As we've mentioned before, it is very uncommon in Italy to have any kind of permanently installed A/C in your apartment, so for the past month and half, we've been working on acquiring a portable unit and then figuring out how to get it to work where we need it. We had saved some money for this purchase, and were crushed (CRUSHED) on the hot day we eagerly plugged it in for the first time only to have it blow all of our electrical circuits. To make a LONG story short, it look five weeks to get our electric company to raise the electricity allotted to us--yes, you only get a 3000 watt allotment unless you agree to pay a hefty fee for them to raise it AND agree to pay more for usage. Once we finally got that taken care of, the unit still killed our circuits. The problem this time. . . old wiring that couldn't handle the wattage needed to start the condensor.
After trying every last option, we finally found some success. Crazy, Italian-style success, but we praise the Lord for it anyway! Cody shares the story of the journey to air conditioned relief:
"What the heck am I lookinig at?" I'm sure that is what you are asking yourself right now. Well, now that the summer months are in full swing, we've officially completed our jury-rigged, duct tape and bailing wire A/C unit. This picture is where the cold air begins it's journey. Some of you may know that electrical wall outlets are not standard in Italy. There are three different Italian sizes and wattages, and just for fun, there is a random German outlet that shows up from time to time. Trying to match plugs, extenstions, adapters, and outlets is a national past time here. At any rate, this is one of two outlets in our home that has wiring strong enought to handle the current of our A/C unit when the condensor kicks in. Otherwise we blow the circuits. Fun times!
Unfortunately, this outlet is in the kids' bathroom. Also where our washer and dryer are plugged in. So, we had a specially-made 15 meter extension cord made that has all the right adapter sizes and is rated up to 3000 watts. Depending on what room we want to cool down, we have to run the extension cord through the house to the A/C unit. This particular picture shows the cord running to our living room. For that to happen, it must travel down the length of our hallway, past the entryway, and into our living room.
Once the cord enters the living roon, we run it along the wall behind our dining room table so the kids don't trip over it and do any major bodily damage. In order to do this, we pull out the table, thread the cord behind it, run it around the crafts cabinet in the corner until it arrives at our portable A/C unit.
Now comes the fun part. Once we wheel the A/C unit into a certain room, we have
to roll it over to the nearest window and vent the hot air that is produced. Because our windows swing open instead of slide up and down, there is no way to get a great seal. So, we keep the window open, but slide down the "tapperella" (the heavy duty black-out shade) to mate with the A/C vent tube. By and large this works pretty well. We're in the process of getting a piece of particle board cut to complete the seal. Once all of that is done, we plug her in, and get her fired up. It takes a few minutes for the compressor to kick in, but once it does, it really makes a difference.
As you can only imagine, it's gotta be really hot in order for us to feel motivated enough to set all this up. But believe us when we say there have been plenty of days we have joyfully done it for a little relief from the heat.
Another insight into daily life in Bologna. :)
After trying every last option, we finally found some success. Crazy, Italian-style success, but we praise the Lord for it anyway! Cody shares the story of the journey to air conditioned relief:
"What the heck am I lookinig at?" I'm sure that is what you are asking yourself right now. Well, now that the summer months are in full swing, we've officially completed our jury-rigged, duct tape and bailing wire A/C unit. This picture is where the cold air begins it's journey. Some of you may know that electrical wall outlets are not standard in Italy. There are three different Italian sizes and wattages, and just for fun, there is a random German outlet that shows up from time to time. Trying to match plugs, extenstions, adapters, and outlets is a national past time here. At any rate, this is one of two outlets in our home that has wiring strong enought to handle the current of our A/C unit when the condensor kicks in. Otherwise we blow the circuits. Fun times!Unfortunately, this outlet is in the kids' bathroom. Also where our washer and dryer are plugged in. So, we had a specially-made 15 meter extension cord made that has all the right adapter sizes and is rated up to 3000 watts. Depending on what room we want to cool down, we have to run the extension cord through the house to the A/C unit. This particular picture shows the cord running to our living room. For that to happen, it must travel down the length of our hallway, past the entryway, and into our living room.
Once the cord enters the living roon, we run it along the wall behind our dining room table so the kids don't trip over it and do any major bodily damage. In order to do this, we pull out the table, thread the cord behind it, run it around the crafts cabinet in the corner until it arrives at our portable A/C unit.
Now comes the fun part. Once we wheel the A/C unit into a certain room, we have
to roll it over to the nearest window and vent the hot air that is produced. Because our windows swing open instead of slide up and down, there is no way to get a great seal. So, we keep the window open, but slide down the "tapperella" (the heavy duty black-out shade) to mate with the A/C vent tube. By and large this works pretty well. We're in the process of getting a piece of particle board cut to complete the seal. Once all of that is done, we plug her in, and get her fired up. It takes a few minutes for the compressor to kick in, but once it does, it really makes a difference.As you can only imagine, it's gotta be really hot in order for us to feel motivated enough to set all this up. But believe us when we say there have been plenty of days we have joyfully done it for a little relief from the heat.
Another insight into daily life in Bologna. :)
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