[flyingtigers]

Just wondering...to those who have a vacation condo in Vegas...what do you do if you are not coming back for an extended period of time in the summer? Do you leave the A/C on at all? Do you take any precautions because of the heat? Hide "meltables" like candles in the fridge?

[barryhussein]

That's a good question. I will answer from the point of view of someone, who has had condos in Bull****e City, AZ and Phoenix, AZ. If it is 100% empty turn off the power and the water. If you have any good electrical items (tv, stereo, fridge), I would leave the a/c on 89F. It's another case where a 30 usd Honeywell Programmable Thermostat will come in handy and help you save big. You could probably program it to cool to 89-90F from 15:00 thru 18:00, and it may not even come on, other times. Start the Summer with a clean filter. If you don't cool, and leave the fridge on, that will harm the fridge. Notice the warning on your fridge to not use outside or in garages. I had a really trustworthy retiree from Orange County checking on my place every week or two. A storm can trip the breaker, or a power outage can do the same. It may sound like a hassle, but you would have far more headaches in a freezing cold area--Tahoe for example (shoveling snow off of the roof so it doesn't collapse, etc...).

[flyingtigers]

Thanks for the reply. What about if you were only going to be gone for a month or so? Would you do the same? This place would be fully furnished, a weekend getaway kinda place.

[barryhussein]

Yes. I would shut the water off, at the main, and turn ice-maker off, but leave fridge on.

[olecapt]

I would also shut off the interior water. I would do it for anything more than a day away. Note that all pressurized hoses should have the stainless braid. Losing a hose on an upstairs appliance or faucet can be a disaster.

Note though that you need the landscaping water on.

I suggest always leaving the thermostat at 89 or so. If you allow the home to swing free you will get enough of a swing in some places that you will cause wall board damage. Basically the temperature change works nails and tape such that you get seams failing and nails popping. Long term foreclosures often show such damage.

Refrigerators work fine in garages. The manufacturer generally specifies 105 but in fact all that happens is you lose performance up to 115. We run a ten year old freezer and a twenty five year old box in the garage Both work OK.

[flyingtigers]

Thank you, gentleman.

Would there be any concerns about what is left out? I mean things like candles, hair gels, anything under pressure that might not withstand the heat?

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by flyingtigers

Thank you, gentleman.

Would there be any concerns about what is left out? I mean things like candles, hair gels, anything under pressure that might not withstand the heat?

I have never seen anything have trouble but long taper candles. They will sag if it stays much above 90 for any period of time. I would expect all the pressurized stuff to stand at least 125 and likely 140. I would not try it but note that car trunks and shipping containers hit such temperatures.

[jpk]

One thing that wasn't mentioned was to turn down the water heater. I set mine to Vacation, which just keeps it lukewarm.

I just installed a solar powered attic fan to hopefully take some heat stress off the attic and roof when I'm gone during the summer months. Don't have enough experience yet to say if it makes a difference in keeping the attic cool. You might not even have an attic in your condo anyways.

[barryhussein]

I installed a pair of wind turbines in my attic in Thailand. I noticed a big difference. There, it was 150 usd for both of them, and the roof was 45 degrees in slope, so that included the adapters. My HVAC guy in Bullshiite City said attics there reach 170F in the Summer. Frying an egg is nothing--how about cooking a tray of lasagna?

[jpk]

Originally Posted by flyingtigers

Thank you, gentleman.

Would there be any concerns about what is left out? I mean things like candles, hair gels, anything under pressure that might not withstand the heat?

Oh yeah, I've had some issues with liquid soap dispensers and shaving cream cans. For some reason the soap oozes out of the dispenser when they get hot. I've had a few small soap puddles to clean up when returning home after the summer. But that is about it.