The Duct Tape Fix
I had a friend in high school, Blake, who always said you can fix anything with duct tape. I never doubted that claim, having solved numerous problems with it and knowing the single thing that probably kept Apollo 13 from turning into a spectacular meteor shower was that very same adhesive of the gods. Never start a big job without duct tape.
Tonight, I had my own fantastic experience with duct tape.
Last night, when I pulled the condensation tank out of the air conditioner in my bedroom to empty it, I broke the sensor that determines whether the tank is full. If the tank is full, the air conditioner stops working so it doesn't overflow, and in breaking the sensor, I set it permanently in that mode.
The sensor is actually a metal lever that's connected to a sort of plastic button, and I somehow bent that lever. For the next 15 minutes, I tried furiously to bend the lever back into its original shape, using my other air conditioner's lever as a guideline, but I didn't have any luck with that. I tried so hard, I even got blood all over the condensation tank.
Eventually, I went to sleep with no air conditioning but with my ceiling fan switched to high. It was warm and humid, but at least the air was circulating.
Tonight, I had another go at solving the lever problem. With a little creative engineering and about three square inches of duct tape, I was able to force the lever into a position where it's always pressing the plastic button! That's right, the air conditioner will now always think the tank is less than full, even if it's overflowing. I'll just have to remember to empty it frequently. No problem.
Once again, duct tape to the rescue.
Comments
I'm glad that you got your air conditioner working again. I looked up duct tape on wikipedia, and it was interesting to find out some of the creative uses of duct tape. All I can ascertain is that there are a lot of people out there with a little too much time on their hands. Now you'll be able to sleep comfortably until your move to Newark. Good luck.
Posted by: arc | July 19, 2007 08:33 AM
I'm surprised that the air conditioner doesn't have a drainage system to drain the overflow if the condensation tray is full. Oh... you said tank, not tray. I have no clue about that then. In any case, I'm glad you have air again. :-)
The other great thing is WD-40. Man... if it's moving and shouldn't, use duct tape. If it should move, but isn't, use WD-40. Great rule!
Posted by: helen | July 19, 2007 01:34 PM