COLD DARK ROOM

[Pastel Tortie]

Lol. Hey now... I am feeling verbose this morning. And bored and lonesome.

You're in the right place!

 

[Pastel Tortie]

No joke. And don’t tease me about Maine. That is somewhere I am very drawn to. I just worry about winter. Soooooo pretty. I haven’t been that far northeast though so I don’t know if I will really really love it.

Maine is another place I'd like to visit. Alaska, too.

 

[Lokkje]

A while ago Markw84 posted pictures of his pond, and it showed some pretty nice-looking sail cloth shades over his yard. Have you ever thought of shading your yard either with shade cloth or sail cloth?

TOPHOMEDEC

TOPHOMEDEC

tophomedec.com

I’ve never got any shades because I have the tree somewhat shaded but it is a good idea to try. It’s better than just letting everything die.

 

[Lokkje]

I would be near death if we didnt have our a/c on. Heat wave running here & oppressive humidity. ?

Some people run evaporative coolers but it’s absolutely horrific in August when the humidity goes up and it’s still 110+. I’m running my air conditioner but I keep the house set at 82 due to the cost.

 

[Lokkje]

A while ago Markw84 posted pictures of his pond, and it showed some pretty nice-looking sail cloth shades over his yard. Have you ever thought of shading your yard either with shade cloth or sail cloth?

TOPHOMEDEC

TOPHOMEDEC

tophomedec.com

I want to live in Mark’s backyard. I wonder if he could mistake me for a tortoise or a fish.

 

[Lokkje]

Arizona and New Mexico both use them, also known as “swamp” coolers. They stink on days when there is actually humidity. And they can only cool your house down by about 10 degrees. Have to run them early to keep houses cool and then usually switch to AC. But then the ac is dealing with fighting the humidity the swamp put into the air, so lots of water condensing. My house in NM is equipped with a “industrial” swamp so it manages to cool 2200sq feet by about 15 degrees then it has to be switched to ac. House wasn’t equipped with Ac unit which is extremely common in NM. So I had to buy two huge floor units that vent out windows and have hoses that are run to drain either into a bucket or outside. Those units are supposedly the best and between the two capable of cooling 3000sq feet. They are also supposedly the most efficient and cost about 1200 for the pair. They would increase the electric bill about double. So normal bill of 60-80 would go into the 110-160 range. And electricity in NM isn’t too expensive.
Swamp cooler raises the bill about 30-60 a month. Then the AC unit about the same. So bad summers there can make the bill hit the 200s.

Swamp cooler also have to be serviced. They have these mats in them that the water covers that the fans push air through to get the cooling affect. Those mats can be cheap and cost 50-100 to replace and that’s done yearly or if you are lucky maybe every two years. They can be cheap straw looking stuff or look more like the woven plastic fiber stuff like goes into your furnace, so that affects the price as well as to how many mats and the sizes your swamp needs.
The industrial units use a more heavy duty mat that need replacing less 4-8years. But the cost is huge. Mats for my unit are 400.
Now add water usage as well. Water in my neighborhood is cheap. 30-40 bucks a month for a household of 4(no city sewer-most houses have a septic tank that needs pumped out) That bill will double when running the swamp on my house. Then add in that water in that area is HARD. So a filter must be added to the water line for the swamp cooler. That filter on my unit must be replaced yearly and the cartridge is 70.
Then most people pay someone to do the maintenance. A yearly “fee” to have the swamp and furnace serviced is about 500. Swamp has to be drained and cleaned and covered and mats changed out- spring and fall. And of course the furnace is cleaned and filters changed- spring and fall.

So to end this little educational moment. Lol sorry I was new to swamp coolers when I moved to NM so I find it interesting. I am not really a fan of them and think it’s pretty expensive.

-Meg

My AC bill in the summertime which is about five months runs between three and $500 keeping the house at 82°

 

[Pistachio's Pamperer]

My AC bill in the summertime which is about five months runs between three and $500 keeping the house at 82°

Holy crap. I am sooo sorry. I have been to AZ and parts of it I loved. Also been to Nevada and those ppl are crazy. It was sooo hot my shoe soles were melting.

 

[Lokkje]

But Phoenix is nice & not too humid. It’s a dry heat. Like those dry heat years I spent in Kuwait & Riyadh.

Oh yeah… It’s a DRY heat. These are the dry clouds that bring humidity over my dying citrus in my tiny hot dry backyard. Not helpful are all of the rock and gravel or the fact that I’m on the side of a mountain so even if I decided to get rid of the rock and gravel I would just unearth… Scorpions rock and gravel. I always thought when people flew into Phoenix we should have a sign in the airport saying welcome to hell.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

I’ve never got any shades because I have the tree somewhat shaded but it is a good idea to try. It’s better than just letting everything die.

