Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

probably a decent price. Might be fun to own, but could definitely get tiring fairly quick.

iluvmysephia1

Just a peek from a buddy of mine for ya'all.

iluvmysephia1

probably a decent price. Might be fun to own, but could definitely get tiring fairly quick.

stick, are ya talkin' about the 2013 Ford Focus ST would get tiring driving after a while? Road bumps? Or what do you mean? It seems low to the flow, that's why I'm going to read up on it from people to see how their driving experience has been. KBB owner reviews would be appropriate now.

nyccarguy

So it is currently 83 degrees inside my house.  The AC has been running constantly for the last 2 days or so.  Today was very hot (high 80s), but not the mid to high 90s we are supposed to get tomorrow.  I shut the damn thing off and opened up the windows.  

I had a reputable company come and check out the system back in May so I wouldn’t have this problem.  They pumped 2+ pounds of Freon in and said there is a leak somewhere but they don’t know exactly where.  I paid about $600 for this.

i called today because not only was the system not keeping up, but it was getting warmer as the day went in. Every time I checked the temperature, it was slowly climbing from 74 all the way up to 83.  The mechanic who was up on a roof somewhere on a commercial job walked me through checking a bunch of things:  Drip Pan Dry (Yes), Copper Pipe coming out of the unit cold (yes), Water draining out of the drip line (yes), filter clean (yes), cool air coming out of the compressor (yes).  I found this hole that someone had cut in the side of the air handler and thought it was the culprit.  It isn’t.  Got home after N awesome night with my sons and my Dad seeing Solo, A Star Wars Story (awesome!  Loved it!) and it was still 83 degrees.  I turned the AC off and opened the windows.  It’s still hot.  Have it a breather and turned it back on.  

stickguy

if it was down that much refirgerant, there is definitely a problem someplace. If it is old and just worn out, probably pouring money down the drain recharging it. I had this a few years back when doing remodeling work on the house (the workers were complaining they were sweating to death). Had someone out, they charged it up. I think that held ok for about 2 years, when the furnace power blower died. at that point, it was old enough and crappy enough that I bit the bullet and replaced the furnace. And did the AC at the same time, since I knew that unit was on borrowed time.

can appreciate a hi efficiency system that works the way it is supposed to this week. I have to wear slippers in the house because it freezes my feet off!

roadburner

pensfan83 said:

I'm already anticipating needing to make a not at fault claim under my collision coverage. Filed a police report as well.

I hate scum that do those kinds of things; here's hoping that Karma bites them really bad...

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

if it was down that much refirgerant, there is definitely a problem someplace. If it is old and just worn out, probably pouring money down the drain recharging it. I had this a few years back when doing remodeling work on the house (the workers were complaining they were sweating to death). Had someone out, they charged it up. I think that held ok for about 2 years, when the furnace power blower died. at that point, it was old enough and crappy enough that I bit the bullet and replaced the furnace. And did the AC at the same time, since I knew that unit was on borrowed time. can appreciate a hi efficiency system that works the way it is supposed to this week. I have to wear slippers in the house because it freezes my feet off!

I’m afraid of that.  I just got approved for a HELOC.  I’d really like to use the money for a new deck & not a new AC system.

iluvmysephia1

Man, if the 2013 Ford Focus ST costed $25,000 when new, I think that one with only 61,000 miles and priced $11,500 is a decent deal. The sign says "excellent condition". I'd have it inspected first. If iluv got a wild hair and I am reading a Car and Driver article on this pup now that is absolutely enticing - Ford made this little pup with a nice chassis - more on that later. And a nice steering wheel and steering system - I'm still reading the Car and Driver article but it's really an encouraging read on the car. They seem to really love the car at Car and Driver.

For our situation, this car would actually work. We have one son, and he's in his late 30's and living in Arizona. We only have ourselves and the groceries we'd buy with this car. I could probably cut a deal with the Loco Credit Union in Alamogordo (they're pretty decent as a credit union - we got a quote from them when we were dealing for a deal on our house - people here are used to working with people - it's a small NM town of 31,000 people that sits 10 miles east of Holloman Air Force Base) in which my car would have to be sold privately and the 2013 Ford Focus would need to be a completely new deal with Loco Credit Union. I'm starting to get interested in this car because I think that it would be an absolute gas to drive, it gets 23 city 31 highway, which is fine, and Ford really built this car to be a little racer. No, it won't hold it's own with some of the faster German cars, but, if driving skill and shifting ability is put into play, I'd hold my own with them. New Mexico has so much open country that I would be in 7th heaven in this rig.


Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $25,000

ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection

DISPLACEMENT: 122 cu in, 1999 cc
POWER: 247 hp @ 5500 rpm
TORQUE: 266 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
WHEELBASE: 104.3 in
LENGTH: 171.7 in
WIDTH: 71.8 in HEIGHT: 58.4 in
CURB WEIGHT: 3150 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 6.1 sec
¼-mile: 14.6 sec
Top speed: 155 mph

FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 21/31 mpg

Like driver100 says, I change my favorite vehicle often, but this one has really grabbed my interest of late. I'm going to continue reading up on the car and try not to get more excited about it than I already am. I aim to find out what Ford calls this Gold paint shade, too.

