Fixing my Through-The-Wall air conditioner dilemma

One of the warts of our 106-year-old house is that it does not have central air conditioning.  Over the years I have explored installing some type of cooling system but it has always been cost-prohibitive.  In the Master Bedroom, we have what is known as a Through-the-Wall air conditioner.  What some crazy or visionary previous owner did was take a small window and sealed it off to hold this unit. It is a very old, SEARS Coldspot.  How old?  When you google the model number you get Maytag refrigerators because Sears stopped making these around the time Nixon resigned.

While it still works in the “it turns on” sense, it doesn’t produce cold enough air if the temperature reaches a certain point.  That point being the temperature one would turn an AC unit on.

It’s hard to find anyone who works on these units these days because most homes have central air or at least SpacePak.  But lo and behold, I found a recommendation on my local Facebook neighborhood group for a place that does this type of service.

I called Bob and from our initial phone call, I had a gut feeling I would not be happy.  Bob kept cut me off while we were talking.   I’m willing to adhere to the “respect your elders” mantra up to a point.   I don’t believe this Missionaria Protectiva gives someone a free pass to be abusive, or even just a plain old dick.

I was trying to ascertain whether it was worth his time to look at my ancient AC unit.  He said that he can usually do something to get these older units going and I wishfully believed him.  What I should have done, and he confirmed onsight, was send him a picture of the air conditioner.  I mean I did tell him it was a SEARS Coldspot and anyone in the business should have been able to say “hey they haven’t made those in at least 20 years!”

Bob came over, looked at the unit, pulled it partially out of the sleeve and took some measurements.  He said that he could try to powerwash the coils for $500 but couldn’t guarantee that would help.  He recommended a new unit and could do the job for $940.  He’d also give me $20 off as credit to the $109 service charge for that day’s visit.  Whoopie.  He apparently didn’t hear my question about how much was labor and how much was the unit.  

So after feeling sorry for myself and my $109, I did some research.  After watching a dozen Youtube videos, along with the one thing that Bob showed me — how to remove the existing unit — I felt confident that I could buy another Through-the-Wall and install it myself.

[placegallery]

We found a unit on Amazon for $375.  I was hesitant to order something instead of buying something at a nearby Big Box Store in case the sizing didn’t fit but we opted to go for as inexpensive as possible because everything we save on one home repair, we get to spend…on another home repair.

Update:  We also qualified for a ComEd Energy Saving rebate so knock another $25 off the total cost!

Like me, you probably dislike all of the ads on this page. They pop up unexpectedly, sometimes cover text, start playing videos and clutter the post itself. We bloggers have no control over any aspect of the ads (content, form, placement, etc). I am sorry that they have taken over our blogs on ChicagoNow and appreciate your continued support.

Follow Mysteries of Life on Twitter (@MysteriesOLife), Facebook or subscribe via email.

The Humboldt Park Alligator Saga bothers me and I’m not sure why

Earlier this week a friend shared a post on Facebook about an alligator discovered in the lagoon at Humboldt Park.  Uncle Ivars posts frequently about many bizarre and diverse things, usually ahead of the wave of things that go viral.  I shared it with the following:

Fucking gentrification. When I lived in Humboldt Park, no self-respecting crocodile or alligator would live anywhere near there.  Now they walking with their double strollers, sipping fish-flavored lattes and eating frog and avocado toast. All while causing property taxes to skyrocket for the old time residents.

My audience got a kick out of that.

But soon the media started to pay attention…….The alligator now has a name, Chance the Snapper, though I think Hector Smolinski would be more appropriate.  And two twitter accounts!  @HumboldtGator  and @HumboldtParkGator probably have more followers than I do as well.  People are going to the park to watch the hunt for Chance.  Maybe because the All-Star break is this week and there aren’t a lot of sports to watch?

I grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood in the 70s, 80s and a bit of the 90s before moving as soon as I could afford a place of my own. Back then, I can tell you, there was nothing interesting or exciting about Humboldt Park.  Nothing that would make you make a special trip to the hood unless you had to be there.  We had crime, gangs, and drugs. Not as bad as many West Side neighborhoods but still. I recall in high school even my Hispanic friends who lived elsewhere were like

“You live where? No, I cannot give you a ride home but here’s some bus fare money.”

The park was actually one of the few bright spots back then. I spent hours after school exploring the park, including the lagoon, which by the way has a man-made island called Turtle Island.

It didn’t really look this pretty back in the day

Where was all this media attention when people when the neighborhood was struggling?

Maybe I’m just feeling a little Daoist and not knowing how this will turn out.  My mom still lives in the money pit crapshack house I grew up in.  The Four Horsemen of Gentrification have already started riding throughout the 606.  What if some developer decides that they really want to step up their game.  Maybe they offer my mom market value for her home.  Or maybe they go the bribe the aldercreature route and suddenly my mom is on a first name basis with the city inspector.  Who Knows.

By the way, it seems the borders of Humboldt Park have been shifted (thank you realtors) and it’s possible I was in West Town instead of Humboldt Park. Fuck that noise, as we use to say, it was Humboldt Park!
New Rule: If you live 2 blocks from a park that a neighborhood is named after, you are in that neighborhood.

 

Like me, you probably dislike all of the ads on this page. They pop up unexpectedly, sometimes cover text, start playing videos and clutter the post itself. We bloggers have no control over any aspect of the ads (content, form, placement, etc). I am sorry that they have taken over our blogs on ChicagoNow and appreciate your continued support.

Follow Mysteries of Life on Twitter (@MysteriesOLife), Facebook or subscribe via email.