Hot Stuff…
Posted by Greg on June 27, 2010“Actually, this is just a place for my stuff … That’s all I want, that’s all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff … Everybody’s got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that’s your stuff. That’ll be his stuff over there. That’s all you need in life is a little place for your stuff.” — George Carlin
My A/C has been out for weeks and it doesn’t cool down much at night in the Florida mid-summer. I have been testing myself to see how long I can keep at this game (and the energy savings have been huge). Temps inside my house have been creeping steadily upward and currently the house is a toasty 87F (30.55 C) and it’s midnight. Funny thing is, I’m heat-adapted and perfectly fine sleeping with just a pair of box fans to keep the air moving. However, the heat and humidity is finally taking a toll. My tents, jackets, and other expensive gear have started to delaminate and fail due to heat and humidity, so I’m off to get a new A/C compressor fan motor tomorrow.
So, to put this into perspective, I’ll again be providing an expensive climate-controlled environment so that my inanimate stuff is happy and comfortable. Is that crazy or what? 🙂
Looks like it’s time to come back to Newfoundland, me boy! Naturally air conditioned, all year ’round!
Hey Greg, Jeff Fabiszewski & I just camped out overnight a few weeks back on a spoil island in the intercoastal over here in Clearwater,Fl. Your post just reminded me that it was HOT & HUMID that night on the Island! We were in hammocks & it rained later which did cool us off( soaked us to the bone too ). Careful what you wish for! Remember the winter we just had here a few months back in Florida!! Great post paddling friend. We as humans (and our gear), just never seem to be happy with the current conditions; now why is that? Things that make you go hmmmm!!
-Sean Fitzgibbon
I don’t deny the comfort of the A/C however I run my bedroom “window box” style one probably a couple of times a year (I live in Brisbane with similar temps and humidity than you, in summer).
My gear suffers too, especially urethane coated nylon that often fails prematurely.
Needless to say that mould is also a big problem…
Have not looked into a dehumidifier but it could be cheaper than running an A/C?
I grew up in Sarasota with a box fan in every room of the house except the bathroom. Five minutes after getting out of the shower you were as wet as you were 5 minutes earlier. The only AC I knew, until I went away to college, was at at the Saturday morning downtown movies (got in for 3 RC cola bottle caps which tells you how long ago that was).
Think of it this way Greg – you are reliving my childhood dreams.
BTW – Hope you get your AC fixed soon. If not you’re always welcome in Sarasota.
All fixed and nice and cool. An estimate from a local A/C firm was about $600 ($425 for the motor alone). As a DIY project I found the info via google, a motor on Ebay for $58.00, borrowed a capacitance tester to check the run capacitor. It was weak, so another $20.00 for a new capacitor (plus some sweating, swearing, and myriads of mosquito bites) and its done!
Doug, thanks for the offer — we need to get together. I remember you telling me how the old Florida homes (including your new home) were designed to maximize breezes and cooling without an A/C. This is certainly not the case with most homes today.
I feel your pain! My Ac went out also. It turned out to be the fan outside.I found one on my father in laws old AC unit. Installed it on mine along with a new cap. starter. My Ac now works better than ever! I think my fan must have been running to slow for one or two seasons. It is fixed and didn’t cost me a cent.
I feel your pain Greg. I had my car the first summer down here with no A/C and no one could ever talk to me on the phone while driving because I always had all my windows down. Thankfully the kayaks have infinite A/C available at all times. Cheers!! Drop me a line sometime. I’ve been meaning to ask you some things.
–
Jay