Any Ford freaks amongst us on here? 58% of the cars I've owned have been Ford's - I'd be going back home.

stickguy

iluvmysephia1 said:

probably a decent price. Might be fun to own, but could definitely get tiring fairly quick.

stick, are ya talkin' about the 2013 Ford Focus ST would get tiring driving after a while? Road bumps? Or what do you mean? It seems low to the flow, that's why I'm going to read up on it from people to see how their driving experience has been. KBB owner reviews would be appropriate now.

hot rod hatches tend to be a bit more high strung, with rougher ride, tighter seats, etc. Sporty yes. Just not on the comfy side. And the passenger does not get to enjoy the driving experience!

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

So it is currently 83 degrees inside my house.  The AC has been running constantly for the last 2 days or so.  Today was very hot (high 80s), but not the mid to high 90s we are supposed to get tomorrow.  I shut the damn thing off and opened up the windows.  

I had a reputable company come and check out the system back in May so I wouldn’t have this problem.  They pumped 2+ pounds of Freon in and said there is a leak somewhere but they don’t know exactly where.  I paid about $600 for this.

i called today because not only was the system not keeping up, but it was getting warmer as the day went in. Every time I checked the temperature, it was slowly climbing from 74 all the way up to 83.  The mechanic who was up on a roof somewhere on a commercial job walked me through checking a bunch of things:  Drip Pan Dry (Yes), Copper Pipe coming out of the unit cold (yes), Water draining out of the drip line (yes), filter clean (yes), cool air coming out of the compressor (yes).  I found this hole that someone had cut in the side of the air handler and thought it was the culprit.  It isn’t.  Got home after N awesome night with my sons and my Dad seeing Solo, A Star Wars Story (awesome!  Loved it!) and it was still 83 degrees.  I turned the AC off and opened the windows.  It’s still hot.  Have it a breather and turned it back on.  

Can you inspect the evaporator coil and make sure it isn't iced over?

xwesx

iluvmysephia1 said:

Any Ford freaks amongst us on here? 58% of the cars I've owned have been Ford's - I'd be going back home.

I can't say I'm "freakish" about any brand. I like Ford; they have the Flex, after all, and that's a darn good car. I've owned four Fords over the years (still have two of them), including my first "car."

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

So it is currently 83 degrees inside my house.  The AC has been running constantly for the last 2 days or so.  Today was very hot (high 80s), but not the mid to high 90s we are supposed to get tomorrow.  I shut the damn thing off and opened up the windows.  

I had a reputable company come and check out the system back in May so I wouldn’t have this problem.  They pumped 2+ pounds of Freon in and said there is a leak somewhere but they don’t know exactly where.  I paid about $600 for this.

i called today because not only was the system not keeping up, but it was getting warmer as the day went in. Every time I checked the temperature, it was slowly climbing from 74 all the way up to 83.  The mechanic who was up on a roof somewhere on a commercial job walked me through checking a bunch of things:  Drip Pan Dry (Yes), Copper Pipe coming out of the unit cold (yes), Water draining out of the drip line (yes), filter clean (yes), cool air coming out of the compressor (yes).  I found this hole that someone had cut in the side of the air handler and thought it was the culprit.  It isn’t.  Got home after N awesome night with my sons and my Dad seeing Solo, A Star Wars Story (awesome!  Loved it!) and it was still 83 degrees.  I turned the AC off and opened the windows.  It’s still hot.  Have it a breather and turned it back on.  

Can you inspect the evaporator coil and make sure it isn't iced over?

Don’t know if I can.  After turning the AC off for about 1/2 hour when we got home, I restarted it.  Down from 83 to 76 currently.  Where is the evaporator coil?

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

Don’t know if I can.  After turning the AC off for about 1/2 hour when we got home, I restarted it.  Down from 83 to 76 currently.  Where is the evaporator coil?

I agree that's a strong possibility. If it is icing up, then you won't get good airflow to efficiently cool. With it running so much, if you have high humidity right now that could very well be your problem. A symptom, actually, of a larger problem, which is that your A/C either isn't running well enough to not be on all the time, or your house isn't efficient enough to resist the heat gain.

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

So it is currently 83 degrees inside my house.  The AC has been running constantly for the last 2 days or so.  Today was very hot (high 80s), but not the mid to high 90s we are supposed to get tomorrow.  I shut the damn thing off and opened up the windows.  

I had a reputable company come and check out the system back in May so I wouldn’t have this problem.  They pumped 2+ pounds of Freon in and said there is a leak somewhere but they don’t know exactly where.  I paid about $600 for this.

i called today because not only was the system not keeping up, but it was getting warmer as the day went in. Every time I checked the temperature, it was slowly climbing from 74 all the way up to 83.  The mechanic who was up on a roof somewhere on a commercial job walked me through checking a bunch of things:  Drip Pan Dry (Yes), Copper Pipe coming out of the unit cold (yes), Water draining out of the drip line (yes), filter clean (yes), cool air coming out of the compressor (yes).  I found this hole that someone had cut in the side of the air handler and thought it was the culprit.  It isn’t.  Got home after N awesome night with my sons and my Dad seeing Solo, A Star Wars Story (awesome!  Loved it!) and it was still 83 degrees.  I turned the AC off and opened the windows.  It’s still hot.  Have it a breather and turned it back on.  

Can you inspect the evaporator coil and make sure it isn't iced over?

Don’t know if I can.  After turning the AC off for about 1/2 hour when we got home, I restarted it.  Down from 83 to 76 currently.  Where is the evaporator coil?

