The first summer after I was forced by divorce to move into the Boars Nest my wall shaker air conditioner quit. My landlord was in China visiting relatives and I had no air conditioning the last two weeks of July and the first week of August. My apartment receives all of the morning, mid day and afternoon sun. I'd come home and find it 120F or more and then open the windows and doors, turn on a couple of fans and wait for the night cool.
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The failed air conditioner was the original that was installed when these apartments were built about 25 years or MORE years ago. The apartment behind me still has the original and it's still functioning.
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So once back in Walla Walla my landlord ordered a replacement. That one lasted about 7-8 years and it failed. It's replacement lasted 4-5 years. I would agree with the saying; "They don't make 'em like they used to." AND IT'S GETTING WORSE!!
Today my latest AC was installed and as usual I'm left with the mess, sealing etc. This unit like the others had dings in the fins which make them less efficient than they could be. The other two had far more damage and I did to them what I will show what I did with this one:
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I just used a blade from my jackknife to gently pull the bent fins away so air could get by:
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Anyway, the heat exchange should be slightly better than it would have been if I'd not taken a few minutes to tend to the fins.