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Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2024 10:20 am
by Sir Henry
I put up my a/c early this year because when I’ll need it in May I might not be able to lift it. It weighs about 40 pounds and I’ll be on a 20 pound limit till the end of June.
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This is a great little unit and keeps the upstairs chilled while keeping the downstairs comfortable. This will be the third summer for it. It costs about $2 a day to run in hot weather but is well worth the expense.

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2024 3:39 pm
by Cofisher
I agree on the value of cooling the upstairs. Smart you took care of business while you could. Enjoy the springtime.

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2024 5:08 pm
by Vaquero
We have 80+ degree days startin Sat.
I myself like 80 degrees, some don't but I do.
Near perfect Scooter riding weather, and this gonna be a nice weekend for it. ;)

RP

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2024 9:55 pm
by dave77
I had a window unit but we have too many high 90's and +100 days here and it just couldn't keep the whole house cool on those days. Many years ago a friend who installs central A/C set me up with central A/C for just the wholesale cost of the unit. We had a record 113F day 2 years ago and it was still able to keep the temp in the mid 70's, with the window unit I had it would probably have been in the 80's.

Hopefully not being political but judging from our recent warmer Summers (and Winters) here I personally don't see it getting better anytime soon. 2 years ago we had a couple of 100 degree days in June (which absolutely ruined our cherry harvest) and last year we had a heat wave of high 90's and +100's that seemed to last for a month. With our low snow pack this year if we have a extremely hot Summer we are likely to run out of water for our irrigation. Most of the orchards and farms here get their water from the Columbia River which is not going to dry up but we get our irrigation water from a small mountain creek.

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2024 10:52 am
by Hatchdog
I’m thinking yes Gene as today I plan to turn my sprinkler system on for the summer. Don’t need it this time of the year but I want to fertilize and I like to water the fertilizer in where the dogs hang out. Fingers crossed for no leaks :D

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2024 1:16 pm
by Mags
I'll be turning on our irrigation in the next few days. The sky fall is still wet, but not enough to keep the gardens and lawn from drying out

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2024 8:48 pm
by Sir Henry
dave77 wrote:
Thu Apr 11, 2024 9:55 pm
I had a window unit but we have too many high 90's and +100 days here and it just couldn't keep the whole house cool on those days. Many years ago a friend who installs central A/C set me up with central A/C for just the wholesale cost of the unit. We had a record 113F day 2 years ago and it was still able to keep the temp in the mid 70's, with the window unit I had it would probably have been in the 80's.

Hopefully not being political but judging from our recent warmer Summers (and Winters) here I personally don't see it getting better anytime soon. 2 years ago we had a couple of 100 degree days in June (which absolutely ruined our cherry harvest) and last year we had a heat wave of high 90's and +100's that seemed to last for a month. With our low snow pack this year if we have a extremely hot Summer we are likely to run out of water for our irrigation. Most of the orchards and farms here get their water from the Columbia River which is not going to dry up but we get our irrigation water from a small mountain creek.
My window unit is about the largest you can get nowadays. It has the BTU’s to get the job done because I have a small house.

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2024 10:56 pm
by dave77
The house I grew up in had a large window unit that my dad had mounted permanently with a hole cut in a wall, the house had no windows that you could mount one in. It was a 220v unit and kept the the upstairs comfortable. The bedrooms were in a daylight basement and I remember them as staying comfortable even before he installed the A/C.

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 8:46 am
by Sir Henry
dave77 wrote:
Fri Apr 12, 2024 10:56 pm
The house I grew up in had a large window unit that my dad had mounted permanently with a hole cut in a wall, the house had no windows that you could mount one in. It was a 220v unit and kept the the upstairs comfortable. The bedrooms were in a daylight basement and I remember them as staying comfortable even before he installed the A/C.
I thought of wall mounting one but decided the cost would be too much and I wouldn’t get any benefit from it other than not having to spend 15 minutes in the spring and 15 in the fall putting it up and taking it down.

It doesn’t get terribly hot here but it does get humid. The a/c is great at reducing the humidity so while the temperature in degrees doesn’t go down a lot the relative humidity drops about 30%.