The lines from the compressor outside run into the duct directly in front of your blower. Those lines are going into the evap coil. 

imidazol97

nyccarguy said:

Don’t know if I can.  After turning the AC off for about 1/2 hour when we got home, I restarted it.  Down from 83 to 76 currently.  Where is the evaporator coil?

Our heat pump had a metering valve on the inside coil, the evaporator coil, fail. It worked but then would gradually go away from metering the freon into the coil correctly. Poor cooling. Hundreds to replace with a different service part which the AC tech had to plumb into the line inside the box.

When that failed, I should have replaced the unit. A couple years later, the metering device on the outside unit which handles the pressures when the heat pump was reversed started to fail.

driver100

iluvmysephia1 said:

probably a decent price. Might be fun to own, but could definitely get tiring fairly quick.

stick, are ya talkin' about the 2013 Ford Focus ST would get tiring driving after a while? Road bumps? Or what do you mean? It seems low to the flow, that's why I'm going to read up on it from people to see how their driving experience has been. KBB owner reviews would be appropriate now.

Iluv, I think the problem is spending almost $12000 for a car that is 6 years old and has 61000 miles on it....could be half to 1/3rd of it's life is over. Also, I wonder how hard it has been driven so far....I doubt if the little old lady from Pasadena owned that car. Add to that no real warranty.

I think you would be far better off with the Sentra for about the same price....you know you would have at least 5 more years of life in it, and a warranty. Imagine a one year old Sentra that has depreciated a bit, but still has plenty of life left in it.

I think you will get tired of the driving experience of the Focus when it is in the garage a fair bit of time.

driver100

nyccarguy said:

stickguy said:

if it was down that much refirgerant, there is definitely a problem someplace. If it is old and just worn out, probably pouring money down the drain recharging it. I had this a few years back when doing remodeling work on the house (the workers were complaining they were sweating to death). Had someone out, they charged it up. I think that held ok for about 2 years, when the furnace power blower died. at that point, it was old enough and crappy enough that I bit the bullet and replaced the furnace. And did the AC at the same time, since I knew that unit was on borrowed time.

can appreciate a hi efficiency system that works the way it is supposed to this week. I have to wear slippers in the house because it freezes my feet off!

I’m afraid of that.  I just got approved for a HELOC.  I’d really like to use the money for a new deck & not a new AC system

.

The heat that Mike sent up from the Gulf has reached us, 98F yesterday and today, 90s for the rest of the week. High humidity too, humidex is like 112F.

I hate getting a new air conditioner.....at least with a nice deck you got something to show for your money! A new a/c just gets you to where you should have been before the old one broke down.

Did you mention how old the old a/c is NYC?

There comes a point when you have to bite the bullet....not saying it isn't fixable but at some point it isn't worth putting more money into it. If it is pretty old, it will break down again when you need it the most.

abacomike

pensfan83 said:

I'm already anticipating needing to make a not at fault claim under my collision coverage. Filed a police report as well.

Terrible situation, pensfan.  Claiming not at fault might be difficult under your collision coverage, police report or no police report - no evidence that someone hit you even though that is what happened.  You might want to get an estimate for repairs - might not be as bad as you may think.

I hope the car that swiped you had serious damage to an expensive part of its body.  SOB deserves to be caught and sited for hit and run - leaving the scene.  Any chance a security camera caught the accident? 

abacomike

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

if it was down that much refirgerant, there is definitely a problem someplace. If it is old and just worn out, probably pouring money down the drain recharging it. I had this a few years back when doing remodeling work on the house (the workers were complaining they were sweating to death). Had someone out, they charged it up. I think that held ok for about 2 years, when the furnace power blower died. at that point, it was old enough and crappy enough that I bit the bullet and replaced the furnace. And did the AC at the same time, since I knew that unit was on borrowed time. can appreciate a hi efficiency system that works the way it is supposed to this week. I have to wear slippers in the house because it freezes my feet off!

I’m afraid of that.  I just got approved for a HELOC.  I’d really like to use the money for a new deck & not a new AC system

.

The heat that Mike sent up from the Gulf has reached us, 98F yesterday and today, 90s for the rest of the week. High humidity too, humidex is like 112F. I hate getting a new air conditioner.....at least with a nice deck you got something to show for your money! A new a/c just gets you to where you should have been before the old one broke down. Did you mention how old the old a/c is NYC? There comes a point when you have to bite the bullet....not saying it isn't fixable but at some point it isn't worth putting more money into it. If it is pretty old, it will break down again when you need it the most.

I have a contract with a company that covers my A/C, plumbing, electrical, and most appliances.  As part of that contract, they come out once each year for a spring/summer check-up on my A/C (unit is 2-years old).  They are due here tomorrow morning.  The go on the roof and check out the compressor and it’s operation - replace coolant if necessary.  Then they replace the battery in the thermostat and check out my humidistat.  Finally they check out my condensation collection plate to make sure it is not moldy.

