I'm in the group that was raised with swamp coolers. One of my chores was to take the garden hose and wet down the straw inserts in the sides of the swamp cooler and fill the bottom. We didn't have the auto-water hooked up on it.
Lounge Lizards / Misfits / Free Thinkers / Bohemians & the Forgotten :: Young at Heart Only
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Years ago my sister lived in a triple decker just outside of Boston. There was a heat wave of 103 deg+. The two of us sat in the 2nd floor living room with our feet up on an old circular fan and had squirt gun fights. The breeze from the fan and the splats of water effectively cooled us and we had a good time with lots of laughter. So what if we were about 26 and 20 yrs old at the time, we were like little siblings fighting again.
I have to say, I always enjoy these type Posts, where a sometimes lost memory seems to surface .. because, I think that's what it's all about .. random conscience discussion that leads to an organic Flow .. thanks ..
'Afternoon everyone...
I'm going to put my personal intolerance to the heatwaves down to two factors....age and humidity...
I was never bothered by it when I was young. I remember vividly stepping off the plane on Guam at night, when I was 14, and the sensation of just having stepped into a steam bath. There was no AC, ceiling fans, or swamp coolers. Both houses and classrooms had many large windows with no glass, but screens and wooden louvers, and aside from that initial impression, I wasn't affected by the climate there.
I've mentioned it before, that I never owned any kind of AC in house or car, until I moved to the East. I loved hot summers up until then.... It's the humidity that I can no longer take when coupled with the heat...
I'm going to put my personal intolerance to the heatwaves down to two factors....age and humidity...
I was never bothered by it when I was young. I remember vividly stepping off the plane on Guam at night, when I was 14, and the sensation of just having stepped into a steam bath. There was no AC, ceiling fans, or swamp coolers. Both houses and classrooms had many large windows with no glass, but screens and wooden louvers, and aside from that initial impression, I wasn't affected by the climate there.
I've mentioned it before, that I never owned any kind of AC in house or car, until I moved to the East. I loved hot summers up until then.... It's the humidity that I can no longer take when coupled with the heat...
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'Afternoon everyone...
I'm going to put my personal intolerance to the heatwaves down to two factors....age and humidity...
I was never bothered by it when I was young. I remember vividly stepping off the plane on Guam at night, when I was 14, and the sensation of just having stepped into a steam bath. There was no AC, ceiling fans, or swamp coolers. Both houses and classrooms had many large windows with no glass, but screens and wooden louvers, and aside from that initial impression, I wasn't affected by the climate there.
I've mentioned it before, that I never owned any kind of AC in house or car, until I moved to the East. I loved hot simmers up until then.... It's the humidity that I can no longer take when coupled with the heat...
That reminds me that until we moved to Lafayette when I was 16 we had no ac at my school, just huge windows with no screens and a huge fan in each room. All the fans seemed to do was make lots of noise, they didn't help with the heat. When we asked about ac they said the school was too old to put in central ac. I can remember occasionally being bothered by the heat but we got used to it. It's either hotter now or I just can't get used to it anymore because I can't stand even being in the car a few minutes without ac.
I am just the opposite, the older I get the colder I get. I vowed, after the great ice storm of '09 here in central Kentucky, that I would never complain about the heat again. I have been good to my word.
I think I'm the only one young enough to grow up with ac. Plus I was in a suburb of New Orleans. I think it was a law or something that you had to have ac in the suburbs
I don't remember the real young years, but when we first moved into the house in Flossmoor, IL (southern suburb of Chicago), we had no a/c. My brother had a window unit because he was asthmatic. He always had a/c and I would sometimes sleep in his upper bunk. After a many years my parents put in central a/c. Much better!
I lived in the upper desert of So Cal for several years back in the 70s. I had a cabin in the desert (Yucca Valley) with 2 rooms (kitchen and living/bedroom) and a bathroom. I had a little portable swamp cooler. I would fill it with water and it would last about 8 hours before needing a refill. Got me through the night, but nights usually cooled off anyway. With such low humidity and a constant breeze (wind), it worked just fine. I would fill it and use it when I was home. When I worked, I worked in a/c.
Since moving to Florida in the early 80s, I have always had a/c. Don't know how people lived down here without it. I know they built houses with architecture conducive the prevailing air currents to help focus the wind/breeze to help cool the house. The humidity is what gets to me the most. Nice after an afternoon storm and the air cools, but often the humidity is still very high.
We replaced our ancient HVAC system last year and it is much more efficient so the electric bills are lower in spite of running almost constantly in this heat. We keep the temp at 79, but it still removes the humidity so good for us.
I lived in the upper desert of So Cal for several years back in the 70s. I had a cabin in the desert (Yucca Valley) with 2 rooms (kitchen and living/bedroom) and a bathroom. I had a little portable swamp cooler. I would fill it with water and it would last about 8 hours before needing a refill. Got me through the night, but nights usually cooled off anyway. With such low humidity and a constant breeze (wind), it worked just fine. I would fill it and use it when I was home. When I worked, I worked in a/c.
Since moving to Florida in the early 80s, I have always had a/c. Don't know how people lived down here without it. I know they built houses with architecture conducive the prevailing air currents to help focus the wind/breeze to help cool the house. The humidity is what gets to me the most. Nice after an afternoon storm and the air cools, but often the humidity is still very high.
