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coffeesnob318Maggie and I have decided to do decadent food weekends. We will take one weekend a season and basically make a whole lot of one particular food item. This last weekend was Pie Weekend, the glorious first of many gluttonous weekends to come.
Friday, we went to the gym (because, um, weekend of eating pie) and went shopping for supplies. The plan was to make eight sweet pies and four savory ones. Then we came to my apartment.
Where it was hot.
Not a good start for a weekend where one (or two, in this case) will be using the oven repeatedly.
This was Part Five of an ongoing saga that I've been having with the apartment managers regarding my not-properly-working air conditioner. The first three times I reported it, they came over and filled the freon. A rational person might conclude that if you need to fill the freon up that much, perhaps you should look for a leak rather than just keep doing it. Such a person might also reason that, if adding more freon the first time didn't fix the problem, it probably won't fix the problem the second and third time.
Rational is clearly not a term useful for describing the persons who have come out to fix my air conditioner.
The fourth time, it was merely decided that 80 degrees was just as cool as it was going to get. Apparently it was also decided on this visit that there was no need to leave me any note indicating that someone had been in my apartment.
So Friday was the fifth time I have attempted to get my A/C fixed. One of the young technicians showed up first. He looked in the closet and said that nothing looked wrong. When Maggie pointed out that the wall by the unit was hot, he responded with, "Well, there's nothing in here that would make it hot." Um...clearly there is something making it hot if it's HOT. Which is essentially what Maggie said. He accused her of "getting smart."
I guess smart is an uncomfortable concept for him.
He went outside to tool around with the outside unit a bit and returned with the other young technician. Then they both came back and looked some more. Finally, the senior maintenance guy showed up and started to give me the "It's doing all it can - it's just too hot outside for it to cool properly" spiel that I would believe if this were a) my first apartment ever or b) my first summer in this very apartment. Unfortunately for him and the lady at the office who had given me the same runaround, I know what this unit can do in this space when it is working properly.
He kept talking about how hot the attic was and how that was probably a factor. He told me about the new vents that they put in the attic to give it some air flow and cool it off a little. Then he opened the A/C closet and said, "Yeah, I can see a little daylight from the vents now. It's not so dark. Hey, maybe that's why it's so hot."
You mean, because there's a HOLE IN THE APARTMENT CEILING THAT GOES DIRECTLY TO THE ATTIC? You think that MAYBE that could be it?
So he told me that he'd have the others patch that hole up for me (they'll have to un-patch it in winter for exhaust purposes). He also offered to bring in a window unit to help the regular unit out a bit. I declined at first, but then accepted when he offered a second time.
So now my apartment is outfitted with two separate air conditioners, but at least it's staying cooler and no one died during Pie Weekend.
Up next - Day One
Friday, we went to the gym (because, um, weekend of eating pie) and went shopping for supplies. The plan was to make eight sweet pies and four savory ones. Then we came to my apartment.
Where it was hot.
Not a good start for a weekend where one (or two, in this case) will be using the oven repeatedly.
This was Part Five of an ongoing saga that I've been having with the apartment managers regarding my not-properly-working air conditioner. The first three times I reported it, they came over and filled the freon. A rational person might conclude that if you need to fill the freon up that much, perhaps you should look for a leak rather than just keep doing it. Such a person might also reason that, if adding more freon the first time didn't fix the problem, it probably won't fix the problem the second and third time.
Rational is clearly not a term useful for describing the persons who have come out to fix my air conditioner.
The fourth time, it was merely decided that 80 degrees was just as cool as it was going to get. Apparently it was also decided on this visit that there was no need to leave me any note indicating that someone had been in my apartment.
So Friday was the fifth time I have attempted to get my A/C fixed. One of the young technicians showed up first. He looked in the closet and said that nothing looked wrong. When Maggie pointed out that the wall by the unit was hot, he responded with, "Well, there's nothing in here that would make it hot." Um...clearly there is something making it hot if it's HOT. Which is essentially what Maggie said. He accused her of "getting smart."
I guess smart is an uncomfortable concept for him.
He went outside to tool around with the outside unit a bit and returned with the other young technician. Then they both came back and looked some more. Finally, the senior maintenance guy showed up and started to give me the "It's doing all it can - it's just too hot outside for it to cool properly" spiel that I would believe if this were a) my first apartment ever or b) my first summer in this very apartment. Unfortunately for him and the lady at the office who had given me the same runaround, I know what this unit can do in this space when it is working properly.
He kept talking about how hot the attic was and how that was probably a factor. He told me about the new vents that they put in the attic to give it some air flow and cool it off a little. Then he opened the A/C closet and said, "Yeah, I can see a little daylight from the vents now. It's not so dark. Hey, maybe that's why it's so hot."
You mean, because there's a HOLE IN THE APARTMENT CEILING THAT GOES DIRECTLY TO THE ATTIC? You think that MAYBE that could be it?
So he told me that he'd have the others patch that hole up for me (they'll have to un-patch it in winter for exhaust purposes). He also offered to bring in a window unit to help the regular unit out a bit. I declined at first, but then accepted when he offered a second time.
So now my apartment is outfitted with two separate air conditioners, but at least it's staying cooler and no one died during Pie Weekend.
Up next - Day One
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-20 01:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-21 10:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-21 02:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-20 07:59 pm (UTC)Awesome. So now all that pooled water which now has nowhere to go can collect until the ceiling falls in on my downstairs neighbors...
Sigh.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-21 10:28 am (UTC)What I've learned from having broken ACs
Date: 2010-07-21 01:08 am (UTC)*Portable AC units on wheels create enough heat to not only cancel out the cool air it produces, but also heat an apartment to over 100 degrees.
*(this is from past summers) Get maintenance to come in and SEE the water streaming down from the vent (over the carpet, mind you) so they will actually do something besides vacuum the drip pan.
If ACs can cool buildings and apartments here when it's 110 outside, it's never too hot outside to cool the inside.
I can't wait to read about the pies.
Re: What I've learned from having broken ACs
Date: 2010-07-21 10:32 am (UTC)I've had some problems with a/c in the past in other apartments in town, but they usually fixed the problem pretty quickly. I'm not sure what the issue is here.
Re: What I've learned from having broken ACs
Date: 2010-07-28 07:44 pm (UTC)margarett