Found one from WalMart for $150. It says it will cool a 175 square foot room.
The board has their own problems, which are exacerbated by several deadbeats.
The exhaust port would. All it takes is a small group of yentas going to the board with cries of “Tacky!” Which is why the board started cracking down on balcony clutter.
Sorry, do you realize how small they are? Is there anything prohibiting the use?
I am utterly flabbergasted would that anyone would beg on the internet because their AC didn’t work. Grew up without AC, had animals (including birds) without AC. Hell, lived through one of the hottest summers on record in Baltimore without AC. Save up your money to get he heat on for the winter and save your dignity as well.
Shoot, there are free standing evaporative units that don’t even use an exhaust port. I don’t think Lute wants to solve the problem. I think he just wants money. He has some kind of asset of which he said “we really prefer not to touch”.
He resists creative ideas, won’t talk to the condo board, and won’t touch an asset that he has access to. He doesn’t want to fix the problem himself. He wants strangers to throw money at it to make it go away.
I thought so but wasn’t sure.
Sorry, but you gave up that right when you asked strangers for money. Since you’re asking, you’ve opened the door for us to respond about what we think of the situation.
I agree with others - I’ve donated to Dopers in the past, and I probably will again in the future, but not to keep someone’s pets cool. That’s not an emergency that other people should pay for (I’m hard pressed to see it as an emergency at all).
I think it could easily be an emergency. But if it’s enough of an emergency to beg funds from strangers, it’s more than enough of an emergency to tap into personal funds or whatever the asset is that could be tapped as a last resort. Asking for money is the last resort, not using one’s own assets.
Lute, be sure to look at replacing the unit entirely. 3000 for parts sounds expensive, and some furnace places probably offer financing, which, since you appear to be employed and able to repay loans, should be accessible to you.
$3000 is to replace absolutely everything in the utility closet, including disposal of the old equipment. Have already spoke to Leo regarding financing if necessary.
Anyway, I just heard from Sis and have a good idea of her plan. Any monies from Dopers that do not get used will be returned.
90 degrees is about the level where small mammals can (not will but can) start showing signs of heat distress* if they’re left in the direct sun with no air currents*. Rabbits in the wild would go to burrow, preferably somewhere dark and a little damp. But they will survive.
I don’t have central air, and my animals (seven rats and a malamute) have all survived in temps over 100F. You make sure they’ve got plenty of water and a cool, dark place to stay - say an unlit bathroom on the tiles. You set up a fan, maybe some bricks of ice and feed them things like frozen vegetables and ice cubes.
They will get through it. They do not need air conditioning, and especially not three grand of airconditioning begged from other people when you’ve got other options at your disposal.
Huh - We keep the living/dining rooms cool with a freestanding portable A/C unit. The exhaust port in the window is non-obtrusive and not at all noticeable; it is white and blends in with the window. We keep low-e film (invisible) on all the windows, which helps considerably with the indoor temps. And use blinds judiciously when the sun is beating on the windows. It all helps enough to keep the place reasonably comfortable.
It’s necessary.
You aren’t trying to find a way through an emergency. You are trying to save some money and get other people to pay for things so you don’t have to. That’s pretty inappropriate.
OK, I felt uncomfortable having discomfort about the OP, but since my triplet here has weighed in, I feel better.
Next time, Lute, can you please provide more details about your financial situation? Like, why is it so dire? And why do you sound put-out that your brother can’t help you? If he was keeping it alive for two years, then it was on its way out anyway. It sounds like he was already helping you out, in other words.
I love animals as much as the next gal, but there would be no way I’d beg for money from strangers just to keep them air conditioned. Not unless there’s a child or disabled person in the picture tending them.
Lute, theres a current pit thread over this. Quite a few unkind words about your request here. For now though, one question:
Since you talked to Leo about financing, why won’t you get financing?!
It’s cheaper to have internet+cable TV than internet alone?
It’s just him and his son; they only agreed to spread out the labor costs.
It happens.
Then buy the unit form somebody else who does offer financing! Hell, buddy, Sears is offering 18 months No Interest on heating and cooling systems.
You are just not even trying to pay for it, are you? You won’t borrow against your retirement, you won’t borrow against the mortgage on the condo (if you even can), you won’t dip into that un-named asset that you haven’t touched in 18 years, and you resist seeking financing.
Don’t pay extra for disposal. Just tell them “take it out to the curb and the scrappers will pick it up”. I promise, the scrappers will pick it up. All the copper and the motors and the wiring and the aluminum…it’ll be gone in 24 hours. Hell, take it to a recycling center yourself. A furnace and AC, you can probably get 50-100 bucks for it.
Funnily enough, I’ve heard stories of home owners telling the contractors that and them suddenly deciding to waive the disposal fee since that would mean they would lose the money they’d make scrapping it too (which is what I’m banking on).
Now, I would only drag an old AC and furnace out to the curb if your pulling permits. If your not pulling permits, I wouldn’t leave it in front of your house for a nosy city worker to see.
ETA: on the off chance that it doesn’t disappear in a a day or so just put it on craigslist as a old AC/furnace that needs to be scrapped (or take it yourself). Like I said, once the scrappers see it, they’ll be tripping over themselves to get it.
ETA2: and when someone says “Can you hold this for me, I’ll be back with my truck in 2 hours” say “Nope, it’s first come first serve. I’m leaving in a few minutes so whoever can pick it up first gets it”.