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YSK that if you have an air conditioner you should turn it on before you need it.

YSK because the first hot spell is when most people discover their AC unit is broken.

Several years ago I waited to turn on my AC. This is how I found out about one of the busiest times for repairmen and had to sweat for two weeks. Now I do a test run a couple of weeks before it heats up. Same goes for the furnace at the end of Autumn.

Edit to add: YSK line (Rule 2)

dan1101 ,
@dan1101@lemmy.world avatar

I think it’s generally good policy to run ACs every month or so.

blueskiesoc OP ,
@blueskiesoc@lemmy.world avatar

Why? What purpose does this serve? This is a real question, not a snarky comment. What do I not know?

dan1101 ,
@dan1101@lemmy.world avatar

Most machinery lasts longer when you run it every month or so at least. For an AC unit there is lubricant in the refrigerant, so circulating the refrigerant once in a while keeps the seals in good condition. It would also keep the moving parts of things like fans from corroding and seizing up.

For vehicles, running the them occasionally circulates the fluids like oil and antifreeze. The oil keeps the moving parts of the engine coated and doesn’t allow things like condensation to rust the internal parts.

Spacecraft ,

Same reason why if you have part time 4WD in a vehicle you should put upwards of 10 miles per month with 4WD engaged (just try to keep it to straight roads). Check your owners manual first, but every 4WD vehicle I’ve owned has recommended it.

Fosheze ,

This is definitely good advice for vehicle AC because like you said, it keeps the compressor seals in good shape. However it isn’t as important for residential AC systems because they use fully hermitic compressors. There is no shaft seal that can fail. Depending on your outdoor temps, running your home AC in the winter can actually be very bad for it.

When it’s cold outside liquid refrigerant will tend to settle in the compressor crank case that means when that compressor starts up it will immediately suck in and try to compress that incompressable liquid refrigerant. Depending on the compressor type this will drastically reduce it’s lifespan or just straight up kill it. On systems designed to be used in cold weather there will be a crank case heater on the compressor to boil off any liquid refrigerant in the crank case. But if your system wasn’t built with cold weather running in mind then it won’t have one of those.

dan1101 ,
@dan1101@lemmy.world avatar

Today I Learned, don’t run a house AC when it’s cold.

TPMJB ,

Joke’s on you, in Texas you always need it

blueskiesoc OP ,
@blueskiesoc@lemmy.world avatar

My relatives in south TX are melting. I hope where you are isn’t as bad.

TPMJB ,

Meh, 104 degrees feels like 117. It’s…bearable but not enjoyable. What I dislike is it still being 92 at 9pm.

Pirky ,
@Pirky@lemmy.world avatar

As someone from Upper Michigan, that does not sound bearable to me.
Then again, 0 degrees with -15 windchill probably sounds more bearable to me than to you.

BackOnMyBS ,
@BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world avatar

Floridian here. Anything below 20°F sounds like penguins, and there is no discernable difference between temperatures (eg 15°F ≈ -42°F/C = 🐧🐧).

Pirky ,
@Pirky@lemmy.world avatar

Idk if I can do a good job, but for me, 10-20 degrees is average winter temp. Nothing to be concerned about: just my winter coat and thin gloves.

0-10 degrees is starting to get cool. If I’m outside for a prolonged period of time I’ll add a hat and switch to my thicker gloves.

-10-0 degrees is cold. That’s the period where breathing through your nose gets crispy and deep breaths make you cough. I always have a hat and good gloves at this range. If I need to be outside for a while, I use flannel lined jeans. I also make sure to use my actual winter boots.

-20 to -10 degrees is rare, but does happen. You really shouldn’t be outside at those temps, but I’ve done it anyway. Any breeze at that temperature is dangerous. A facemask of some kind is strongly recommended if you need to be out for any length of time.

Coldest I’ve personally experienced was -25 degrees. That was winter 2013-14. There’s nothing quite like experiencing that level of cold. I left a university building to go to my jeep with a bottle of powerade in my backpack. When I got to my jeep it had turned into a slushie.
All these temps are absolute by the way; not windchill.

golamas1999 ,

We were told we needed the unit replaced because it needed Freon that was no longer available.

Somehow my dad has a guy who came to the house and filled it up and left very discreetly.

Fosheze ,

It was probably running R-22 which you can still get but it isn’t manufactured anymore. It’s ozone depleting so all production and import of the stuff was completely banned in 2020 and it has been in the process of being slowly phased out since 2004. The only source for it is stuff recovered out of other systems or any existing stocks which are running out very quickly. That means it gets more expensive every year. Now a days most HVAC companies will just replace those systems rather than fixing them for that reason.

ShakeThatYam ,
@ShakeThatYam@lemmy.world avatar

Also it’s become very expensive compared to the new stuff for this reason. Like over 10x more expensive per pound.

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