air conditioner ?

[lilbit]

i live in a 28x54 dw mobile home-2002. i live in the hot and humid state of La. right now our temp. are from 10 am-5pm about 93 with heat index in the 100-112 range!!! even at 7 pm the temp is in the 80s. so my cousin is an A/C tech owns his own business and doesnt charge me if he looks at my a/c. sometimes i wonder if hedoesnt do the best job because it s a "freebie". during the day i have my digital thermostat set on 72.starting at around 11am it starts staying on a little longer. by 12pm-5pm it never cuts off. around 12 or 1pm the temp in the house is about 74 then it goes up sometimes up to 78. my cousin says its normal bc of our temperatures. he says an a/c can only cool 15-20 degrees cooler than the outside temp. he says his a/c does the same.

Today i was gone all day - so meaning no oven on, no doors being opened etc.. and about 4 pm ran in my house to get something an the a/c was on and the inside temp was 80!!! the heat index was 112 today but should my ac be cooling better than this. i know you cant tell me exactly what the problem is if any without seeing it but is this normal? i have mini blinds on all windows and i keep them closed during the day. i thought about getting someof that film to put on windows to keep heat out during summer and cold out during winter but it is expensive. i dont mind paying the price but is it worth it?


thanks tina

[rmurray]

Your cousin is right..a properly sized a/c will usually only hold the temp 20 degrees lower than the outside..Notice that the machine is called air conditioner not air cooler...The most comfort comes from removing the humidity in the house..This requires the unit to run the majority of time.

72 is an awful low setting...I live in Augusta,Ga with a similar climate..I leave mine at 78 and run the ceiling fans..The unit runs long enough to remove the humidity and the home is bearable..

Most electric companies offer FREE energy audits..they come and test your home and make recommendations to improve the efficiency of the home.Some even pay for the upgrades needed to make the improvement..Call them and ask what they might have available...

Just remember it could be worse...You could have the problem of the guy 2 posts down from you....He was talking about heating his home in the - 40 degree weather he has....I would prefer your problem...

[lilbit]

ok thanks i feel alittle better knowing hes not "feeding me you know what"

so tonight im going to put it on say 75 and not going to touch it to see if im comfortable.. my husband does put it on 75 at night and many times i have to pull a blanket on me-so i'll give it a try.

any experience with the film?


one more ?
when webought our home there was not a door to the utility room here the inside return air unit is. this is also where the washer anddryer islocated. we replaced all our "brown trailer doors" with white pretty 6 panel doors. so i decided i wanted a door in the utility room because sometimes i dont always put the laundry up as soon as its done and its noticeable and also if weare watching a movie to shut out thenoise from the dryer. when we put the door there the ac sucked it all the way through-strong pull! so we put a door stop- and it still pulled. if the ac is on you have to pull hard to open it. so my cousin said we need to cut the door and place a vent in it with a filter. so we did. the vent is about 18 x 18 i would say. it still does pull but not as bad. is this ok???

[rmurray]

Sounds like your cuzz knows what he is talking about...Only problem might be 18x18 seems a little small..

[lilbit]

now i am a woman-so measurements arent my strong point!HA. i'll get a measuring tAPEto get the exact measuremts. so what size should i have?

[rmurray]

Makes sense that it should be the same as the hole in the floor...What size filter did you use there..

[lilbit]

our floor vents are 10x10 i just measured the door vent and its 20x24--oops i was alittle off. im just worried bc it still pulls that i may be cause harm to my ac or causing it to run more.


and by the way- i set my ac on 74 last night and all day today and i was very comfortable. matter of fact after cutting grass it felt real good !and i watched it- and the temp in house never went over 75!

[rmurray]

You should get professional advice (maybe your cousin or his boss) on the proper size a/c return...

Glad you made it in that sweltering 75 degree heat...Just remember you saved about 20% of you cooling cost today...The outside temp was 100 here today (and will be for the next week) but I made it in my 78 degree hot box....I do not cut grass anymore...sorry to here you do..Have a good day...