Dooooon't listen to me! I ain't got a clue what the hell I'm talkin' about!
The outside A/C unit decided to quit working. I'll bet it's 10 years to the day that it was put in! Those damned outside units don't live past 10 years down here in the salty air, and I'll be damned if ours didn't crap out. Not that anyone bearing a striking resemblance to ME hasn't been warning anyone else in this house...
So now it's 82 degrees in here, and it's been rising about a degree an hour. Sure hope the other half has money to pay the A/C guy, because I sure as hell don't. Nor do I want to. I could give a shit less, I'll just plug in the pop up and sleep in there.
On a side note, I looked up the house next door which is for sale. They're asking $89,000. And it's been on the market for 67 days... We paid $87,000 for our house in 2001. Based on the price per square foot, ours would be listed at $94,000 right now. That's down from a peak of $136,000 three years ago. When I wanted to sell...
But dooooon't listen to me, I'm a male retard. I'm dumber than a box of shit, the TV says so. I got no clue what I'm talking about! I surely can't recognize housing bubbles, or impending crashes of shit that's unsustainable! I'm just a male idiot who thinks with his pecker!
Well we'll see how the "she genius" gets us out of this one, because I threw the ball in her court.
Me, I'm glad the A/C shit the bed. That electricity meter isn't spinning at 5,000 RPM, which means I'm not getting hosed on the electric bill. Man survived for eons without freakin' air conditioning and 1,600 square foot drywalled prison cells, so I reckon I will too. HA! This is a good thing in my opinion, because those three spoiled rotten females I'm stuck living with will get a taste of humble pie...
***Addendum*** A friend of ours just came over and confirmed that the compressor is shot. A new compressor is more than half the cost of a whole new outside unit. BUT.... Our "friends" at the EPA have rendered our entire system obsolete, meaning we'd have to replace the entire A/C system, to the tune of around $6K. I hate it when I'm right....
Killing Me
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My mind is still reeling from the events of this weekend. I had a hard time
concentrating on my work this weekend, because all I could think about is
getti...
6 hours ago
19 comments:
Our air conditioning took a shit too. Last night, just up and quit, it's about 6 years old now.
our temp inside right now 83.
Hugs~Fel~
It's 63 here and dropping in the Great North Woods of NH. Don't even have AC.
I think back to all those old southern houses -high ceilings, huge windows, good cross ventilation and porches for outside living. They don't build them like that anymore.
My friends and relatives thought I was nuts for not taking advantage of all that home equity money available. Now that things have gone bad, they are upside down and trapped with big bills.
Even in today's market, I could reasonably expect to sell for 2.5 - 3 times what I owe. Down from the 5X is used to be.
Don't even care, as I like it here and afford it. No need to move.
Maybe this AC problem will be the long awaited for family wake up call. Let us know if your wife hits the snooze button again.
No, the small compressor based systems just don't seem to last.
The ground loop systems (it uses the constant 54 degree temperature of the earth below a certain depth to get its delta T). seem nice, but the upfront cost to do all the digging (unless you have the ability to do it yourself) would have to be punishing.
bought my house 20 yrs. ago for $28,500...and my a/c was installed 20 yrs ago for $1,000. this past june i had to replace the a/c and it cost $2,600.00.. and yeah, it sometimes pays to use the local yokels instead of the "big box" deals in the city. nights are starting to cool down so open up the windows and enjoy what breezes you can get. by the way, even with the new a/c i still keep the thermostat set on 80 degrees. and come winter that sucker will be down around 58.
Hi Mayberry,
Sorry to hear. I hate to see yet another worry on your brow.
Until you can fix the A/C, just leave your refrigerator door open. :)
Dave
Even when you are right convincing a woman of the fact and then getting them agree is darn near impossible. Thanks for your blog. Best part of my day is reading it.
To Mrs. Mayberry from a female who feels compassion for you. Get one window unit for a bedroom and one for a living area. Everyone sleep in the same room w/ door closed. Then you 'live' in the family room during day/evening with the rest of the house closed off. That is how my grandparents managed in the Texas heat. Turn off TV and other large screens that generate heat. Cook w/ a crockpot outside or grill so you don't heat up kitchen. Best wishes!
$6000 for AC. That's an expensive luxury.
Look at this as a good trial run for when the power goes out when the TSHF.
