Things you don't want to hear

There are probably lots of things you don't want to hear your air conditioner installer say. Quite high on my personal list -- right at the top, as a matter of fact -- is:

"The new heat pump won't fit through the gate."

followed closely by:

"Looks like the fence'll have to come down."

This is not a hypothetical statement. On the contrary, when I recently got my less-than-state-of-the-art heat pump and positively decrepit air handler replaced, these were pretty much the first two pronouncements made by the installer. Seems that, while the sales rep dutifully measured to make sure they could get the air handler into the attic space, he somehow neglected to similarly check the access to my back yard.

The gate and fence in question are the ones I replaced myself some time ago. This was the first time I'd needed to get anything bigger than the lawn mower into (or out of) the back yard, and it never occurred to me that it might be a problem. After all, the previous owners had obviously gotten the existing heat pump in through a gate the same width (although, admittedly, only about half the height). Of course, the new heat pump is about twice the size of the old one.

Well, in the end it turned out that all they had to do was take out the section of fence next to the gate, seen in the photo above. And having installed the bugger myself, I actually knew that it was feasible and exactly how to do it without destroying anything. The heat pump went through with an inch to spare, they replaced the fence panel, and all was well. (Well, the day lilies are a bit the worse for wear, but it looks like they're going to survive.)

So I am now the proud owner of this 15 SEER heat pump, with a matching variable speed air handler tucked up in the attic (where I am not going to go just to get a picture). It's incredibly quiet; you don't even know it's running unless you're right next to it.


The old one, by contrast, sounded somewhat like an airplane taking off. And considering that it was only a 10 SEER unit, I'm expecting to see a significant drop in my electric bill. Which will be A Good Thing (tm), because the new system has put a rather large dent in my bank account, to put it mildly.

Next up: a new roof and gutters!