Oy, what a day...
Category: Kitchen Sink...
Posted Friday, September 23, 2005 at 10:04 PM [GMT-6]

Well, it actually started last night, as we returned from Ben Stein's lecture to a house that seemed...well, awfully warm for one with a brand spankin' new (and darned expensive) air conditioning system. We decided that we had managed to mess up the high tech thermostat, so I fooled with it for a while, then MLB fooled with it for a while. The fan was blowing, but the air was not as cold as it should be.

We had a fitful night, and the temperature never dropped below 78°. This morning, I sat down with the thermostat's user guide and diligently followed the instructions to the letter, programming it for 70°. By 8:00 a.m., after two hours of non-stop running, the temperature had dropped one degree, to 77, and we'd had enough. I called the installers and got on the schedule for a service call.

We then went for a bike ride in what can be described as a flawless jewel of a morning...cool (cooler than inside our house!), calm and clear. The 22+ mile ride was quite enjoyable and even relaxing.

About thirty minutes after we returned, the service guys appeared at our front door. One of them greeted me with the words, "I was sure hoping I wouldn't see you again this soon!" The feeling was mutual, of course.

I explained the problem and he confirmed that we had, indeed, properly set the thermostat; they then went into diagnostic mode. After about ten minutes of investigation outside, they came back in and asked where our breaker box was located. A light started to come on in my mind.

We went into the garage and I opened the breaker panel door. Sure enough, the 50-amp breaker was tripped...and that was the whole problem. It didn't occur to me to check the breaker because the fan continued to run. I never considered that the condenser and the fan would be on different circuits (even though there's a very good reason -- which shall remain unshared -- for why I should have known). I think the service guys were as relieved as us that the problem was so easily solved.

They theorized that the breaker tripped when the condenser unit was unplugged and then plugged back in right after the final installation checkout. Because we were out most of the afternoon and evening, we never noticed that the cooling wasn't what it should have been until it was too late. We'll know better next time.

The a/c is working fine now. In fact, I can barely type this, as I'm shivering so badly. But we're not about to turn down that thermostat anytime soon!