WHEN THE EXPERTS HAVE SPOKEN

The Dong family, missionaries to China, would be home in a week. With the help of newlyweds Cory & Brandi, my brother Greg, and friends, Barbara & Dennis, we had their house, my temporary home, in “move that bus” order for their homecoming. This 5-week visit would be their last for almost 2 years. 

In the midst of all this work, and in the middle of the worst heat wave in Cincinnati history, the air conditioner went out. Temperatures were over 100 degrees with 50% humidity for more than 8 days. The air conditioner first started tripping the circuit breaker every few hours, then every 5 minutes, before shutting down completely. I really wanted to get the air conditioner fixed before the Dong’s got home, but I was also being selfish.  HOT is cool when it comes to coffee, soup or that guy at the gym, but I was going crazy!

I first called Hauser HVAC. They told me it needed a recharge of the coolant R20. Sounds simple, right? Au contraire. Because of a new law, a unit may only be recharged once due to damage to the o-zone. Hauser knew they had recharged this unit in 2010, so the entire unit would have to be replaced to the tune of $5,318-$7,174. The bill: $89

I decided to get a second opinion, but  I had to wait 6 scalding days before the appointment. Two hours before his arrival, he canceled because he had heat stroke!  How appropriate. With the house at 106 degrees, I knew it wouldn't be long before I suffered the same fate. I desperately called six HVAC companies trying to get a last minute Saturday appointment. I figured they didn't know about the past R20 recharge (because I ripped the tag off the air handler!) and would do it as a temporary fix. Yes, I was desperate enough to break the law! The first five companies had nothing available for another week, but Service Experts said they would come between 6 and 8 that night. Yeah!


My son Cory called around 5 o'clock to see if I would watch my 3-month old granddaughter, Ayress. I told him the house was too hot for a baby.  He said, “By the way, Mom, I've been thinking about the problem with your air conditioner. I think it might be a bad circuit breaker and not the air conditioner. Blah, blah, blah.  Blah.  Blah, blah, blah.”  Translation: technical stuff I didn't understand. “I’m going to pick up a circuit breaker and come over and see if it works.” Before he could get here, the repairman arrived. He spent a LONG time checking everything out. Cory told him about his idea, but the well-trained repairman didn’t think that was the problem. Somewhere in the midst of all this, Brandi and I clasped hands and prayed for the air conditioner, the Dong’s, and my sanity!!

The repairman informed me that the coolant was fine, but the compressor in the outside unit was toast, in very technical language, of course. I figured Cory must have been wrong and lost all hope of experiencing a cool moment. The repairman called in another expert, so I stood in the driveway listening to them blah, blah, blah and bash the competition, and share the cost to replace the unit: $7,270 to $10,160. The bill for their expert opinion was $99.

For some crazy man-reason, Cory continued his quest to change out the circuit breaker, even in the face of three EXPERT opinions. I figured I’d let him have his fun. The $73.29 part could always be returned. I was sweating it out vacuuming the master bedroom when Brandi yelled for me to come into the living room. She wanted me to feel the cool air pouring from the register. Me of little faith, assumed it was a temporary fluke and the circuit breaker would trip at any moment. I found Cory outside cleaning the insides of the air conditioning unit with a hose. The minute I saw his smiling face, I knew it wasn’t temporary. He KNEW he had fixed the problem. Within hours, the house  was nice and cool. Cost: $73.29 and one night babysitting my sweet little Ayress! Savings: $5,318 to $10,160!!

I always knew that Cory, a transportation exec, was smart, but now I believe he’s a GENIUS. I am also reminded  that my God is AMAZING and that in the worst of times, even when the so-called experts have spoken, He may be sending someone with a circuit breaker to save your day. Thank you, Cory. Thank You, God.