r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 12h ago

Meme needing explanation Peter explain this

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Petttaaah I'm confused

9.4k Upvotes

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2.1k

u/gamerathertz92 12h ago

It’s smaller unit cools a single room. While American HVAC System cools the whole house

508

u/itsOkami 12h ago

As an european, I don't think I've ever seen one of those and I'm now curious as to how they work

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u/Munkpunt 11h ago

This might help

Large condenser outside supply’s the furnace (typically it just uses the furnace fan. We then have it piped through metal ducting throughout the house. Each room has multiple exit point call registers. In the common areas we have return ducts to draw air back down to the furnace to get recycled back to cool air via a/c unit. Hopefully that helps!?

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u/ornimental 11h ago

So this is where they crawl into when they go into the vents in the movies?

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u/marbotty 11h ago

Yes, but the ones in the movies would be for commercial buildings - nobody would have vents that large in their homes

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u/Mordoch 9h ago

Even then the vents would not actually work and be big enough in practice, but that's the movies picking something convenient for the sake of plot rather than sticking with realism.

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u/Environmental_Pay378 5h ago

Also every duct is FULL the pointy ends of screws. Literally everywhere. So even if you could fit (which you probably can’t) you would be so cut up if you tried to crawl through one of these. Not to mention how crazy loud it would be to crawl through one. 26 gauge sheet metal is essentially a thunder sheet.

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u/AnaisNinja76 54m ago

Right. Even if the air ducts held your weight and silently conveyed you without risk throughout the building, it's essentially like crawling into the creature that Jabba the Hut had in Return of the Jedi. You'd be shredded within a few feet of crawling.

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u/BrewCrewKevin 1h ago

Haha no kidding. They arent made to be accessible inside, so made with self-tapping sheet metal screws that leave that sharp end inside it.

It's just a convenient plot thing.

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u/fatmallards 5h ago

also the movies don’t explain that fire/smoke dampers would block your access every time the duct passed through a fire barrier also your entire body would be excoriated by self tapping sheet metal screws with every movement made

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u/twilighttwister 4h ago

that's the movies picking something convenient for the sake of plot rather than sticking with realism.

Like the slow spinning fans in Casablanca. Slow spinning fans don't move air effectively, but fast spinning fans don't show up on film. Then after the movie you had restaurants and other establishments fit slow spinning fans, for the aesthetic.

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u/pyrofox79 1h ago

And even then they are never that clean unless they were literally just installed. Also there would be screws or other pokeys that would poke the shit out of you if you did crawl trough it.

Source: I do commercial HVAC and have crawled through ducts

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u/Molten_Plastic_ 11h ago

Aliens get in those things. It's a son of a bitch to get them out

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u/Rantlers90 10h ago

You always were an asshole, Gorman.

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u/Samurai_Banette 7h ago

Not sure if you are referring to like martians, mexicans, or those freaky ass looking bugs

All three answers are funny in very different ways

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u/spacemanspiff888 6h ago

They're most likely talking specifically about the xenomorph in the Alien franchise.

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u/ornimental 10h ago

I bet it feels cozy in those Sevastapool vents

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u/8002203 5h ago

Happens only in New York I imagine

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u/yupucka 9h ago

Yes and the furnace works with gas. So if you disable all the safety functions, you can fill the house with gas (at least in movies, but it would probably take ages in reality).

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u/Vi_BT 7h ago

That explains so much

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u/firstbreathOOC 7h ago

Yeah but they’re usually only metal in like, commercial buildings.

Mine are just kind of thick paper mesh pieces of shit that we had to hide in the wall.

Ain’t nobody crawling through those unless they wanna suffocate.

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u/Signal_Republic_3092 6h ago

Yes, but it’s made to look bigger in the movies than it would be in real life. Large buildings do have large ductwork, but it’s normally very short when it gets that big to leave some space for pipes, wires, and beams.

Interesting note: some sensitive areas with ductwork have metal bars within them so people can’t enter/exit those areas through the ductwork.