Getting Freon is getting harder and harder to get.  Hope NYC finds that Freon leak - very expensive leak

And yeas, I am sending you heat and humidity.  But now we are getting dry Saharan Dust from the trade winds.  Cars get this dry dust on surfaces from the Sahara Desert - who would’ve guessed we’d get dust from Africa? 

jmonroe

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

nyccarguy said:

stickguy said:

if it was down that much refirgerant, there is definitely a problem someplace. If it is old and just worn out, probably pouring money down the drain recharging it. I had this a few years back when doing remodeling work on the house (the workers were complaining they were sweating to death). Had someone out, they charged it up. I think that held ok for about 2 years, when the furnace power blower died. at that point, it was old enough and crappy enough that I bit the bullet and replaced the furnace. And did the AC at the same time, since I knew that unit was on borrowed time.

can appreciate a hi efficiency system that works the way it is supposed to this week. I have to wear slippers in the house because it freezes my feet off!

I’m afraid of that.  I just got approved for a HELOC.  I’d really like to use the money for a new deck & not a new AC system

.

The heat that Mike sent up from the Gulf has reached us, 98F yesterday and today, 90s for the rest of the week. High humidity too, humidex is like 112F.

I hate getting a new air conditioner.....at least with a nice deck you got something to show for your money! A new a/c just gets you to where you should have been before the old one broke down.

Did you mention how old the old a/c is NYC?

There comes a point when you have to bite the bullet....not saying it isn't fixable but at some point it isn't worth putting more money into it. If it is pretty old, it will break down again when you need it the most.

I have a contract with a company that covers my A/C, plumbing, electrical, and most appliances.  As part of that contract, they come out once each year for a spring/summer check-up on my A/C (unit is 2-years old).  They are due here tomorrow morning.  The go on the roof and check out the compressor and it’s operation - replace coolant if necessary.  Then they replace the battery in the thermostat and check out my humidistat.  Finally they check out my condensation collection plate to make sure it is not moldy.

Getting Freon is getting harder and harder to get.  Hope NYC finds that Freon leak - very expensive leak

And yeas, I am sending you heat and humidity.  But now we are getting dry Saharan Dust from the trade winds.  Cars get this dry dust on surfaces from the Sahara Desert - who would’ve guessed we’d get dust from Africa? 

Backlash for the tariffs. :@

jmonroe

houdini1

henryn said:

ab348 said:

When I was a kid Dad had a rectangular metal gas can that we used for the lawnmower and the like that seemed indestructible. It had a flexible metal spout and a little vent cap on the can to let the contents flow freely. It probably is still in use somewhere.

No, probably not. I found one of those last year, in a thrift shop. It still looked good, and I picked it up for next to nothing. But when I got it home and checked it out, it was rusty inside . Turn it upside down and shake it, rust flakes would come out. A little reading online, vinegar is the answer, so I bought 2 gallons of vinegar and left it sitting. A few days later, the gas can is empty, the vinegar ate the rust all right, and left a hole. Actually several holes.

The vinegar cost more than the gas can, and it was a total loss. And my side yard smelled of vinegar for a while there.

That reminds me of the joke about removing corns from your foot. A guy said he put a few drops of corn remover on his big toe and next day the toe was completely gone, leaving only the corn.

houdini1

henryn said:

ab348 said:

When I was a kid Dad had a rectangular metal gas can that we used for the lawnmower and the like that seemed indestructible. It had a flexible metal spout and a little vent cap on the can to let the contents flow freely. It probably is still in use somewhere.

No, probably not. I found one of those last year, in a thrift shop. It still looked good, and I picked it up for next to nothing. But when I got it home and checked it out, it was rusty inside . Turn it upside down and shake it, rust flakes would come out. A little reading online, vinegar is the answer, so I bought 2 gallons of vinegar and left it sitting. A few days later, the gas can is empty, the vinegar ate the rust all right, and left a hole. Actually several holes.

The vinegar cost more than the gas can, and it was a total loss. And my side yard smelled of vinegar for a while there.

Did you hear that farmer. Vinegar removes rust !!

oldfarmer50

iluvmysephia1 said:

I hear these 2013 Ford Focus ST's are fun to drive and pretty tight. No one's picking this one up in Alamogordo.

The Mrs. wouldn't want any kind of transaction for any kind of car right now, period. $11,500 is fair for one of these with 61,000 miles, I would think.

I've been impressed with the Foci I've driven for Enterprise and those were not the high performance model. Handling was good and acceleration was good for whatever little engine a rental trim has.

If the ST is the performance version you'd get a heck of a ride. Over 250 hp in a light weight car. The only down side is the reported problems with the 2012-16 Ford DCG tranny that has a lot of complaints. You'd get a standard shift in the ST I presume.

Great mid to late life crisis car. I think someone post a video here of a stunt driver drifting a ST Focus until the tires fell off.

oldfarmer50

pensfan83 said:

Scuffed with a gouge in the quarter panel.

Someone dinged my wife's car like that in a parking garage. Fortunately just some paint transfer, no gouge. They actually left a note but I never called them because the PT is close to hooptie grade by now.

imidazol97

abacomike said:

And yeas, I am sending you heat and humidity.  But now we are getting dry Saharan Dust from the trade winds.  Cars get this dry dust on surfaces from the Sahara Desert - who would’ve guessed we’d get dust from Africa? 

I was thinking you had just had a hurricane there in Florida. Then I remembered that's just the hurricane hitting Key West and going up through the middle of Florida in the new Stuart Woods book Turbulence that I'm reading.

houdini1

explorerx4 said:

Last summer, my SIL drove my daughter's pretty much new car to meet us for vacation.
When he came out of the hotel, the left rear fender was damaged similar to yours.
Thing is, the vehicle that did it was still parked in the next spot.
Called the police, but they couldn't really do anything because it was private property.
Found the culprit, but I think they ended up paying the deductible anyway.
At least the other person had insurance.