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 9:36 am
by Shakey Jake
Growing up in Missouri we didn't have air conditioning until I was a junior or senior in high school. We just toughed it out. Summer nights we'd sleep in cots on the enclosed screened porch. Dad got a window unit and put it up in the living room area. All we had was a chiller before that. I'm sure many of you remember those.
Jake

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 9:50 am
by daytime dave
dave77 wrote:
Fri Apr 12, 2024 10:56 pm
The house I grew up in had a large window unit that my dad had mounted permanently with a hole cut in a wall, the house had no windows that you could mount one in. It was a 220v unit and kept the the upstairs comfortable. The bedrooms were in a daylight basement and I remember them as staying comfortable even before he installed the A/C.
Dave, I have that now. The house I purchased recently has a very large 220 unit in the wall. It keeps things nice in the hottest part of the summer. The ceiling fans do a good job most of the time. My windows won't allow a window unit either. I'm not sure if one of the free standing units would work or not.
By the way, as I type this I'm watching snow fall but not accumulate. One last blast I hope.

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 2:09 pm
by dave77
Shakey Jake wrote:
Sat Apr 13, 2024 9:36 am
Growing up in Missouri we didn't have air conditioning until I was a junior or senior in high school. We just toughed it out. Summer nights we'd sleep in cots on the enclosed screened porch. Dad got a window unit and put it up in the living room area. All we had was a chiller before that. I'm sure many of you remember those.
Jake
By chiller I assume you mean what I call a swamp cooler. I had one for a few years long ago but they only seem able to keep the temp about 20 degrees lower than the outside temp. We have very low humidity here when it's hot so dampness wasn't a big problem during the day. My issue was I was working swing shift so if I turned it off before leaving for work it would be quite hot for my cats and still be too warm when I got home, if I left it on I would come home to a very cool and damp home. Solved that by putting a thermostat on the power supply.

I remember on one of our Summer trips back to N. Dakota my dad had found a little swamp cooler that you put ice water in and sat on the car's tunnel, helped if you were in the front seat and it was blowing on you but didn't help me at all in the back seat. Spent the afternoons hoping the motel we stopped at had a pool. My dad was also not one to stop other than for lunch or an interesting tourist attraction. You had to beg him to stop for a bathroom break (unless it was for my mom).

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 2:32 pm
by Sir Henry
I think this is a good sign.
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Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 4:08 pm
by JEBar
yep, summer is on the way ..... our forecast for the next 6 days is daytime temps in the low to mid 80's

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 6:18 pm
by cooperhawk
So it's Spring and I went to get my old Ford 8N out and blade the drive. Well, guess what? While we were gone South
someone got into our pole barn and tried to get it started. Somehow they burned out the switch, maybe jumping with
12 volt on a 6 volt, but anyway they tried to jump it and failed. The battery was completely dead and there were jumper
wires hanging there that they left. They also tried to rewire it to run, but obviously didn't know what they were doing
because the way the rewired it, it could never run. I charged the batter, got a new switch, removed their wires and replaced
the other wires to their proper place, and it started right up.
I can't imagine they'd go to all that trouble to steal and old Ford tractor but it was also blocking the path for my friends
vintage Ford Mustangs he has stored there. If they couldn't move the tractor they couldn't get the Mustangs out.
I guess I need another camera out there. :?

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 8:27 pm
by JEBar
cooperhawk wrote:
Sat Apr 13, 2024 6:18 pm
I guess I need another camera out there. :?


sounds like that would be a good idea

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 8:31 pm
by Mags
Not quite summer here yet. Mowed the near house lawn for only the 2nd time. Used the blower to clean up the clippings and sent clouds of yellow pollen billowing.

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2024 8:18 am
by graywolf
No air conditioning thru high school. No A/C in school either.

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2024 8:33 am
by Sir Henry
I cleaned out some flower bed on Saturday and Sunday. I also turned the heat off so the house cools down at night. The morning sun can bring the house from 55 degrees to 75 in an hour. I have rollup outside blinds on the east side when it really get hot. I say when it gets hot but I don’t think it’s ever reached 90 in the two full summers I’ve been here. Ogema is known as one of the coldest spots in Wisconsin. It’s not the coldest spot in the winter but the summers are mild. If you average the yearly thermal days we are the coldest.

Re: Is it summer 2024 yet?

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2024 9:12 am
by Hatchdog
Mags wrote:
Sun Apr 14, 2024 8:31 pm
Not quite summer here yet. Mowed the near house lawn for only the 2nd time. Used the blower to clean up the clippings and sent clouds of yellow pollen billowing.
Yuk, coming our way I suppose. Thankfully I’m not allergic but it sure makes a mess.

Got all the flower beds spruced up yesterday so things are looking good around here. Next up is an area my wife wants to add the the lawn. I need to bring in some dirt and level it and remove a bunch of river rock the builder used for the drain field. Then reseed it. Like we needed more lawn :roll: This area wasn’t part of the original lawn but when we fenced the back yard the fence enclosed this area so I guess it makes sense to make it the same as the adjoining area. Another 700 sf to deal with :roll: :roll: :roll: :lol: