[Erin524]

Last couple of days, which have been really hot (98 on tuesday) I noticed it was warmer than usual in the house, and it seemed like no matter what temperature I set the a/c for, I couldnt get the temp in the house lower than 79.

This morning, it was really warm in the house, but today was cooler than yesterday. I figured out the a/c wasnt working when I had it set for 69, and trying to get it cooler in the house, and it wouldnt get any cooler than 77. Went outside and looked at the heat pump/air conditioner. You can kind of hear it clicking, or trying to turn on. But it's not doing anything.

I'm really irritated. That heat pump/air conditioner is less than 5yrs old. I really hope it's still under warranty. I also hope it's not hot tomorrow, since they cant make it to my house to fix it until between 5 and 7pm. (I pulled the "I have a medical condition..." card, to see if they'd get here any quicker. Nope. Didnt work)

[viseeu]

that sucks, Erin; it was near 98 here today too and man if the a/c went out it would definitely be uncomfortable and not sure I'd even be able to sleep. I hope it is cooler tomorrow and that they get there in a timely manner.

[Erin524]

We were lucky and had a huge thunderstorm earlier today, so that dropped the outside temperatures, but our house isnt really conducive to opening the windows and getting a breeze going thru the house....and it's raining outside again. Our windows crank open, so I'm afraid to open any windows for fear that we'd get some wind and they'd break. (been there, done that once)

I really hope the repair people get here sooner than 5pm tomorrow. My mom doesnt do well when she's stressed, and being hot is one of the biggest stressors for her. She gets a bit...irrational and scream-ish when she's stressed and this is stressing her out more than it is me.

I'm warm, so I've been doing the damp bandana/washcloth on my wrists to cool myself down. My mom wants the a/c running right now.

Really disturbed that the heat pump/air conditioner crapped out on us and it's not even that old yet. Second time we've had a problem with it too.

[SallyC]

It's only 88 here today, but I don't even want to think about it or say it out loud,,

[Erin524]

It's 80 degrees in my bedroom right now. You'd think it'd be cooler in my room, since it's in the basement. Still no a/c repair person yet. I called and again pulled the "MS card" to try to get them out here quicker. Not so much for me, but for my mom who is really really ticked off that our heat pump/air conditioner crapped out so soon after buying it. (she's got a pathological fear/phobia of sweating and being hot. Not sure where she got that from)

I'm not all that surprised that the a/c quit working. Nothing is built to last anymore. Our house is only nine years old. The original a/c that we had, quit working when it hit about 5 or 6yrs old (not sure now what year it was we installed the new one) Old one froze up so bad that you could see ice on the a/c in the basement. Our heat pump must work differently, because we're just getting hot air out of it, and I didnt see any ice crystals on the thing in the basement like the old a/c would do.

My mom keeps bugging me to take her somewhere with air conditioning. I told her I have to stay here just in case the repair guy gets here earlier than scheduled. It's not like we dont have a cool place to go sit. We have a glassed in deck/sunroom that has it's own a/c. Which I turned on. (The door to the deck is open, because she's trying to get the cool air from the deck to come into the rest of the house. I gave up trying to tell her to just sit on the deck and let her keep the door open.)

I have my ceiling fan in my room on full blast, and I have a tower fan that's also on full blast blowing on me right now. I'm kind of comfy with just that. (wet bandana on my wrist is also helping me feel like it's cooler than it is) I just wish my mom would calmly sit and wait for the thing to get fixed, instead of throwing things at me and yelling because she's hot.

[Kitty]

Hopefully it'll be something easy....like needing freon or something like that.

I called my landlord and asked that the A/C system have a checkup in March because my biggest fear is having the A/C go out during a heat wave. He was really nice about it and had it checked out and had the freon replenished.

These systems should last at least 15 years I would think. Hopefully it's still under warranty and this will be a covered repair.

I wonder how we lived without A/C years ago? I never remember being uncomfortably hot.

[Erin524]

It's FIXED!! YAAAAY! *happy dance* (if I could dance)

I remember living without air conditioning as a child. It was unbearably hot one summer, and my dad, who had put a window unit in our living room one summer, only to have the thing not work at all, ended up calling a heating/air company and had the whole house set up with a/c and a brand new furnace. Said he'd always wanted a house with central air.

Absolutely LOVED it when they installed that a/c with all the duct work. I think I was about 6yrs old at the time. Now I wont live without air conditioning.

It was about 85 in the house when the guy got here (early! he wasnt supposed to be here till 5pm) and it only took him about a half hour to fix it. Something about a capacitor blowing out. He thought that when it got up to about 98 degrees the other day, the extreme heat that day was what blew the capacitor. Said it was the most common thing on a heat pump/air conditioner to go bad, and that it's usually the problem when you first turn on the a/c in the spring.

Neat thing about it getting fixed, it was still under manufacturer's warranty, and because we have the service contract with the company that came out to fix it, we didnt even have to pay for the service call! So, it didnt cost anything to fix today!

I'm a happy camper (and cooler now than I was an hour ago)

I have to go sit under the a/c vent in my room and cool off. Hope my fingers un-numb themselves once it gets nice and cold in here.

[Kitty]

That's great! I'm sure your Dad is relieved it was still under warranty and didn't cost him anything. That's always good news.

[Erin524]

I just saw the weather report for tomorrow. After we have thunderstorms (and hopefully NO tornadoes) roll thru tonight, we're going to have a cold front. 55 degree temperatures tomorrow!! That'll be nice after having the nearly 100 degree temps we've had this week.

[TwoKidsTwoCats]

Glad your fixed up with A/C!

I had a feeling it was the capacitor when I read your first post the other day. We had it happen 2 times. One tip our A/C guy gave me... because it is usually the high heat that kills the capacitor... make sure the airflow around your unit is clear. The biggest culprit is grass and dirt that gets trapped in the "fins" and blocks the airflow. A good rinse with a garden hose is a must before using the system in the spring.

About your mom's reaction to not having A/C... I totally understand where she's coming from because I get what I call a "trapped feeling like I can't breathe" reaction when I get overheated. Because of MS, that feeling can hit me when it's only 80degrees. For me it is the same flight or fright type of reaction I get from claustrophobia. Next time, recommend she stand in front of the open refrigerator for relief.