AIR CONDITIONING UNITS IN THE SOUTH VS UP NORTH - A RUDE AWAKENING

[Greyman50]

Had evaporator cooling systems in Vietnam. Reduced the temps from 110 to around 80-85 which was Cool.
Always used diluted bleach CAREFULLY poured in a funnel into the drain line at the tee about 6” from the pan.

 

[djohns6]

Yes, the float switch goes up to the top of the overflow pan and then there is a drain/pipe there also.

No drain in the overflow pan here . Never saw one with a drain . Code differences I guess .

 

[jmcghee]

heat dissipation

The question I have is the same I've had for years trying to find the correct cooling and heating for my home. Where does the heat it pulls from the air conditioned environment go?

The heat is transfered to the outdoor unit then to the outdoors.

 

[charlie sherrill]

I remember the good-old-days too. I was born and raised in farthest south Texas - 95% humidity and 100 degrees in the summer.

I remember before having A/C in the house we only had a giant attic fan. The only air conditioned building I remember was the Sears store in McAllen.

Very similar in Hattiesburg, Ms. The only AC I ever saw was in a few stores. My parents got AC while I was at boot camp. I remember how different it was when I came home on leave.

 

[Alton]

When we moved to our new home in 1964 we had central AC and Heat. But I didn't get AC in my schools or vehicles till 1975. I get aggravated when I hear we need to add AC to our prisons here in South Texas. I keep a cheap shopvac close to my AC drain and try to remember to suck out all the water once a week. My new AC has a float valve in the drain and the pan, but the pan is only for emergency's. When the float is activated it turns the thermostat blank, so I know exactly what the problem is.

 

[CalifEd]

The question I have is the same I've had for years trying to find the correct cooling and heating for my home. Where does the heat it pulls from the air conditioned environment go?

One of many articles but this was the Readers Digest version.
"A study found that waste heat generated by a city's worth of air conditioners during a heatwave can raise the outside temperature by more than 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degree F).

 

[SMSgt]

One of many articles but this was the Readers Digest version.
"A study found that waste heat generated by a city's worth of air conditioners during a heatwave can raise the outside temperature by more than 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degree F).

The problem here is a two degree Celsius "change" is not 35.6 degrees F. Two degrees C is 35.6 degrees F. The change of two degrees C would be about 3-4 degrees F.

 

[bdGreen]

I was born in Minnesota.

Waaaay back then the need for air conditioning in the houses was pretty much unheard of. No one that we knew had one.

My daddy dragged us all kicking and scratching to Texas in 1963.

In JULY!

Well, you can imagine how that road trip went.

1956 Ford station wagon with five people, our dog, AND, no A/C in our car.

Again, a Minnesota car.

The first house my father purchased was a small three bedroom, single car garage brick home.

WITHOUT A/C.

In July, In TEXAS. Grasp that concept.

Well, after about a month he purchased a window unit.
And, he put it in the master bedroom.

It was quite a while later that he purchased another window unit and placed it in a kitchen window.

We can now all breathe.

We stayed in that house two years and then upgraded our home status.

Since that day I have prayed to the Willis Haviland Carrier gods regularly.

bdGreen

 

[LVSteve]

I'm pretty sure we had A/C in the house we rented in Ft Worth in 1967. It was a major novelty for us coming from England.

Looks like the A/C in Vegas is about to get a work out. We are forecast to get some temps above 110°F later this week.

 

[CalifEd]

The problem here is a two degree Celsius "change" is not 35.6 degrees F. Two degrees C is 35.6 degrees F. The change of two degrees C would be about 3-4 degrees F.

OOPS!!!
I guess I need to engage my think'n thange before replying.

 

[LVSteve]

1°C = 1.8°F, so a two degree Celsius change is 3.6°F.

 

[rwsmith]

'Stressed' is the right word....

Units around here generally break down around the middle of July.

 

[Alton]

When my son-in-law asked my daughter to marry him and move to New Hampshire she said yes with a stipulation they had AC in their home. They have been married happily for five years with AC.

 

[kozmic]

We just redid both zones of A/C and gas furnaces, plus a mini-split in our addition 2 years ago. My buddy owns the mechanical company who did the installs. He set me up on a twice a year service program that takes care of everything. I just clean and replace filters periodically as needed in the interim.
I wanted to get new gas furnaces before NYS bans them. I did the same with our gas range and dryer. Hopefully they will all last longer than me.

 

[Telecaster]

On the first of every month I change the filter and pour bleach into the condensate drain line.

 

[brucev]

Re: Sleeping on the fire escape, etc. In the late 50's my parents had a house with a big screened in back porch. There was a very large belt driven floor fan at one end. It really moved the air. Made things much better. Nowadays, my wife and I are retired. We live in a second-floor condo. High tech windows, etc. make heating/cooling easy. Guess having a unit below us and another above us and the windows mitigates things. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Guess having a unit below us and another above us and the windows mitigates things. Sincerely. bruce.

We live in a 2 story "Townhouse" condo in the middle of the building. I like that two other people help keep our home comfortable!

When we owned the apartments, my maintenance shop was in a the first floor unit. The furnace didn't have a fan motor and squirrel cage for about 25 years! If it was going to be a sub-zero night, I left the bath and kitchen lights on. Never got below 40 degrees F. In the summer, no furnace means no A/C. It was never real hot but there was nothing to extract the humidity.

Ivan

 

[swsig]

You guys dont just open the windows on a nice 75 degree summer day?

Yesterday here in north Texas, it was a relatively mild 91 degrees, but the dew point was in the 70s, resulting in a heat index of 106. I was out in my driveway for about 30 minutes while the guy from AAA changed out the battery in one of my vehicles. I came back inside thoroughly drenched in sweat. Normally the humidity around here is not too bad, but yesterday it was the worst I can remember in the 53 years I have lived here. The only heat-humidity combination that bad I'd experienced previously was in Panama. No open windows for me!

PS, I doubt even Harvard's swamp coolers would work under these conditions.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Lately we have had "air you can wear".

When I walk in conditions like this I wear old, threadbare t-shirts. I take them off when wet and let them dry a bit before the next lap.

Yesterday I came back in drenched and proceeded to strip my shirt off. I grabbed the collar to peel the shirt over my head.

I heard an unmistakable sound and a following "uh-oh". All I had in my hand was the collar. I asked Ruthie if she could do anything as the shirt was held together by wishful thinking and stubborn under stains.

She said "we have a fire pit".

I loved that old shirt.

 

[LVSteve]

You guys dont just open the windows on a nice 75 degree summer day?

A small list of why we don't do that here:

Dust.
Pollen.
Scorpions, unless your bug screens are an interference fit, which they won't be.
Did I mention dust?