling as well. Be sure you check the side of the coil where the air goes in to it because the side where the air comes out will always look clean.

The condenser coil is the outside unit of your central or the rear coil of your window unit. The evaporator coil is the inside coil and is protected by an air filter which must also be checked to make sure it is clean.

 

[jinman]

In this weather, the most important thing to do to maintain your air conditioner is to make sure that the condenser coil is clean. A dirty coil will cause a compressor to cut out on the overload and soon burn up, not to mention having extra high electric bills and not cooling as well. Be sure you check the side of the coil where the air goes in to it because the side where the air comes out will always look clean.

The condenser coil is the outside unit of your central or the rear coil of your window unit. The evaporator coil is the inside coil and is protected by an air filter which must also be checked to make sure it is clean.

Thanks for the advice, Dudley. This morning before the repairman arrived, I checked and cleaned my condenser (it wasn't very dirty) and I also changed out one of my two return air filters since it was a little dirty. While the air conditioner was off and unpowered was the perfect time to do those jobs.

When my repairman arrived, I already had the access panel off because I had inspected the start/run capacitor. His trained eye saw something my eyes did not. He walked back to his truck and returned with a new capacitor. In less than 10 minutes, we were up and running. We only had to pay a minimum service charge and the price of a new capacitor, $132. Even if I had known the capacitor was bad, I could not have located one and driven to town to purchase it and put it in in that amount of time. I was more than happy to pay the serviceman what I think is a very good fee. He also runs several fireworks stands, and I'm one of his regular customers since I buy all my fireworks from him for my yearly 4th of July celebration and cookout.

 

[Bird]

I clean the condensor coils on my A/C every Spring. Today was 97, and after mowing the yard this morning, I helped a neighbor who is moving. I told him I didn't think I'd be able to do much hard labor in this heat, but that I could drive and haul stuff. As it turned out, we had 2 little Toyota pickups and my Ford Ranger, I have a two-wheeled dolly and ramps for the pickup, so we moved their refrigerator, washer & dryer, beds, sofa, dressers, chest of drawers, and numerous boxes, tools, etc. and with enough ice water and iced tea, I survived much better than I expected and got through about 3:30 p.m. when it was 97 degrees ouside.

So now I've had a cool shower and this frozen Margarita sure tastes good!

 

[jimmyj]

Well, it's 26 degrees C (78 F) here today and I'm sweating bullets. 51% humidity. Had the day off work yesteray and moved firewood and hay bales all day and drank over a gallon of water and iced tea. Mmmm good. Had watermelon too during one break. Got to get the darned pool open!

Bird, part of my job involved maintaining HVAC units at retail stores. We cut back to 3 services per year (filters, inspection, minor stuff) and our failure rates increased notably. We do them 4 times a year now including a pressure washing of the coils and it really pays off.

I know that would be overkill for a home unit but it is really good you do yours every spring.

Can't imagine 97.