We use those in Florida, too. I know a koi producer who uses a shade so he doesn't have to use as much energy keeping the water the right temperature in the summer.

 

[Lokkje]

Holy crap. I am sooo sorry. I have been to AZ and parts of it I loved. Also been to Nevada and those ppl are crazy. It was sooo hot my shoe soles were melting.

Unfortunately it’s hotter in the desert areas of Arizona than it is of Nevada. We don’t help matters because we keep paving things and building tall buildings with glass and then of course we have the “global warming” that supposedly isn’t happening. Anyone who says that I’d like to strip but naked and throw outside in the middle of the desert for about 12 hours and see how they’re feeling about it when they’re done.

 

[Lokkje]

Maine is another place I'd like to visit. Alaska, too.

I have been fortunate enough to have traveled to all 50 states plus most of Europe, Asia, and some parts of Africa. My dream trip is to travel to either Iceland or New Zealand as I’ve never been to either. As far as where I would live, I keep going right back to Phoenix even though I complain incessantly about the heat in the summertime. I am fundamentally a desert rat. Truthfully I cannot stand snow or cold.

 

[Yvonne G]

Aspen cooler pads here are only about $5 each and my cooler uses three of them. The pump recirculates the water, so it doesn't take much water, and the pump wears out after about four years. Pump is about $15. It's much cheaper here to run the cooler instead of the AC

Wow! Who knew. I think the mat company is making out. Get these swamp coolers installed in 10,000 houses....charge them x every two years. We can all move to Maine.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Be careful and don’t take any chances with the heat..
I have been soaking all of mine too! They are pretty content to sit in the “water hose” water... I think their soak holes in the enclosure stay pretty warm...

Warm hose water is one thing... Hot hose water would be another matter. Of course, I know you already know that.

 

[Pistachio's Pamperer]

Aspen cooler pads here are only about $5 each and my cooler uses three of them. The pump recirculates the water, so it doesn't take much water, and the pump wears out after about four years. Pump is about $15. It's much cheaper here to run the cooler instead of the AC

Those pads get snapped up sooo fast in NM Home Depot and places can’t keep the cheaper pads in stock. Ppl will buy cases of them once they hit the shelves. Yes we had a hoarding problem in NM even before the virus.
And the water evaporates soooo fast that the pump is pulling new water.
I wish I could get a pump that cheapily. On the old unit the dam pump was a 100 without labor.

So you can gets parts cheaper but yr electricity costs more. Which stinks. We need to rig up a really long extension cord and you can send me pads and parts .. hehe *wink*

 

[Maggie3fan]

I know of a couple swamp coolers in use in Florida... Not a bad way for moderating temperatures in aquaculture greenhouses. I don't know anyone who uses them in their residences, though.

I had one in my house in Fresno, it was right over the bed in the master bedroom and loud as hell and made the blankets moist, I hate them

 

[Pistachio's Pamperer]

I had one in my house in Fresno, it was right over the bed in the master bedroom and loud as hell and made the blankets moist, I hate them

Maggie!!!!!! Yay! Good to see you! I have missed you.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Maggie!!!!!! Yay! Good to see you! I have missed you.

Hi there, hot as hell here, just not doing real well. There's nothing wrong really, but whatever it is I have lost 11 pounds in 3 daze. Torts are lovin playing in the sprinkler all day. They are so funny, keep their body under the sprinkler with their heads out.
Is that fat lizard guy still hanging out here?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Those pads get snapped up sooo fast in NM Home Depot and places can’t keep the cheaper pads in stock. Ppl will buy cases of them once they hit the shelves. Yes we had a hoarding problem in NM even before the virus.
And the water evaporates soooo fast that the pump is pulling new water.
I wish I could get a pump that cheapily. On the old unit the dam pump was a 100 without labor.

So you can gets parts cheaper but yr electricity costs more. Which stinks. We need to rig up a really long extension cord and you can send me pads and parts .. hehe *wink*

I think i would take a look into solar. I have a few panels hooked into a bank of deep cycle batteries that we use here.

 

[Maggie3fan]

I think i would take a look into solar. I have a few panels hooked into a bank of deep cycle batteries that we use here.

Y has solar panels on her roof, I don't know if she still uses them

 

[Pistachio's Pamperer]

Hi there, hot as hell here, just not doing real well. There's nothing wrong really, but whatever it is I have lost 11 pounds in 3 daze. Torts are lovin playing in the sprinkler all day. They are so funny, keep their body under the sprinkler with their heads out.
Is that fat lizard guy still hanging out here?

Jason’s(chubbs-fat lizard guy) uncle had a spleen rupture so he’s been a little more quite than usual.