Do you use your air conditioner in the vehicle you drive? (Austin: spring break, condo)

[capcat]

Yes, I use the AC. It would be miserable without. I've had cars with broken ACs, and one that never had an AC. That one had vinyl seats, plus it was a 3 speed on the column with a metal shifter. Talk about hot, and not even an AC to cool anything down once I got inside. I had to keep a towel in the seat and a rag in the car so that I could shift gears without getting burned.

[cBach]

By the way, if your A/C ever goes out, follow this trick that the US Air Force uses when they have to start planes in the desert heat that have been sitting on runways in 120 degrees (can be 145 degrees in those planes) and even though the A/C works fine, it is quite slow to get below 80. Place a few towels in your freezer, then place them in a cooler. When you get into the hot vehicle, wait until you are very hot and sweaty, then place the frozen towel around your neck. You will instantly feel cold. Take the towel off quickly and place back into the cooler as you can get hypothermia (I'm not joking the neck is the place to cool off your body). Then, reapply the towel whenever you are hot again. Works like a charm and you will never get hot.

You can also substitute a wet hankerchief for the frozen towel, and just leave it on. That's what the cowboys did to stay cool in the Wild West. The evaporation on the towel will keep you cool, and again, if you keep your neck cool your body will be cool as your aorta is the heat transmission system in your body.

[sinking]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

Not one of the six vehicles in my family has any trouble with August heat and the A/C on. The temperature gauge on my Honda doesn't move above the midpoint no matter what the outside temperature is nor whether I use A/C.

The temp gauge in most appliance cars won't move much unless it is actually dangerously overheating so it does not alarm the driver.

[austin944]

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

Sorry, didn't mean to sound like I was whining. I can get it checked if I want. Guess I wanted to complain. Actually, I thought about getting on my high horse about not using AC because it's better for the environment. Then I'd preach about how you can't call yourself "green" if you use AC in your car. See where all that went? I did find it odd though when I see most everyone using their air when they claim to like the heat. Maybe only real Texans don't use AC. Must be all transplants I see.

You must be driving an old car like me. I've got an '84, daily driver to work, with no AC. I'm going to fix it this weekend with a recharge. It's been leaking very slowly, and I'm going to add some dye to find the leak. I couldn't find the leak with an electronic leak detector.

You can buy Freon on Ebay with a license for about $25 per can, and the license is not really hard to get, easier than getting a driver's license. The City of Austin won't let ordinary people buy R-12, but I've not been able to find it locally anyways. They've longed since stopped selling it in stores. Sometimes fixing AC is not really too hard, not much harder than doing a brake job.

If your car's low on refrigerant, the compressor will run more often, putting more of a load on the engine and helping to overheat it, if it's an older inefficient type of compressor. My '84 blows pretty cold even at 2/3 charge though. Sometimes those older 4-cylinder cars don't have good AC and it's better to leave the windows down on a hot day.

[Jerksticks]

I'm a transplant from Chicago and I'm still waiting for a hot day where AC is necessary. When do people start using the AC in their cars; July-August? I see people with their windows up now and I find myself scratching my head. These 95-100 days feel fine, especially with the cool breeze blowing in. Feels like paradise.

I particularly love the posts about avoiding sweat. Avoiding sweat? Haha, if I see one of you sweat-avoiders on the street I'm going to make it a point to offer you some of mine. "Here, have some sweat. You might like it...being human and all."

Are you trying to convince people that you are the one person on earth who doesn't make sweat? GMAFB- It's ok, let it happen.

I love this state unconditionally

[ScoPro]

A/C in my car?

What for?

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

You lucky dog ScoPro!! Nice car! I'm jealous.

[Gorfml]

what kind tard doesn't use the ac in the car? this isnt 1950...

[cBach]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

A/C in my car?

What for?

When you drive that around, you don't need A/C!

[cBach]

Originally Posted by Jerksticks

I'm a transplant from Chicago and I'm still waiting for a hot day where AC is necessary. When do people start using the AC in their cars; July-August? I see people with their windows up now and I find myself scratching my head. These 95-100 days feel fine, especially with the cool breeze blowing in. Feels like paradise.

I particularly love the posts about avoiding sweat. Avoiding sweat? Haha, if I see one of you sweat-avoiders on the street I'm going to make it a point to offer you some of mine. "Here, have some sweat. You might like it...being human and all."

Are you trying to convince people that you are the one person on earth who doesn't make sweat? GMAFB- It's ok, let it happen.

I love this state unconditionally

Do you use A/C in your house?