I have never heard of paying a deductible when other person's insurance paid !

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

So it is currently 83 degrees inside my house.  The AC has been running constantly for the last 2 days or so.  Today was very hot (high 80s), but not the mid to high 90s we are supposed to get tomorrow.  I shut the damn thing off and opened up the windows.  

I had a reputable company come and check out the system back in May so I wouldn’t have this problem.  They pumped 2+ pounds of Freon in and said there is a leak somewhere but they don’t know exactly where.  I paid about $600 for this.

i called today because not only was the system not keeping up, but it was getting warmer as the day went in. Every time I checked the temperature, it was slowly climbing from 74 all the way up to 83.  The mechanic who was up on a roof somewhere on a commercial job walked me through checking a bunch of things:  Drip Pan Dry (Yes), Copper Pipe coming out of the unit cold (yes), Water draining out of the drip line (yes), filter clean (yes), cool air coming out of the compressor (yes).  I found this hole that someone had cut in the side of the air handler and thought it was the culprit.  It isn’t.  Got home after N awesome night with my sons and my Dad seeing Solo, A Star Wars Story (awesome!  Loved it!) and it was still 83 degrees.  I turned the AC off and opened the windows.  It’s still hot.  Have it a breather and turned it back on.  

I'm about halfway done with my planting work in the greenhouse and the thermometer is pegged at the 120 degree max. Why don't you drive up and help me finish? After that 83 will feel like a cruise to the Arctic.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

iluvmysephia1 said:

probably a decent price. Might be fun to own, but could definitely get tiring fairly quick.

stick, are ya talkin' about the 2013 Ford Focus ST would get tiring driving after a while? Road bumps? Or what do you mean? It seems low to the flow, that's why I'm going to read up on it from people to see how their driving experience has been. KBB owner reviews would be appropriate now.

Iluv, I think the problem is spending almost $12000 for a car that is 6 years old and has 61000 miles on it....could be half to 1/3rd of it's life is over. Also, I wonder how hard it has been driven so far....I doubt if the little old lady from Pasadena owned that car. Add to that no real warranty.

I think you would be far better off with the Sentra for about the same price....you know you would have at least 5 more years of life in it, and a warranty. Imagine a one year old Sentra that has depreciated a bit, but still has plenty of life left in it.

I think you will get tired of the driving experience of the Focus when it is in the garage a fair bit of time.

Previous owner abuse is always a concern with performance cars. That's why I wouldn't buy one used. I'd have that Focus looked at top to bottom by a professional.

Speaking of which, I thought this was a relative bargain until I read the CarFax:

https://www.listingallcars.com/vdp/3816886919972164340/Used-2013-Ford-Focus-ST-for-sale-in-Lincoln-NE-68521-by-LAX-Auto

tjc78

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

So it is currently 83 degrees inside my house.  The AC has been running constantly for the last 2 days or so.  Today was very hot (high 80s), but not the mid to high 90s we are supposed to get tomorrow.  I shut the damn thing off and opened up the windows.  

I had a reputable company come and check out the system back in May so I wouldn’t have this problem.  They pumped 2+ pounds of Freon in and said there is a leak somewhere but they don’t know exactly where.  I paid about $600 for this.

i called today because not only was the system not keeping up, but it was getting warmer as the day went in. Every time I checked the temperature, it was slowly climbing from 74 all the way up to 83.  The mechanic who was up on a roof somewhere on a commercial job walked me through checking a bunch of things:  Drip Pan Dry (Yes), Copper Pipe coming out of the unit cold (yes), Water draining out of the drip line (yes), filter clean (yes), cool air coming out of the compressor (yes).  I found this hole that someone had cut in the side of the air handler and thought it was the culprit.  It isn’t.  Got home after N awesome night with my sons and my Dad seeing Solo, A Star Wars Story (awesome!  Loved it!) and it was still 83 degrees.  I turned the AC off and opened the windows.  It’s still hot.  Have it a breather and turned it back on.  

Can you inspect the evaporator coil and make sure it isn't iced over?

That’s exactly what I was thinking, due to low refrigerant. 

We have a new HE unit since the addition last year.  I replaced a 24 year old Lennox.  The Lennox with the old refrigerant (R22) would keep the house at 74 and cycle on and off up to 100 degrees outside.  New unit ran for about 2 straight hours in the heat of the afternoon yesterday before shutting off.  To be fair the wife was cooking, but I’m not sold on newer systems.  The house never went above 74 so at least it kept up.  

My wife did say House was a meat locker, so at least she is happy. 

It was technology day at my house yesterday.   As an early 40th birthday party to myself I got a new TV and sound bar for the bedroom. The 32” was just too small.  Ended up with 50” Samsung 4K, marching soundbar, sub and wireless rear speakers. Pics or it didn’t happen right? Before and After.  

graphicguy

Wishing all of our Canadian friends a HAPPY CANADA DAY!

jmonroe

@nyccarguy, First off, your "reputable company" is not very good. With the freon sniffers that are out today a freon leak can be found, IF they want to find it. Now, having said that, it may be a waste of money replacing a leaking evaporator (A-coil) on an old unit or any part within the charged system.

