Sleeping with the Trains

72 degrees with very low humidity (hopefully from your dehumidifier) can be pretty comfortable.  So, you really got lucky.

I had a similar AC failure 10 years ago, and had to sleep on the cool tile floor of a ground level bathroom, with the doors shut and the cold water shower running all night long to absorb the heat!

After one night, . . . I drove 20 miles to a Holiday Inn Express!

Heat as you have described it starts around May 1st and lasts until October 1st in many of the southern states.

Mannyrock

@Nation Wide Lines posted:

NWL

That is an awesome wall of trains.  It would be a great place to sleep.  I hope that your AC is fixed soon.  It appears that the AC repair people in your area are very busy at this time of the year.  NH Joe

@bigkid posted:

Well, at least you should have good dreams of trains! Been there with an early season heat wave and the AC broken (when I had central AC). I kept a portable AC on hand after that, which could work in a room where the central AC wasn't effective or in the bedroom if the AC failed. Actually using a portable unit in my basement instead of a de humidifier, in its 'eco mode' it keeps it comfortable and runs a lot less than the dehumidifier did.

But does that keep the basement dry?

Better than sleeping with the fishes!

My AC has broken twice in 40 yrs.  Both times were on the fourth of July.  The second time was on Sunday, July 4th.  The first time I went to a big box store and bought a window unit.  Everyone moved into the living room for a few days.  The second I just brought it out from under the table in the train room for a second tour of duty. 

I can't imagine how the pioneers in central and South Texas survived. 

Good luck NWL.

Comment to aussteve post.

Clothing was optional back then, mainly loin cloths.  LOL

Our split system, which cools and warms the upstairs, likely froze up due to low coolant and the temp is 90 up there. Worked fine all day and quit before bedtime. Wife on sofa and me in recliner with downstairs AC cooling fine! My AC man will be here in the morning.

As one who lives in the Phoenix Valley, A/C is essential 9 months of the year here. My shop uses a swamp cooler that keeps it around 75 degrees but the humid air can be a reminder of the years in NC, VA and FL with humidity in the mid 90's and higher.

I am looking forward to a new house, new shop and train room this time next year when it finally gets built.

Good luck on your repairs and enjoy the opportunity to HAVE to run some trains.

@pd posted:

But does that keep the basement dry?

Yes, it does.A/C's in general take humidity out of the air, when the air is cooled in the unit it causes condensation (the drip you see outside). A dehumidifier is basically an A/C, it has a compressor and it causes condensation, just doesn't blow air over a heat exchange4.

The unit I have has an eco mode that basically brings the temp and the humidity to an acceptable range, so it is comfortable. What is nice is it doesn't run all that often, and so far keeps it at 60% humidity and around 70 temp. The unit also has a dehumidify option for when it is cool but damp.

Alas, simply an electrolytic capacitor replacement! Back in business!

@Tinplate Art posted:

Alas, simply an electrolytic capacitor replacement! Back in business!

I know I had the capacitor replaced a few years ago and I suppose it could have gone bad again, but my system is 20 years old, so I am hoping it is something simple and inexpensive.

Luckily the high temps broke today and I am sitting here with the windows open at 79 F. 

My train room is upstairs and it is also my ham radio "shack", so no trains or radio last night! Latest acquisition: ICOM 765.

@BlueComet400 posted:

Great place to sleep. I've done the same thing on occasion as my train room is the only room in the house with A/C. We have so few really hot days in New England that it's hard to justify buying even a room air conditioner, but my min-split heat pump gives the trains a better living environment than we have.

I also have a mini-split in the train room.  I actually use it more for heat than A/C, it gets down to 62-63 in the dead of winter down here, so it's nice to be able to kick in a little heat.  Later in the summer I'll use the A/C a few times.

However, I'm not a masochist, we have central air for the whole house.

A/C is a must-have in your neck of the woods, John. I used to live down there and remember the HHH (Hot, Hazy, Humid) summers.

I'm very happy with my mini-split except for one thing: lost shelf space.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Our German Shepherd/Beagle mix, would bark like crazy at the train when I ran it. I think she thought it was a snake. LOL

Our dog has been feed by Thomas the Tank engine ... a very useful engine ...

A chow train - COOL! 😀

I'm wondering if the old "Gravy Train" dog food was so delivered

Well behaved pup !

My beloved BonnieDog ( now deceased after 13 years who survived a brown snake bite at age 11! ) , well to put it politely she would have INHALED the entire train , its contents and most likely have been slurping up the track like spaghetti !

Chocolate Labrador .. a stomach on 4 legs

@Fatman posted:

Well behaved pup !

My beloved BonnieDog ( now deceased after 13 years who survived a brown snake bite at age 11! ) , well to put it politely she would have INHALED the entire train , its contents and most likely have been slurping up the track like spaghetti !

Chocolate Labrador .. a stomach on 4 legs

Ours , black lab/pit   can be very gentle ... or , a bull in a china shop 🤣

When she gets zooming through the house , everything not on a table , goes flying !

I have a 10 month old black lab and a 4 year old chocolate lab.  They love to chase each other around the house and yard, but rarely get into the train room.  The loss of the ac is an exception to get them down there, as well as when there is a tornado warning.  Otherwise, I am wary of their tail wagging as it can knock trains off their shelves. 

They did do well in sleeping in the train room, as it was nice and cool and they slept on their dog bed.