A/C died but the pups are staying cool


 

Rich Dahl

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Our house A/C died and it's still in the mid 90s.
Whitney stays under the ceiling fan in the living room but our 11 month old lab likes to lay on the cool hardwood floor. So I got her a fan and she loves it. About 1pm she goes out there and lays down in front of it and whimpers until I turn it on.
It's going to cost about 5-6K to replace the A/C so I'll wait until next spring to replace it.


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[/url]100_3880 by Richard Dahl, on Flickr[/IMG]

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[/url]100_3879 by Richard Dahl, on Flickr[/IMG]

Whitney wanted a turn with the fan.
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[/url]100_3888 by Richard Dahl, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
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Man that sucks, but at least the dogs are cool.
That seems like a fair price, given this time of the year. Price should be cheaper come spring.

Tim
 
Ours went out Sept. 7 while it was in the 70's, summer temps and humidity were returning so we had no choice about waiting.
New furnace (we're all electric) and 3 ton AC installed Sept. 10, last Monday. It's been in the low to mid 90's ever since and will not change until late this week.
Total cost was $4,850, and we'll get a $450 rebate from the electric company.

Try to stay cool you guys!
 
89.9 here this afternoon. No AC here for us. Our house stays pretty cool.
But sure is warm for this time of year.
Stay cool rich & Barb.
 
I had someone come out to my house last week to look at pricing out a complete new HVAC system. Cousin of a friend. Guy shows up looking like some homeless burned out hippie. Drives up in a clapped out Suburban leaking gas and oil all over my freshly sealed driveway. While trying to determine what size my AC unit is he opens it up to look at it as the external label could not be read anymore.
Fast forward......Hard to believe we're running high 80's to mid 90's STILL here in NW IL. So it's hot and muggy in the house we decide to turn on AC (which was still working fine BTW just old). Well I guess the old burned out hippie (who was complaining about his high (220 blood sugar and bad eyesight) didn't put it together correctly. Loud never heard before noises greeted me along with a lack of cooling. Needless to say he's not getting the job
So we're having a 98% AFUE modulating gas furnace installed on Friday along with a new AC system which will have a 20 SEER modulating inversion compressor and matching A coil along with a space guard HEPA air filter and a thermostat that looks like an I PAD all for $9700. after Energy Star rebates from Communist Edison and NI Gas we'll be at $8800 total investment. I think we're getting a good deal :D
 
Prayers for the Dahl's!
I got home yesterday afternoon fairly early for a change. Pammi said that she thought the AC had gone out! She'd heard a humming and went to check the unit out back, and the fan wasn't turning.
Our unit is 15 years old, and wasn't the highest quality to start. We'd had the fan motor replaced about 6 years ago.
Luckily, there is a guy who works for the school system (Pammi is a teacher) doing HVAC and does side work for teachers. He repaired our furnace for $175 when the HVAC company wanted $600 a couple years back.
He was able to come out to come out that day and fix it on the spot for $100!
I got him to quote me what it'd cost for a new system. He said that they start at about $4200.
Seems about right. Our neighbor had hers replaced a few years ago, and I think that's what she said hers cost.
 
My pup (Bernese mnt dog) jumps into the bathtub every night. The porcelain holds the cold from the AC fairly well. After this hot summer and my electric bills I'm ready to turn off the central air and go back to a swamp cooler.
 
Got no aircon...
Don't mind the heat too much. I just use a fan.
Summer has just begun and we are sitting around 95-100 F.
Luckily my Jack Russell cross can handle the heat pretty OK :)
 
Our AC quit last June at the start of the high heat season, replaced the complete system furnace and condenser. It is a 19 SEER DC fan variable 1 to 5 ton depending on the need.
I keep it stuck on 74 all summer and i am running about 20%lower bills than before,but this summer is hotter so could be even higher, best 7500. I ever spent.
 
