Not Cool, Not Cool!

Fresh off her near-death experience on Thursday, Val counted her blessings and continued her low-speed journey through life on Friday. Nothing seemed amiss, though I DID subconsciously notice the air conditioner kick on and then right back off a couple times. There's a vent directly behind my chair where I do my innernetting on HIPPIE at the kitchen table. It was unusual enough to notice, but I figured it was because we'd had a bit of a cool(er) wave for a couple days, with temps in the 70s. Our thermostat is set for 74. So I figured it was just some heat-pump anomaly, due to the outside and inside temps being about the same.

While in town, I noticed that the heat was coming back. It was 84 there, and 81 back in the country when I got home. Our inside temperature was 76. That's not right. I made a mental note to tell Hick when he got home. Let me also add that I was a bit perturbed with Hick anyway, since he had not shown sufficient concern for my NEAR-DEATH NEAR-COLLISION AT 35 MPH on Thursday!

Anyhoo... Hick immediately set to investigating the AC issue. First of all, he went out on the back porch by POOLIO, an area directly above our AC unit. He came back in, saying the air conditioner was running. Yet there was no air coming from the vents. So the problem must be the fan. He went down to the basement.

I waited to hear the air start blowing, but it did not! Save for one feeble gasp, then silence. I heard Hick clanking around on something. Twenty minutes later, he came back upstairs.

"I think it's the motor for the fan. Either that, or the smart board. The AC is running, but the fan isn't getting the message to blow."

"But it did for a few seconds!"

"That's what makes me think it could be the smart board, which tells everything what to do. A motor for the fan would be cheaper. I'll call my buddy to see if he has a motor. I can put that in myself."

You may recall that we just went through a round of AC problems on June 5th. For which we had a service call from a guy at Hick's AC Guy's business, and paid A LOT of money for coolant, without an itemized bill. Hick talked to his guy, who had been off with back surgery at the time. The bill got explained (put your investment money into AC coolant, people!), and AC Guy said to call him directly next time, not his business.

Anyhoo... Hick said that he'd call his Friday afternoon bull-shooting crony on Saturday. He runs a shop that supplies assorted motors. Turns out he doesn't deal in AC motors. So Hick called his AC Guy, and explained the symptoms. AC Guy said it sounded like the motor of the fan, that all smart programming is IN THE MOTOR, and that he couldn't get one until later next week.

Hick had said before even talking to AC Guy that we have a three-speed fan. Which is more expensive that just a one-speed fan. In fact, two hours after Hick had been to the basement meddling with putting the fan on the lowest speed, IT KICKED ON. And has been running ever since. The problem is that if it goes off, the coils will freeze up on the AC. So we only turn it on in the evening, when Hick can actively listen to see if the fan stops running, so he can turn off the AC.

Ain't THIS a fine kettle of warm fish? So now we wait. For a motor that might or might not be the problem. Hick has no idea what it might cost, which is never a good sign. Oh, wait! We have the closing on the sale of our upper 10 acres on Tuesday. But that isn't OUR money. It's earmarked for Genius and The Pony. Somebody forgot to inform Even Steven and The Universe.

Anyhoo... temps are in the mid-80s this week. I'm not TOO uncomfortable. It's not like going without electricity. At least I'm not living in a brick building, having to sit in the lobby to cool off.