When To Replace Your A/C Print

Grand Canyon University Historian Dr. David Dean looks at the history of how Independence Day was celebrated in early Arizona.  And historical Arizona events that happened on July 7th.

Dr. Dean poses the question about the early days of the west:  Is it a place or a process?  A process in adapting to the conditions of the west.

Traditional 4th Of July celebrations are based on the east coast.  As the country progressed west, Arizona celebrated with 2 unique events.

Teddy Roosevelt's character was built on his experiences in the west.

Arizona's early Independence Day celebrations included rodeos and native pow wows.

Rodeos showcased skills and challenges.  Pow Wows were great gatherings showcasing art, religion and culture.

Flagstaff hosted the most prominate 4th Of July Pow Wow for 50 years.

Prescott Rodeo Days is the oldest 4th Of July event dating back to 1888.

Warren Earp, brother of Wyatt Earp, was shot and killed in a duel on July 7th.

Another Arizona event on July 7th:  Work began on Hoover Dam on July 7th, 1930.  Completed in 5 years.

Stories surrounding the construction of Hoover Dam.

First man made structure that exceeded the amount of masonry found in the Pyramids.

Another Arizona event on July 7th:  Sandra Day O'Connor appointed the first woman Justice of the Supreme Court by President Reagan.

List of not so great Justices in history.

Under Roosevelt, the Supreme Court could have up to 15 justices.

A quote from March 1924 regarding an election year.

Register to win the next Rosie On The House Arizona Staycation from Sanderson Ford

Julie with The Arizona Farm Bureau with guest Charlie Montgomery of Rousseau Farming Company.  July is National Watermelon Month.

Rousseau pushes about 2 million pounds of melons a day in season.  He describes the process from planting, watering, to harvest.  

They grow about 1200 acres of watermelons and ship across the country.  Most stay in Arizona.

Average watermelon is about 92% water.  

Explains how they grow 'seedless watermelon'.

200-300 varities of melons around the US.

Watermelon harvest dates back to the Egyptians.  

CALLER:  Thinks seedless are not as sweet as watermelons with seeds.

Why watermelons aren't transgenetically modified.

Jan D'Atri makes a delicious Watermelon Cake.  Find the receipe CLICK HERE

Watermelon is good for lowering blood pressure, insulin resistance and a good post workout treat for soreness.

Picking a watermelon, start with the label.  Majesty and Pacific are Rousseau Farms melons.  Nice round contrast with a yellow belly.  Should sound hollow when you knock on it.  

Shelf life of watermelons?  Stripes matter?

Rousseau Farms grows a lot of other vegetables besides melons.

How much is the weight inside a watemelon compared to the rind?  How much weight can a watermelon hold when stacked on top each other?

CALLER:  Wants to grow watermelon in a garden.  How long does it take and when do you know its ready to pick.

Getting ready for the monsoon.

Discussion on condensate drip from your A/C unit and why its important to make sure its dripping properly.  Clogged drip pipe can back up and cause damage.

Lack of rainfall and wind can cause stress and cracks to your roof.  Good to have your roof checked for potential leaks before monsoon rains.

CALLER:  Has a partial basement with the above kitchen floor slab.  They've had issues of the grout and tile keeps cracking on the slab floor.  Rosie digs into some possible solutions.

Rosie covers the APS report of the week.

CALLER:  Has a roof with 2 sets of shingles thats 25 years old.  There are different roofing companies going around her neighborhood saying the old roofs are bad and not to contact insurance until they look at it.

CALLER:  Wants to know whats cheaper to run in the garage:  A freezer or a refridgerator/freezer?  She explains the story.

CALLER:  The laundry dryer vent is blowing out cool air.  Is that normal?   Plus he corrects Rosie on using the term 'flood'.  Its water damage.

More preventative information on water damage.  

When to replace your A/C.  Get some great background info on our BLOG.

Richard Roja of TRANE AIR CONDITIONERS explains how an air conditioner works.  

A/C simply moves hot air and humidity out of the house and cools the air in.  But Richard goes into detail.

More about condensate.

A/C can be installed as a single unit (on the roof here) or as a split system.

Discussion of seer ratings on today's air conditioners.  Seer is the efficency rating of a unit.  Higher the better.

Discussion of today's A/C compressors.  From dual speeds to variable speeds.

Your only asking the equipment to work as hard as conditions require it to.  Part of how far A/C has become over the decades.

CALLER:  Has a roof unit.  Wonders if taking the unit off the roof and using 2 smaller units on the ground would save him money.  

What should a homeowner see when they get a contractor to give an estimate to replace a unit.  Ask for a heat load or manual j calculation.

CALLER:  Related to super cooling, could using window units be efficient in cooling the house.

Discussion of ductless mini-split systems.  The most efficient way to cool off areas.  The fastest growing industry.  Extremely high seer ratings.

CALLER:  Wants to know if you leave the A/C fan on all the time and set the temperature to 74 degrees, its saves money.  

Richard talks about running the fan cleans the air.

One inch pleated filters replaced once a month.

CALLER:  Is it efficient to get a smaller A/C unit and use mini splits to cool room?