%!&#*378rd Official Hard At Work Thread!%&#!*%
08-15-2016, 05:24 AM
#1471
Other issue, is there is no window nearby in the basement to place the 230v unit.
So we will be set--plan A: Fix house AC; plan-B: Get temp A/C unit while house system gets replaced or plan C: take over Aaron's house.
House system is 20 years old this year.
So we will be set--plan A: Fix house AC; plan-B: Get temp A/C unit while house system gets replaced or plan C: take over Aaron's house.
House system is 20 years old this year.
08-15-2016, 05:25 AM
#1472
Community Organizer
08-15-2016, 05:27 AM
#1473
Community Organizer
The guy who came out to service ours said that they typically last 10-15 years. Of course, he is in the business of selling new A/C systems so it is in his interest so say things like that but I did corroborate that with some Interwebs results. Seems to me like you might be on borrowed time, Zekers.
08-15-2016, 05:28 AM
#1474
Community Organizer
08-15-2016, 05:33 AM
#1475
Yeah i think it is just time to replace it.
08-15-2016, 05:36 AM
#1476
Community Organizer
All I have to say is, "All hail Willis Carrier!"
08-15-2016, 05:46 AM
#1477
Y'all are crazy.. Yard work and hiking on a weekend like this? Best to stay indoors. Also, I'm starting to warm up more and more to the idea of sprinklers for next year, might have to get the number of the contractors that did yours Aaron. 
I have opted to bring my lawn out of dormancy and help it fight the good fight against the weeds, and moving the sprinklers around gets old quick. Where's the damn rain already?! 
I did have a productive weekend installing some recessed cans in the living room. Oh how I hate cutting into drywall, making holes, and especially getting damn drywall dust everywhere. "Only" had to cut 5 holes in the ceiling to fish the romex.
I'm hoping the paint the previous owners left behind is the same color for the ceiling or I will be f'ed.. 
I have opted to bring my lawn out of dormancy and help it fight the good fight against the weeds, and moving the sprinklers around gets old quick. Where's the damn rain already?! I did have a productive weekend installing some recessed cans in the living room. Oh how I hate cutting into drywall, making holes, and especially getting damn drywall dust everywhere. "Only" had to cut 5 holes in the ceiling to fish the romex.
I'm hoping the paint the previous owners left behind is the same color for the ceiling or I will be f'ed..
08-15-2016, 05:46 AM
#1478
So...
Liz and I went exploring around Ellicott City yesterday--not the part that got flooded out, but up in the woods. As we were leaving one of Howard County's finest was coming up the hill and informed us that the river was closed, parks were closed, etc. Se we left. But not before he gave me a parking ticket. Mind you, this was not a closed parking area because of the flood, it is a place I have parked at many times before. Apparently something changed. So, I owe the good citizens of HoCo $50.
But it gets better. We get home and the house was feeling a little toasty. I look at the thermometer, and see we are at 78; it is set at 71. That is not good. I go outside and the compressor fan is not spinning, and there is a little bit of an electrical smell. I go inside, reset the system and get the same result. I then push the fan blade, and the unit starts up. I was happy I temporarily fixed it. But alas, I did not. Temp kept rising. I made a couple phone calls and did some work in the storm that blew by last night, and it is the capacitor. Going to cost $50 for the part and I can sleep upstairs tonight. As it is, it is too hot in the house for our old dog. She is at work with me today.
While we were diagnosing the A/C we also went looking for window A/C's just in case. We went to:
Home Depot--out of stock
Lowes--only had 230v units
Wal Mart--out of stock
Target--we called and they had some in Annapolis! We drove to Annapolis and looked for them, but we could not find them. Come to find out, they were actually out of stock too. So that was fun.
We slept in the basement with a fan and dehum on. At least it was dry heat and the air was moving.
Liz and I went exploring around Ellicott City yesterday--not the part that got flooded out, but up in the woods. As we were leaving one of Howard County's finest was coming up the hill and informed us that the river was closed, parks were closed, etc. Se we left. But not before he gave me a parking ticket. Mind you, this was not a closed parking area because of the flood, it is a place I have parked at many times before. Apparently something changed. So, I owe the good citizens of HoCo $50.
But it gets better. We get home and the house was feeling a little toasty. I look at the thermometer, and see we are at 78; it is set at 71. That is not good. I go outside and the compressor fan is not spinning, and there is a little bit of an electrical smell. I go inside, reset the system and get the same result. I then push the fan blade, and the unit starts up. I was happy I temporarily fixed it. But alas, I did not. Temp kept rising. I made a couple phone calls and did some work in the storm that blew by last night, and it is the capacitor. Going to cost $50 for the part and
I can sleep upstairs tonight. As it is, it is too hot in the house for our old dog. She is at work with me today.While we were diagnosing the A/C we also went looking for window A/C's just in case. We went to:
Home Depot--out of stock
Lowes--only had 230v units
Wal Mart--out of stock
Target--we called and they had some in Annapolis! We drove to Annapolis and looked for them, but we could not find them. Come to find out, they were actually out of stock too. So that was fun.
We slept in the basement with a fan and dehum on. At least it was dry heat and the air was moving.
i have a small window unit you can borrow!!!! text me. i can drop it off today... enough for one small room (bed room?? for you and pups)
08-15-2016, 05:54 AM
#1479
Originally Posted by tacocat' timestamp='1471267480' post='24039599
Other issue, is there is no window nearby in the basement to place the 230v unit.
So we will be set--plan A: Fix house AC; plan-B: Get temp A/C unit while house system gets replaced or plan C: take over Aaron's house.
House system is 20 years old this year.
So we will be set--plan A: Fix house AC; plan-B: Get temp A/C unit while house system gets replaced or plan C: take over Aaron's house.
House system is 20 years old this year.
The guy who came out to service ours said that they typically last 10-15 years. Of course, he is in the business of selling new A/C systems so it is in his interest so say things like that but I did corroborate that with some Interwebs results. Seems to me like you might be on borrowed time, Zekers.
Regarding HVAC systems.. newer systems definitely aren't built like they used to. It seems like ~15yrs is the most you get out of them these days, so my advice is to patch whatever you can to keep it going until you have a big/costly repair and them look at overhauling the whole thing. We have an R22 heat pump system with an indoor coil/evaporator that's original to the TH built in 1985. That's 30+yrs old now. The outdoor compressor has been replaced, but the indoor coil *knock on wood* keeps on kicking and keeps putzing along (the fan has been replaced as well). What's interesting is the coil/evaporator is all aluminum, whereas newer systems are aluminum and copper. Of course, the coils fail at the joints where the two dissimilar metals meet and leak (damn physics), and many hvac guys will say they're made to fail these days.. R22 is getting more expensive so pumping a little bit of freon in it every year is getting more expensive, but I think of it more like a wear item since new stuff has a finite lifespan. If you can squeeze an extra year or two out of system with only a few hundred dollars put in it's well worth it imo.
I did get some quotes on replacing the whole system a few years back and I got quotes for $4k+. Some hvac guys said the new system would be "more comfortable" and I just laughed. 75 degrees is 75 degrees as far as I'm concerned.
All the fancy multi speed fans/etc is just more crap to break and go wrong imo.Sorry for rambling, hopefully some of that helps..
08-15-2016, 05:57 AM
#1480
Community Organizer
Thread Starter
Saturday was horrible, but I was up in Frostburg yesterday for rallycross and the weather was amazing. Not too hot, nice breeze, much lower humidity.