and now the AC is dead

[Contrary Housewife]

Got home from our lovely anniversary weekend in the mountains to find our AC is dead. It was over 80 in the house and since our crappy old windows don't open it was a miserable night. Got a guy coming today to poke at it. I'd really like to replace it, it is over 10 years old and did not run well when it worked.

On top of that, as I am getting ready for bed, flossing my teeth I hear a snap... and out pops half a tooth. ARGH! If I'm *lucky* all I need is a crown. We'll see what the news is tomorrow.

So... the hole in the porch roof is going to get bigger and the new insulated windows will wait another 6-12 months, and the money we were saving for a new(er) car is going to get used for this, too. Sigh. Some days it seems like it's all we can do to just break even....

[cmdarlin]

Sounds like our house. It was hot here too but we have no ac except for a window unit that we can't get in the window until DH digs out the screens. I couldn't even open my screen on the front door as the farmer across the road has decided to do some burning of brush and trees. We've had smoke blowing across our way for 4 days now.

Hope things get better. I'm saying a little prayer for you now!

Debbie

[Contrary Housewife]

What's really pissing me off right now is that the first service man I called has blown me off. Didn't call, didn't show up. Well, the phone book is full of people who want work...

[frugalwarrior]

This sounds like my lasts years drama. Our roof started to leak last year in 2 seperate rooms. We were saving for a new car for my husband. We drilled holes in the ceiling to minimize damage but the repair still sits waiting even though the roof is now paid for. It is paid for with the settlement we made with the dealership from when my husbands car caught fire and the car money we had saved. So now we have no money for a second car.
My daughter was just informed she need all 4 wisdom teeth removed. I will be having a cyst on my eye removed. We are looking for a second opinion on my daughters knee surgery.
So baby, move over in that boat because we're drowning too.
I truely feel for ya.(and me too.)

[frugalwarrior]

Oh, I forgot to add,our A.C. unit which is really a heat pump hasn't worked for 3 years. They sent someone out to change our meter because they thought we were stealing! I told him I would take the free new meter. I use ceiling fans and a series of fans I got at garage sales. Saves money and only a few days get in the 90's here per summer. Maybe we should colaborate on one of those country songs? lol Gotta find humor where you can is my new personal mantra.

[sabrelvssammy]

contrary-

have you checked the breakers on your ac? i know that sounds kinda simplisitic but whenever we have a tenant call with no ac we go thru the following: (which seems to be the start of every spring...its 2-3 that go down).....

you have a breaker in the breaker box...check that (even if it doesn't appear 'tripped'...push it back until you hear a click and then return to same position til another click... (sometimes they don't appear 'tripped' and are)...

there should be a switch on the side of the furnace...turn that off-wait a few seconds... turn back on...

you should have another 'box' out at the condenser unit outside...this could have a switch or fuse (depending on type & age) alot of ours are actually attached to the house... just follow the 'hose' from the unit....

also check your thermostat in the house....is it digital? are the batteries good... if it is the old dial type it could be you have a bad thermostat...if i were you i would run to the home imp ctr and grab a new digital (anywhere from $20 on up ...the cheaper will work just fine) and i would follow the directions and hook it up... now it may not have been the thermostat after all BUT...maybe it is...cheap fix...and if its not...you should get away from an old-inefficient 'dial-type' anyway to conserve utility usage...

i would say 50% of the time it is one of these problems when we get a non-working unit.... now it could be your blower or your condenser unit itself...(then you gotta have the experts) but why not try to 'trouble-shoot' yourself (especially when you can't find anyone that wants to work anyway)....and try to save some money in the process....10 yrs old is not that old for a unit...sure it can stop working but it is not ready for the trash heap just yet.....

[Gibs]

I think its time for Murphy to leave your house and move on. HUGS

[WV_mom_of2]

I hope things settle down for you soon!

[Debbie-cat]

I hope things get better soon!

[Contrary Housewife]

Here's the update:

It's dead, Jim.

Yes, thermostat was the first thing I checked, to make sure the fan was on, as sometimes I adjust it in the dark and it gets switched off. DH checked the breaker, it had blown, when he reset it it popped again immediately, so we knew it was something serious. The box outside was sealed, DH couldn't get into it.

I finally got a guy out to look at it last night (the first person we called did not show up at all!!). He says the compressor is 'grounded'. Essentially, something inside it is broken and is shorting out the unit and it is not repairable. I got an estimate for replacement.

I was not happy with the knowledge and experience the tech was exhibiting so I called the company that did our furnace 10 years ago and talked to them. I feel much more comfortable dealing with this 2nd company, the guy I have been talking to is much more knowledgeable about air conditioning, and since they did the furnace and they have to hook up the new AC to the existing coil I think we're going to have them back to to the job. I found out that the AC unit we have is 23 years old! It's lasted well beyond its lifespan, and I know it has not been running very well the last few years.

So, tomorrow I am going to call and arrange installation. We've been lucky the past couple days have been very cool, but it won't last. I am looking forward to a nice new QUIET AC and maybe a little savings on the electric bill this summer.

[Palooka]

I hear ya and I can imagine how humid it was there since we are close by. We have not turned the air on but we do have an attic fan so that helps so much.

I'd say it was time for a new AC. We replaced ours about 3 summers ago and it did seems to help with the electric bill. It looks like more rain/storms here this week.

[pop goes the weasel]

I think we all need to band together and trap Murphy, blindfold him and ship him off to an island in the Bermuda Triangle. Maybe he won't find his way back