We replaced our ancient HVAC system last year and it is much more efficient so the electric bills are lower in spite of running almost constantly in this heat. We keep the temp at 79, but it still removes the humidity so good for us.
I grew up in a house with a whole house attic fan. Noisy but effective and I remember falling asleep to the sound of it.
My DH and I bought our house in '94 and it came with central ac. We closed on a very hot and humid day so we put a small sofa that had a pull out in the back of the car, packed up a cooler with a bottle of bubbles, and spent a comfortable night camping out in an empty house.
Although it hurt the wallet, when we had to replace the HVAC system, we upgraded to a more efficient unit. At times like this, we're glad we did.
My DH and I bought our house in '94 and it came with central ac. We closed on a very hot and humid day so we put a small sofa that had a pull out in the back of the car, packed up a cooler with a bottle of bubbles, and spent a comfortable night camping out in an empty house.
Although it hurt the wallet, when we had to replace the HVAC system, we upgraded to a more efficient unit. At times like this, we're glad we did.
As many of you know My original ethnicity is half Greek half French so I grew up in Greece in the 50s/60s. There was no air conditioning of any kind for home or commercial use.
In homes, people opened their windows wide in the evening and closed them back up early morning. That kept temps comfortable enough until that evening when we repeated the process. During the hottest months (July and August) commercial establishments (stores, restaurants, banks etc) closed down in early afternoon when it was the hottest for 2-3 hours and opened back for the evening. Most of them also had these huge ceiling fans that really moved the air around. Most homes didn't.
In homes, people opened their windows wide in the evening and closed them back up early morning. That kept temps comfortable enough until that evening when we repeated the process. During the hottest months (July and August) commercial establishments (stores, restaurants, banks etc) closed down in early afternoon when it was the hottest for 2-3 hours and opened back for the evening. Most of them also had these huge ceiling fans that really moved the air around. Most homes didn't.
When we moved into our home in Philly in 1975 it had a/c.....we just thought that was the cat's pajamas! My daughter still comments to this day that it was such a luxury and at the time it truly was! Today, it's a necessity!
When I was a child growing up in downtown Philly, I don't remember Mom & Dad ever complaining about the summer heat, and we had some hot summers in Philly! They just took it in stride. Today's heat index seems to be much more intense than it was years ago....guess that's cause it is!
When I was a child growing up in downtown Philly, I don't remember Mom & Dad ever complaining about the summer heat, and we had some hot summers in Philly! They just took it in stride. Today's heat index seems to be much more intense than it was years ago....guess that's cause it is!
We also keep our temp set at 79o anything more than that is too cool, but when we have a house full, then we do turn it down to 76.
My dad's 1949 Ford had AC to keep us coo!
A #2 washtub with a block of ice in the washtub on the floorboard sitting between the front seat passengers and an open hood vent blowing across it. !!!!!
A #2 washtub with a block of ice in the washtub on the floorboard sitting between the front seat passengers and an open hood vent blowing across it. !!!!!
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It's the Amish 'loophole'. Not all the Amish take advantage of it, but it is somewhat common. They're not physically connected to the outside world like with a landline. Also, many of the Amish use electricity 'out in the barn' like for auto-milking machines ... again they take advantage of the 'loophole' and run a gas generator for electricity ... yep, no wires connecting them to the outside world.
I grew up in a house w/ no A/AC too. And my parents never did install even a window unit. That's the way they grew up and lived and so it was, even in their adult life. A/C in school ... not for my 1st 6 years of schooling, those where just old small school houses. I did 4 years in an 8 room school house and 2 years in a 2 room school house. That was my favorite one. I still remember my days there intimately. When the 2 teachers wanted to gather the entire student body (all 2 class rooms) together, they just raised the black boards to the ceiling and both rooms became one. The black boards actually formed the dividing wall of the 2 rooms.
70o? Why bother having A/C. We keep our thermometer set at 72-73o year round regardless whether the heat or A/C is the active mode of the HVAC system.
You would not like visiting my daughter, Brian loves cool temps and keeps the house no cooler/warmer than 68o. Now that I find too cool when the A/C is running and too cold when the heat is running. But what do you expect from someone who grew up in the Colorado mountains and is just used to 'cold' weather. This is the 1st time he's lived on the East coast and is barely tolerating the hot/humid Philly weather.
Good morning!
80 degrees here this morning with 92% humidity. The heat index says it feels like 87, but I say it just feels heavy and oppressive. Going up to 97 today so we're having all the kids here to use the pool. We were in yesterday and it feels like the pool could use an air conditioner or maybe some blocks of ice. It's like stepping into bath water.
80 degrees here this morning with 92% humidity. The heat index says it feels like 87, but I say it just feels heavy and oppressive. Going up to 97 today so we're having all the kids here to use the pool. We were in yesterday and it feels like the pool could use an air conditioner or maybe some blocks of ice. It's like stepping into bath water.
Good afternoon everybody!
82 degrees with a high of 82. This is unheard of in July but I'm not complaining!
82 degrees with a high of 82. This is unheard of in July but I'm not complaining!
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