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I have become used to it being 82 F in my apartment, and even going out and doing things on 90 to 100 F days. It has been a struggle. Drinking many types of fluid. Taking a breather when need be. Whatever. And I have become used to the arid nature of this new state. Moisturizer, and again water, plus a little closer attention to clues my body is giving off. Salt, too, in many forms, has become my friend. What I cannot yet do, well, or really at all, is to sleep when it is over 76 F. So, here I sit.
Now that the A/C has been off for a while, and as the night has gone on and the outside temps have dropped a bit, perhaps it will work well enough so that I may get some sleep. I have a few things to do tomorrow though I need not be awake too early to get to them. And yet I would like to work my schedule around so that I am up by 7:00 or 8:00. That requires getting to sleep around 21:00 to 22:00.
I will figure it out. At least I have nothing demanding that I be up early, so far. I suppose I just like to struggle. And struggle I do. Good night.
Do you have a window that could accept a small window AC unit in your bedroom? If the room is small enough, an inexpensive 5000 BTU unit could do the job, at least at night. Depending upon the time of year I have purchased these little units for under a hundred bucks at Home Depot. It seems to me that late July may be getting into "air conditioner sale season" at Home Depot and other similar outlets.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the existing unit in your place is near useless.
Near useless is often right, and probably an electricity hog. The business that manufactured them went under 15 years ago. I do have a window, a sideways closing 4' window. I might have to build a bit of a platform to rest it on, as the simple aluminum frame wouldn't hold one, not on a single thin aluminum slide.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a lot of work, but since August, like most places is the actual hot time, I may have to do just that. I tried to get used to the heat, but I do not think I can do it, or afford the old machine.
The stupid thing, it works when I talk about replacing it just fine. Well, maybe the truth is it was cool last night and it is not yet blazing. But it was free (think free medical, which, by the way, I am still on a waiting list to see a primary, maybe in a few days, weeks, or months, I might get an appointment in a couple of weeks, months, or years).
Never mind me, I am grumpy. Just woke up. At least I am going shooting soon.
a good window fan?
ReplyDeleteHope ya git some snooze time. Good fer mental health--all thos e dreams is important.
What are you reading these days, Doom?
A window fan would have the same requirements an A/C would, a stable base would have to be built, and something to close off the top of the window would need to be made (full size, horizontal sliding windows). Oh, I am thinking on it, for one, both, either... But with the problem of hot days, thinking takes.. t. i. m. e.
ReplyDeleteReading, eh. Well, most of my books are still in storage, I will be getting to them before long and then I will be reading physics and calculus up to vector calculus. But for now, I am reading old gun magazines my neighbor has on hand. And, of course, reading blogs. This seems to be the slow season for that though.
Is there something interesting you might recommend? I have more time and should go find some sci-fi, history, and other such works. Reading seems to take one's mind off in-climate weather.
What I do in the case of sideways sliding windows is remove the accordion pleat thingies on the sides of the unit, set it on the bottom of the windowsill with the window slid over snug against it, and cut a piece of plywood (painted whatever color to match) to fill in the space above the unit. The plywood should be wide enough to overlap the window frame on one side by maybe half an inch and the sliding part of the window on the other side. This permits the installation of a few self-tapping screws into the window frame (careful with screws on the glass frame) to make the whole thing secure. This works okay for the smaller units. They tend to have the "window line" about mid-point through the unit, so are balanced at that point and don't put much stress on window frames. A larger unit may be too heavy for the window frame and would require a sturdier frame to be fabricated.
ReplyDeleteIf you're unsure about tapping the window frame, you could cut a 1x4 the full width of the window and fasten the top of the AC unit to that. The 1x4 will rest against the inside of the window frame, preventing the AC unit from tipping out. You can also fasten the 1x4 to the inside of the window frame if you can do so discreetly in a manner that can be patched before you move out. The plywood would still be required to fill the gap and needs to be made secure enough to keep out intruders.
OR! WalMart has a unit made for horizontal sliding windows in their web store. It's more expensive than the kind made for vertical sliding windows though. You still have to fiddle with the kit they provide for filling in the gap above the unit.
I think I like the last option to be honest. I have the money, but between two banks and an uncertainty of when two banks will become one and with the required amounts in each account, it is a bit tricky. I do have my drills and tools here, but I am leery of permanent changes. I had planned to stop at Wal-Mart tonight, for swimming trunks, water shoes maybe, and some target stuff. I may have to see if they have one of those. There are, oddly, two super Wal-Marts here. Where I lived, with triple or more of the population base, we only had one big and one little one.
ReplyDeleteIt is not that I do not like tinkering, If it was my place as in I owned it, I would kick that window out and replace it with a double or triple pane glass window, dump the antique A/C, and wall that hole it, and either figure out how to insulate the place or get someone else to do it. It just is not my place and I know how people are about "damage" and deposits. Oh, and I know, sometimes, I can go very expensively awry. Tinkering, men, forethought, afterthought, and the whole nature of that beast.
Yeah, I think 82 as a low generally is a bit warm. Doing anything is sweat inducing, a bad thing when straightening the place to bms can leave one wet and weary. :p Even to get it to 72 for sleeping would be good, 76-78 the rest of the time. I can actually do that.