Thursday, August 04, 2011

The big chill.

The other night, the thermostat at Roseholme Cottage cut the air conditioner off at 0mygod30 and the silence woke me up, so steady a presence has its background drone been these past couple weeks. The little a/c unit would gradually fall behind during the day and then spend the whole night trying to catch back up, and it finally did at 0400...

The worst of the heat wave is over in Indy. It may reach 90 today, but that's not a certainty, and daily highs will be progressively lower in the 80s through the next week. It's 66 out there right now, which feels positively chilly, especially since it was 83 at this time yesterday morning.

Now if it would just rain...
.

16 comments:

Sport Pilot said...

For drying out loud, you and Rx are overdue for a run of good luck for a change. Hope you've got floor and window fan's, oddly enough before affordable A/C ladie's at home would sit with their bare feet in a basin of cool water to stay cool.

Robert McDonald said...

I wish I could send my rain to you. 98 and raining just doesn't work for me.

Anonymous said...

My AC is giving a bit of trouble...but the heat wave isn't over here, est. high temp for today is 108. Oh, Joy.

Tam said...

Sport Pilot,

"For drying out loud, you and Rx are overdue for a run of good luck for a change."

No, I mean the thermostat cut it off.

The house is old and the A/C would run constantly during the day, but slowly fall behind, and then spend most of the night trying to catch up. It finally did at about 0400...

Tam said...

Fixed post so it no longer reads like our a/c is busted. :o

Home on the Range said...

I took Barkley out for a while before I headed out. It was surprisingly chill, considering what it had been. So we kept walking, first time he'd gotten a good one in a couple weeks. There are people with dogs EVERYWHERE. I kept looking for some Pied Piper guy with a flute and a pocket of milkbones. Then I realized it was probably the first time any of these dogs had done more than quickly rushed outside and did their business. We found a pond. He was quite happy.

Anonymous said...

Up here in Mordor sur Lac too, nice to be free of the drone, on the other handf we've had tones of rain.

I think O'Hare got a _measured_ 6" of rain in storm last week.

Woodman said...

Since my house is less than 10 years old and pretty cheap I can't turn the air off until temps stay under 70 for a significant period of time.

No side windows on the house, and no flow through plan for ventilation. So, even if it's in the mid 70s I usually keep the air on, and hate it. But if I don't the upstairs hits the low to mid 80s. And I refuse to sweat while sleeping in my own bed.

Anonymous said...

We're still in the 100s to upper 90 out here on the High Plains with spotty showers at best, lows in the mid to upper 70s. It's enough to get your hopes up but not enough to really accomplish a lot.
LittleRed1

DJ said...

Two days ago, we hit 114.6 at our house. We have zoned A/C central units, which will keep the house at 70 by running at a 95% duty cycle.

If they last. One is rumbling with about a 3Hz beat frequency. I suspect compressor bearings. Oy ...

JC said...

About that lack of rain...
You have tried washing your car, right? Or leaving it out with the top down? Those methods seem to work reasonably well. If both fail, schedule a picnic. Let Murphy's law work for you.

Ian Argent said...

Post puts me in mind of the scene in whichever little house on the prairie book had the gawdawful winter when the main character hears the chinook blowing...

treefroggy said...

"so steady a presence has its background drone been these past couple weeks"

I find that an endless loop of Chris Matthews talking to himself is indistinguishable from the droning of an overstressed AC unit.

Sweet dreams.

Matt G said...

"It may reach 90 today, but that's not a certainty, and daily highs will be progressively lower in the 80s through the next week. It's 66 out there right now, which feels positively chilly, especially since it was 83 at this time yesterday morning."

I'm trying not to hate you a bit, right now. 110 yesterday. Projected 108 today. :(

DJ said...

So, I opened up the A/C unit and listened. Everything sounds just fine with the compressor access cover off. I can put my foot on the cover when it's in place and kill the resonance.

I suspect the case is hot enough that it's shifted a bit and the beat cycle between the compressor and the fan excites it. Perhaps a screw or three can kill the resonance.

Later. It's 109 now.

Moogie P said...

We're growing barnacles down here in New Orleans. Air temps in the 90s with humidity hovering around 736%.

My other home -- the one where my heart is -- Little Rock, hit its all-time high in recorded history on Wednesday. 114. That's nearing the safe internal temperature to eat red meat! Everybody working outdoors has the potential to become just another shish kebab.