Got the system installed this past Friday. Quite the system. 98& efficient modulating gas furnace. It's pretty amazing how it runs. Currently getting some pretty cool weather. Dropping into the 40's and listening to the system which is only about 15' from me and it has been running at very low output and speed for about an hour now. The theory is it is more efficient to run almost continuously at the bare minimum output needed to maintain a temp. The AC system is also a modulating system and does a similar thing and it has a function that allows the AC to run a 10& output and add slight amount of heat to dehumidify the air when AC is not needed but humidity is so high you're uncomfortable. Has a control panel that looks like a small tablet on the wall and it controls everything right down to the humidifier to maintain full comfort levels.
I am looking for much lower utility bills. I know when I put in my tankless water heater many years ago it paid for itself in about 3 years because it only consumed gas when the tap is turned. So I am looking forward to this new system doing the same
 
I installed this mini split in my kitchen this summer:

https://www.alpinehomeair.com/viewproduct.cfm?productID=453076088

It was DIY, but I accidentally let the R410a precharge out due to a small leak in one of the fittings. The cost of getting a tech to find leak, fix, and refill was the same cost as buying the tools, and a jug of R410a myself. I metered in the correct amount and shes cold!

I am slowly replacing my central air with these units. The next one will be a multi head unit for several rooms. I recommend them to anyone staring down a large AC repair bill. Very efficient, and cold (or hot, if you run it in heat mode in the winter!).
 
At $599 each it can easily end up as expensive as a central ac unit. And you still need heat though I guess where you live yo can get away with the heat pump function on them. Not here though. When nature is freezing your cajones off with -10 or worse and the wind is howling outta the north dropping wind chill to -40 no heat pump in the world will work. Plus our electric rates here in northern IL are about the worst in the country
 
It's cooling down here, but a local HVAC company down the road from me just had piles of units from the summer alone that the heat had killed. I'm hoping our holds out a few more years.
 
At $599 each it can easily end up as expensive as a central ac unit. And you still need heat though I guess where you live yo can get away with the heat pump function on them. Not here though. When nature is freezing your cajones off with -10 or worse and the wind is howling outta the north dropping wind chill to -40 no heat pump in the world will work. Plus our electric rates here in northern IL are about the worst in the country

I suppose you could put in several outdoor units, but I would aim to put in 2-3 units that have multiple heads on each of them. Yes, you wont save much money over new central air, but you will get more capacity when needed, and the inverter on each unit would allow you to run at a much lower tonnage when you dont. You can also shut off units when not needed, reducing capacity even further over what a central unit can do, and you get zoning in each room you put a head in. I dont plan on taking my furnace out, it is still needed here in the rocky mountains. We see really cold weather at times. But we dont see the weather you describe regularly. They have their place, but I dont think heat is where they shine (although I havent tried that yet). My central AC is about 16 years old. I have made a few repairs and I know I am approaching being on borrowed time. In all honesty, now that I have installed a mini split and gone through the finding my leak, vacuuming down the system, and adding refrigerant, putting in a new central unit isnt that scary either. Especially since they come pre charged as well.

I got off topic, sorry about that.
 
The unit I had installed can "modulate" all the way down to 3600 btu and anything in between up to it's max at 36000 btu so I have a whole lot of range and control on it. I don't have a clue how it works, al I care is that it does LOL
 
I installed this mini split in my kitchen this summer:

https://www.alpinehomeair.com/viewproduct.cfm?productID=453076088

It was DIY, but I accidentally let the R410a precharge out due to a small leak in one of the fittings. The cost of getting a tech to find leak, fix, and refill was the same cost as buying the tools, and a jug of R410a myself. I metered in the correct amount and shes cold!

I am slowly replacing my central air with these units. The next one will be a multi head unit for several rooms. I recommend them to anyone staring down a large AC repair bill. Very efficient, and cold (or hot, if you run it in heat mode in the winter!).

We have a system similar to what you linked made by Soleus. While I wouldn't say is get "hot" in the winter, it does move quite a bit of "warm" air. We live in so-Cal where the overnight lows in the winter average in the low 40's. And ours spends a majority of the night cycling on & off trying to keep the house warmed to the high 60's. I can't imagine trying to warm a house in much colder weather with a heat pump. It does kick @$$ in the summer though! 👍
 

 

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