Idaho Homesteader
Window air-conditioners might seem like a solution but a friend of mine in Wisconsin said that it cost more to run two of them than his whole house unit now. Here in Colorado we don't need them so I'll take his word for it. I also have a neighbor who has the money to pay cash for a house (he & his wife say) but rents because it makes better financial sense right now. People who can't sell there homes but must move for business need to get some money to help make the payments so the rent is very affordable. Plus he is sure the market hasn't bottomed out yet (reads the Wall Street Journal everyday) so there are better deals coming. Have you looked to see what the rental homes in your neighborhood are going for? I'd get some fans as I lived for almost two years in Thailand with only a ceiling fan in the bedroom and it wasn't bad. Course I was younger then. :-) Good luck.
TJ
Mine went out at the beginning of the summer. It doesn't get quite as hot here as it does in TX but the mercury does rise. I'm perfectly content turning the fan on and stripping down to a pair of running shorts when I'm walking around the house so I have no need for AC. It's just an unnecessary extravagance that triples the electric bill every month as far as I'm concerned (literally...I've been paying less than $100 a month all summer down from $200-$300 during the summer months in past years). Keep the windows open and the air circulating at night and it cools down the house nicely. If it gets really bad I just go down in the basement. It's consistently 10 degrees cooler down there. My wife complains but every time I suggest that she pay for the repairs she shuts up fast. It's not a big enough inconvenience to justify blowing a few grand to get it fixed. When I go to sell the house I'll get it fixed. Till then maybe I'll just live with the next to nothing electric bills.
Find a new home that is about to go into foreclosure and buy their AC for $100. And their cabinets, and their appliances, etc., etc.,
Damn Mayberry,
Every time I want to send you a note of encouragement and say, "Things can't get worst". Seems I don't give you enough credit, you have proved me wrong again.
A ten dollar box fan & a cold beer can sure help keep your spirits from going completely in the dirt.
Get use to that fan, as a few solar panels might allow you that luxury in the future.
Just keep getting up every morning... one day it may make sense.
The Virginian
Colorado 92 outside 65 inside.
Swamp cooler uses less electric than a window unit...
There was a reason I moved out of Texas, thanks for reminding me again!
By the end of October we will have the first snow...
Howdy,
There seems to be a lot of that failing AC syndrome going on. Ours failed last week too. We didn't get it replaced until thursday. We had to buy a new system as the freon formula had been banned by the epa. cost 8600 for an upgraded system fm 13 seer to 16 seer. That should save me some on the energy bill. It sure does cool better now and wifey isn't bitching about the heat or the cost. Houston heat must have made her mind up real quick.
Fel, seems to be an epidemic!
Sixbears, those old southern houses are distant memories. Yeah, we could still sell for a very small profit. The A/C crapping out does not help in that department... Snooze button, ha ha! She'll be hitting it alright. And I would be so happy to eat those words...
Russell, the heat and salt down here on the coast eats them alive. If you dig more than three or four feet here you,ll hit water...
Anon 8:43, not much cooling at night here, gets down to upper 70s and humid, like 80%...
Dave, the 'fridge would go on strike : )
Grumpy, it's like herding cats. Thanks!
Anon 8:58, I'll pass it along...
Idaho, it's a lot more than I'm willing (or able) to pay. That's how I'm looking at it.
TJ, window units are electricity hogs. Rent around here is high, though since they jacked up my mortgage payment (escrow) it's pretty close. Downsizing would save a lot, and that's what I want to do...
Urban, that'll work for me. The wimmin, however...
Anon 11:21, sure...
Virginian, if it wern't fer bad luck, I'd have no luck at all...
Radio, swamp coolers don't work in the swamp : ) I don't mind the heat. By the end of October I could have my 2nd harvest from the garden! And I'll be harvesting in shorts and a T-shirt. Snow, YUCK!
Ken, those wonderful pricks at the EPA have me in the same boat. $8600?!! I'll pass...
Not to try to make your local experts look bad or anything, but I happen to sell ac equipment for a national company. We still have hundreds of r22 condensing units for sale. They are not all gone yet.
I am not sure who you have for an ac expert but it is only illegal to replace an entire r22 system. The system consists of a condensing unit, line set, and evaporator. Replacing one or two of these pieces at a time is legal. I work for a hvac wholesaler and we still have hundreds of the r22 condensing units in stock throughout the country.
Daniel, he's a friend of ours. He's making some calls to see what he can find. Either way, I can't afford any of this...
Some 35 years ago I was at a convention in Dallas/Fort Worth (106 degress).
Myself and another mid westerner (a hot chick;) decided to take a swim in the hotel's outdoor pool. We got about three steps out of the building, looked at each other and screamed in harmony as our sun glasses fogged and our bare feet melted to the terrazzo (we then went up to my room and consoled each other but that's another story)..
Shit buddy it gets freaking hot down there!
I'll have to send ya box of the 36 degrees we had here this morning :)
Hang in there bro..
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