There was so much going on the week of Thanksgiving break, this just slipped through the cracks. We managed to spend $25k dollars to replace both our A/C systems in the house. This is not something I planned on doing this year, although something did tell me that those systems were nearing the end of their useful lives. We could have maybe fixed the upstairs unit and maybe only spent $3000, which is what happened to the unit downstairs 4-5 years earlier, but was it worth putting a band aid on the units which at this point were going on 14 years of service? I weighed the pros and cons of just fixing the upper unit, just replacing it or saying fuck it and doing both units together and Wife agreed with me to do it all at once.
First off, last time we had problems was in the middle of summer and that is not a good time to lose A/C power, when it is 100 plus degrees outside. We have been having hotter and hotter summers it seems, so there is no reason things are going to be less brutal next year. Wife noticed a problem while we were cleaning and moving things around, she saw the ceiling in the garage splotchy and stained with water damage. At first it looked like it was from the shower upstairs and I was ready to yell at Boy for letting so much water out of the tub he was damaging the floor below, but the pattern of the stains did not make sense, it was centered in an almost circle tight pattern, as soon as I started walking up to investigate it clicked that it had to be the A/C. Boy and I had fought all summer about the heat upstairs. He insisted his room was always hot and this is a boy who has always been cold. I assumed it was Sweetie quietly wanting it to be colder, but maybe they had a point. I really only go upstairs to sleep, so I never notice any heat because I don't hang out in my room. I guess it got so bad he went and got a room unit and has a couple times set it up to add cooling power to his room, which pisses me off because up until now, we have been paying all the bills. He is fixing to start contributing, so it won't bother me so much going forward.
Anyways, since we were doing the upstairs unit, I decided it would be easier to start from scratch with two brand new units, have the ten year warranty on the systems (for parts, at least) and know they should be more efficient, and run smoother and quieter. It is hard to tell right now if they are any good, the weather has been surprisingly cool since we installed them last week on Friday. The units are huge, the guy said they are both 4 ton units, which I believe the last ones were 3.5 tons each. I don't know much but bigger is usually better, right? They are supposed to have two stage running capability, meaning they run longer but at much lower amperage to keep it cool more constantly, instead of shutting off completely and firing up hard every time the temperature rises above whatever internal settings it has. I don't know, we are the captains of being taken for fools by sales pitches (referring to the solar panels), but we shouldn't have to worry about our comfort in the house for awhile.
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