If your system is old it is definitely better to replace it if you have a freon leak, especially with the outrageous $600 price your company charges for 2 pounds of freon. Your system probably has 4 to 5 pounds of freon, so to fix it, once you open up the system to replace the part, the freon is lost. Now you have to pay for the part and it's installation and then pay for all new freon. You do the math. Granted, a new install requires all new freon but you have a new unit that should be reliable for many years. It sounds easy from here but sometimes it is best to just bite the bullet.

Two weeks ago this past Friday, Son #1 calls and says his A/C is not working. The line going into the plenum where the A-coil is located is frosted up and he hears humming. He thinks it's humming at the frosted-up line. I told him frosted lines don't hum. A frosted line is the result of something else, more than likely no air flow across the A-coil, in his case. It turned out the starter winding on the multi-speed blower motor was bad and the humming was coming from the motor trying to run but couldn't. I spun the blower by hand to simulate the starter winding and the motor took off. That was all the proof I needed that the motor had to be replaced. Long story short, he had to order a new motor online because he could not find one locally and it came in last Friday. Just before the heat wave we are also experiencing. He paid about $120 for the motor and has since found out that to call in a pro it would have cost him between $380 to $410 depending on the pro.

Just be sure to get several quotes for a new unit. The cost where you live is very much higher than here in the Burgh but you already know that.

Good luck.

jmonroe

driver100

graphicguy said:

Wishing all of our Canadian friends a HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Thanks GG....nice of you to think of us. I wish you guys a Happy July 4th. What day is the actual holiday....Monday or Friday. (I know it is Wednesday but you know what I mean).

sda

nyccarguy said:

So it is currently 83 degrees inside my house.  The AC has been running constantly for the last 2 days or so.  Today was very hot (high 80s), but not the mid to high 90s we are supposed to get tomorrow.  I shut the damn thing off and opened up the windows.  

I had a reputable company come and check out the system back in May so I wouldn’t have this problem.  They pumped 2+ pounds of Freon in and said there is a leak somewhere but they don’t know exactly where.  I paid about $600 for this.

i called today because not only was the system not keeping up, but it was getting warmer as the day went in. Every time I checked the temperature, it was slowly climbing from 74 all the way up to 83.  The mechanic who was up on a roof somewhere on a commercial job walked me through checking a bunch of things:  Drip Pan Dry (Yes), Copper Pipe coming out of the unit cold (yes), Water draining out of the drip line (yes), filter clean (yes), cool air coming out of the compressor (yes).  I found this hole that someone had cut in the side of the air handler and thought it was the culprit.  It isn’t.  Got home after N awesome night with my sons and my Dad seeing Solo, A Star Wars Story (awesome!  Loved it!) and it was still 83 degrees.  I turned the AC off and opened the windows.  It’s still hot.  Have it a breather and turned it back on.  

How miserable! I can relate as we are also in that current situation. Two weeks ago coming this Wednesday our unit failed. We have been having 90+ days, no breeze and humid. As I subscribe to one of the larger service contract companies, they could not schedule anyone until last Monday for repair. Our system is a Carrier SEER 10 that is original to the house, 14 years old this June. It has served us well until the last year or so when it has required several repair visits. R-22 is now $120/lb and only $10/lb is covered. Full system replacement has been determined as I didn't want to throw around $1000 to the old system, that being its an old inefficient system and it is inevitable that it will need to be replaced and R22 won't be available starting in 2020. If you have to replace your system make sure to get several bids. I did and it was eye opening. All reputable companies, A+ related by BBB, decent reviews. The spread was over $3k for similar components and installation. We are going with a SEER 16 American Standard with a variable speed blower with gas heat. It hasn't been much fun with the interior of the house approaching 90 and no breeze. We run the ceiling fans and bought a large box type fan. To escape the heat we traveled to Jacksonville, FL to visit my SIL (lol). At least she has ac and we will celebrate the 4th with her watching the fireworks from her 14th story balcony with direct view of the river near The Landing. Will return to hour HOT house on Friday. Fingers crossed, the new system is to be installed on Saturday. Good Luck with your repair and stay cool!

driver100

Backlash for the tariffs. :@
jmonroe

That was cute but since Canada was slapped with a 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminum, with threats of additional tariffs on U.S. made cars, we have placed tariffs of 10% on the following goods to make back the same amount of money;

washing machines, steel and aluminum, orange juice, frozen pizza, beer, manicure products, boats, ketchup, coffee, nut butters and jams, yogurt, coffee, licorice, chocolate, prepared meals including pizza and quiche, cucumbers, gherkins, soya sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, flavoured water, whiskies (particularly bourbon), manicure and pedicure products, shaving products, dish detergent, candles, glue and various types of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.

The amount of money gained from tariffs is the same....just the cost of these goods will be more, which will hurt sales, especially because there are supply options.

I don't know if this part was thought through. Canadians may not buy D3 cars if they become more expensive due to tariffs....when cars from Asia and Europe and the rest of the world will stay the same.

It is a sad day that we have to impose unnecessary tariffs on our best friends...but, it has to be done.

oldfarmer50

houdini1 said:

henryn said:

ab348 said:

When I was a kid Dad had a rectangular metal gas can that we used for the lawnmower and the like that seemed indestructible. It had a flexible metal spout and a little vent cap on the can to let the contents flow freely. It probably is still in use somewhere.

