A/C BRAKEDOWN

DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU:

I KNEW WHEN WE DECIDED TO TRY AND STAY ON THE LOWER DESERT IN THE SUMMER WITH THE EXTREME HEAT THERE WOULD BE SOME HEAT RELATED CHALLENGES.

THE MAIN ROOFTOP A/C FOR THE TRAILER SUDDENLY STOPPED ONE SUNNY AND VERY HOT AFTERNOON. NO WARNING, NO GRUMBLING, NO MASHING OF GEARS, IT SIMPLY STOPPED.

THE FIRST THING I CHECKED WERE THE ELECTRICAL BREAKERS.

IN THIS BREAKER BOX ALL THE BREAKERS FOR 110 ARE ON THE LEFT, AND ALL THE FUSES FOR THE 12 VOLT SYSTEMS ARE ON THE RIGHT. THE TOP BREAKER MARKED A/C WAS TRIPPED. I RESET THE BREAKER AND STILL NO A/C. I WAS BUSY AND DECIDED TO THINK IT OVER A COUPLE OF HOT DAYS. MAYBE THE UNIT GOT HOT? OR EVEN FROZE UP, AND JUST NEED 24 HOURS TO COOL OR THAW.

FINALLY AFTER SUFFERING THROUGH A FEW HOT DAYS I CALLED OUR OLE RELIABLE MOHAVE REPAIR TO SEND SOMEONE OUT. I WAS FEELING BAD FOR THE REPAIR GUY, CRAWLING UP ON THE HOT WHITE ROOF TO DISASSEMBLE AN A/C UNIT LOOKING FOR THE PROBLEM.

THE FIRST THING THE REPAIR GUY DID, AFTER LISTENING TO MY STORY WAS TO CHECK A HIDDEN FUSE IN THE CONTROL PANEL OF THE UNIT. NOPE IT WAS OK. NEXT TO MY BREAKER BOX.

I SHOWED HIM THE TOP BREAKER THAT WAS TRIPPED AND RESET. "AH... REX" HE SAYS, "THAT'S THE MAIN BREAKER FOR THE WHOLE TRAILER, THE A/C BREAKER IS THE NEXT ONE DOWN."

I DIDN'T RESET THE NEXT BREAKER DOWN, WHICH WAS FOR THE A/C. I THOUGHT I DID, IT DIDN'T LOOK TRIPPED, AWW...... SHIT, JUST PAY THE $85 BUCKS, FEEL REALLY REALLY STUPID, AND BE GLAD IT WASN'T $685 FOR A NEW COMPRESSOR.




DON'T LET THIS STUPID MISTAKE HAPPEN TO YOU.



ON THE SUBJECT OF HEAT, ANYBODY THAT KNOWS ME WELL, KNOWS THAT I JUST DON'T GET ALONG VERY WELL IN THE EXTREME HEAT. THERE'S AN OLD FAMILY STORY OF YEARS AGO WHEN I WENT CRAZY IN THE HEAT AND WAS TRYING TO INSTALL A WINDOW A/C IN THE OLD HOUSE WE WERE LIVING IN. I SIMPLY COULDN'T RAISE THE OLD WINDOW!!

IN MY RAGE I SCARED OFF THE YOUNG KIDS AND MY WIFE, AND FINALLY KICKED OUT THE GLASS WINDOW PAIN. OF COURSE, I WAS SERIOUSLY CUT ON MY LEG, AND REQUIRED STITCHES, HOWEVER JUDY DIDN'T FEEL MY PAIN AFTER THE MADNESS OF KICKING OUT A GLASS WINDOW AND REFUSED TO DRIVE ME TO THE HOSPITAL.

I ENDED UP WRAPPING A BATH TOWEL AROUND MY LEG AND DRIVING MYSELF. OF COURSE NOW, I STILL HAD TO DEAL WITH THE PAINTED SHUT WINDOW, REPLACE THE GLASS, AND INSTALL THE WINDOW A/C UNIT. NOT VERY SMART.

IN MY OLD AGE I'VE MELLOWED SOME, BUT STILL FIND THE HEAT VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. MARY WAS LUCKY IN THAT SHE RETURNED TO WISCONSIN FOR THE FIRST HOT WEEK OF TRIPLE DIGIT WEATHER, AND THE FAILURE OF THE ROOFTOP A/C UNIT.

I HAVE ADJUSTED SOMEWHAT TO THE HEAT, AND AM READY FOR THE NEXT HEAT RELATED CHALLENGE. THE WINDOW IN THE BACK DOOR HAS SLIPPED OUT OF IT'S FRAME LEAVING GAPS.


HEY MARY........ (DON'T BE SCARED)