No, probably not. I found one of those last year, in a thrift shop. It still looked good, and I picked it up for next to nothing. But when I got it home and checked it out, it was rusty inside . Turn it upside down and shake it, rust flakes would come out. A little reading online, vinegar is the answer, so I bought 2 gallons of vinegar and left it sitting. A few days later, the gas can is empty, the vinegar ate the rust all right, and left a hole. Actually several holes.

The vinegar cost more than the gas can, and it was a total loss. And my side yard smelled of vinegar for a while there.

Did you hear that farmer. Vinegar removes rust !!

From that story it sounds like it eats metal better than rust. Vinegar makes a better weed killer in my opinion.

Most old farmers would keep a few bottles of Coke in the barn to pour on rusted farm machinery.

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

houdini1 said:

henryn said:

ab348 said:

When I was a kid Dad had a rectangular metal gas can that we used for the lawnmower and the like that seemed indestructible. It had a flexible metal spout and a little vent cap on the can to let the contents flow freely. It probably is still in use somewhere.

No, probably not. I found one of those last year, in a thrift shop. It still looked good, and I picked it up for next to nothing. But when I got it home and checked it out, it was rusty inside . Turn it upside down and shake it, rust flakes would come out. A little reading online, vinegar is the answer, so I bought 2 gallons of vinegar and left it sitting. A few days later, the gas can is empty, the vinegar ate the rust all right, and left a hole. Actually several holes.

The vinegar cost more than the gas can, and it was a total loss. And my side yard smelled of vinegar for a while there.

Did you hear that farmer. Vinegar removes rust !!

From that story it sounds like it eats metal better than rust. Vinegar makes a better weed killer in my opinion.

Most old farmers would keep a few bottles of Coke in the barn to pour on rusted farm machinery.

Coca-Cola is amazing stuff. It will clean up a greasy windshield, it will clean up a corroded battery terminal in your car, and to think we put this into our bodies.


Speaking of home A/C units, I was thinking about replacing mine a couple of years ago. I bought this house in 2011, it was built approximately 2005, and there is no EER or SEER rating anywhere to be found on the A/C. I was under the impression that federal law required that EER rating to be there, but apparently there is a loophole for OEM builds.

This unit is not very efficient, it consumes far too much electricity given the size of the house, insulation, double pane windows, etc. So I looked up some quotes for a new very high efficiency unit, and found an online calculator to tell me how many years it would take to recover the cost of the new unit.

17 years.

So much for that idea. When it gives me trouble, I will replace it.

Mr_Shiftright

Some science behind vinegar:

"Weak acids can dissolve and loosen the crumbly hydrated iron oxide (which is what rust is) to form a soluble salt. They can also replace it with a thin film of smooth hard oxide on the surface of the iron to help it resist further hydrated oxidation. Phosphoric acid (coca cola) , and citric acid (lemon juice) are other acidic rust removers."

jwm40517

If an a/c coil is frozen the ice will not let air flow through. When this has happened to mine due to a slow leak my HVAC guy had me turn the unit off and turn the fan to the run position. The fan helps thaw the ice faster than just waiting to thaw. Even with the coil in an attic of well over 100 degrees, it is inside an insulated box much like a cooler chest, to keep the hot air out in summer and cold air out in winter. He said it could hours to thaw without fan.

snakeweasel

graphicguy said:

Wishing all of our Canadian friends a HAPPY CANADA DAY!

And I improved Canada by leaving it. 

Toronto started their festivities on their lakefront Friday evening and we did enjoy some of it prior to leaving. 

Happy Canada Day to our friends up north.

ab348

tjc78 said:

It was technology day at my house yesterday.   As an early 40th birthday party to myself I got a new TV and sound bar for the bedroom. The 32” was just too small.  Ended up with 50” Samsung 4K, marching soundbar, sub and wireless rear speakers.

Hope your soundbar works better than mine. I have a Sony, and it has been a nightmare. It is supposed to come on when the TV is turned on. Sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't. No apparent reason as to why it behaved like that. Then when it did come on there was always a slight out-of-sync condition between its sound and the picture. It also required both a HDMI cable (apparently for the on/off function) and an optical cable (for the sound itself). Odd design. I eventually got tired of wrestling with it and it is now unplugged.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

Backlash for the tariffs. :@
jmonroe

That was cute but since Canada was slapped with a 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminum, with threats of additional tariffs on U.S. made cars, we have placed tariffs of 10% on the following goods to make back the same amount of money;

washing machines, steel and aluminum, orange juice, frozen pizza, beer, manicure products, boats, ketchup, coffee, nut butters and jams, yogurt, coffee, licorice, chocolate, prepared meals including pizza and quiche, cucumbers, gherkins, soya sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, flavoured water, whiskies (particularly bourbon), manicure and pedicure products, shaving products, dish detergent, candles, glue and various types of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.

The amount of money gained from tariffs is the same....just the cost of these goods will be more, which will hurt sales, especially because there are supply options.

I don't know if this part was thought through. Canadians may not buy D3 cars if they become more expensive due to tariffs....when cars from Asia and Europe and the rest of the world will stay the same.

It is a sad day that we have to impose unnecessary tariffs on our best friends...but, it has to be done.

I don't know why you call us (the USA) your "best friends". Best friends don't tax TWICE for products like your list shows you do for "ketchup and manicure products". I'd hate to think how many times you tax your enemies for these products. :@

As for when we celebrate July 4th, it will be done on July 4th. Kinda hard to call it July 4th on some other date but our politicians will probably work that out some how to be politically correct since there have been rumors floating around for a few years now that July 1st and other dates feel offended. Can't have none of that anymore.

Anyway, you guys have a nice Canada Day. I just had a thought, our politicians should get together and do the PC thing and call it North America Day. That way we could have the longest parade route ever seen. I kinda don't like that idea but I wouldn't put it past PC politicians.

jmonroe

tjc78

ab348 said:

It was technology day at my house yesterday.   As an early 40th birthday party to myself I got a new TV and sound bar for the bedroom. The 32” was just too small.  Ended up with 50” Samsung 4K, marching soundbar, sub and wireless rear speakers.

Hope your soundbar works better than mine. I have a Sony, and it has been a nightmare. It is supposed to come on when the TV is turned on. Sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't. No apparent reason as to why it behaved like that. Then when it did come on there was always a slight out-of-sync condition between its sound and the picture. It also required both a HDMI cable (apparently for the on/off function) and an optical cable (for the sound itself). Odd design. I eventually got tired of wrestling with it and it is now unplugged.

So far so good.   HDMI from the Cable box and then HDMI from the soundbar to the TV (plugged into the ARC enabled input).  

ab348

jmonroe said:

I don't know why you call us (the USA) your "best friends". Best friends don't tax TWICE for products like your list shows you do for "ketchup and manicure products". I'd hate to think how many times you tax your enemies for these products. :@

Those were in response to your guy putting tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. So there. :@

jmonroe

ab348 said:

jmonroe said:

I don't know why you call us (the USA) your "best friends". Best friends don't tax TWICE for products like your list shows you do for "ketchup and manicure products". I'd hate to think how many times you tax your enemies for these products. :@

Those were in response to your guy putting tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. So there. :@

I understand but why tariff us TWICE for the products I mentioned?

jmonroe

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

andres3 said:

So my lawyer scheduled the trial for November, at the County Seat. That's a fair bit of advanced scheduling. Hopefully my opposition transfers to a more lucrative law enforcement agency far far away by that time.

https://www.motorists.org/issues/speed-limits/langlotz/

Great study on how the IIHS can post studies with more holes than the Titantic in 2018.

I thought the whole case was tossed out. Guess I read the post wrong.

The whole "El Cajon" East County case was put in the proper place, with a Change of Venue to the County Seat. The failure to appear at a Court I never signed to appear at is what was thrown out. The original speeding ticket that started the whole charade still has to be litigated.

Lot of goverment wheels turning for a lousy $250 or so (low over speed on speeding).;

You know you can save yourself a lot of this time and frustration by just slowing down a bit.

If you had paid attention, you'd know I did slow down a bit, that's why this speeding ticket is less than others. 5 over "safe speed" as defined by Mr. LEO (15 over posted limit) isn't as expensive as a speeding ticket for 20 over.

The point being that this is all over an argument of 5 MPH given the basic speed law is subject to the interpretation of "reasonable and prudent" given conditions.

andres3

oldfarmer50 said:

iluvmysephia1 said:

I hear these 2013 Ford Focus ST's are fun to drive and pretty tight. No one's picking this one up in Alamogordo.

The Mrs. wouldn't want any kind of transaction for any kind of car right now, period. $11,500 is fair for one of these with 61,000 miles, I would think.

I've been impressed with the Foci I've driven for Enterprise and those were not the high performance model. Handling was good and acceleration was good for whatever little engine a rental trim has.

If the ST is the performance version you'd get a heck of a ride. Over 250 hp in a light weight car. The only down side is the reported problems with the 2012-16 Ford DCG tranny that has a lot of complaints. You'd get a standard shift in the ST I presume.

Great mid to late life crisis car. I think someone post a video here of a stunt driver drifting a ST Focus until the tires fell off.

I'd go for the Focus RS. However, Ford reliablity issues scare me away.

qbrozen

Every manufacturer's reliability gives me concern, so might as well drive what I like.

andres3

qbrozen said:

Every manufacturer's reliability gives me concern, so might as well drive what I like.

Surely some dealerships have treated you better than others when there's a problem though?

ab348

jmonroe said:

ab348 said:

jmonroe said:

I don't know why you call us (the USA) your "best friends". Best friends don't tax TWICE for products like your list shows you do for "ketchup and manicure products". I'd hate to think how many times you tax your enemies for these products. :@

Those were in response to your guy putting tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. So there. :@

I understand but why tariff us TWICE for the products I mentioned?

jmonroe

Where do you get the "twice" part? Unless you use ketchup when you are giving yourself a manicure.

fintail

I can imagine the Canadian market choosing non-US cars out of principle alone - I've read this is already being done with other products, and I can't blame them.

Some mysteriously claim this is the "art of the deal" and how things are negotiated, but nobody with any real world knowledge, business credentials (inheriting a slumlord empire from daddy doesn't count), or economic credentials would call it the way forward. It is a cool distraction from Russian laundromats operated in tandem with German banks, anyway.

driver100 said:

I don't know if this part was thought through. Canadians may not buy D3 cars if they become more expensive due to tariffs....when cars from Asia and Europe and the rest of the world will stay the same.

It is a sad day that we have to impose unnecessary tariffs on our best friends...but, it has to be done.