Hopefully I don't offend. But, if you used a 16 gauge x 50' cord as in picture. It looks well worn, too. You need an electrician or DIY'er friend to overlook your wiring. Could have takenyou and your unsuspecting neighbors out. We all have things we are good at and not so good at.
edit: I don't think an electrician you might hire would want the liability of help to use any extension cord with your AC unit. Think your on your own. Good luck and be safe.
i am greatly offended. however, i'm also somewhat moist, as it's a pretty humid day, so i am making progress on the AC unit, and not plotting my revenge.
(i'm going to watch this Sunday's game of thrones premier for inspiration)
rest assured, now that i'm aware of the problem, i will be monitoring it to ensure that no one becomes crispy on my account. the cable currently (excuse the pun) runs under my foot, and will remain there until i'm satisfied that there's no problem.
Probably would be a good idea to replace the wall socket as well. This will make the connection as good as possible.
I doubt the landlord would want a fire. An air conditioner is not an unusual item to have in an apartment. You might feel him out on adding a higher current circuit. Could save you all in the end.
my landlord is a property management company, and they're absurdly cheap, and they don't believe in preventative maintenance. they'd be more inclined to sue me or demand i buy a new air conditioner. I like my old sears/kenmore monster. I complained about a leaky kitchen sink drain, and, after first trying to convince me that it really wasn't leaking, and that all the water damage to their cabinetry was merely an illusion, they expanded the definition of 'bare minimum' by running a bead of silicone around the sink instead of fixing it properly, which would have required some work lifting the sink, but the same amount of silicone. i try not to involve them whenever possible.
How would I deal with this?
1. Cut the old plug off the AC unit, abd about 6" of cord. Skin back the newly cut off cord and inspect for heat damage. If OK, re-terminate with a quality Hubbel, or commercial grade leviton plug. Get an expensive one, no cheapies here.
2. Measure the length of the extension cord required, add 10%, and buy that length of 12/2 "cab tire" cable. The black heavy bulk industrial grade extension cord stuff. I like Carol branded cable but there's others. Try and get something made in USA. Terminate this cord with plug and sockets of similar quality to the plug in step 1.
3. Run the air conditioned on maximum and feel the plugs, sockets, cords, and wall sockets for heat. If anything is getting more than mildly warm after hours of continuously operation, you have a problem.
4. Don't trust the factory molded extension cord sockets for continuous high ampere useage.
Best regards
thanks for this, i may yet make my own extension, but for now the Canadian Tire one will have to do. I am quite certain that the problem here was the plugs, this AC unit was gifted to me, and i think spent some time in the outdoors, the old plug is very green, even the ground prong is pretty corrroded, i'm sure that's the reason why there's no damage outside of the male and female sockets that i posted already. I used a real beefy leviton plug for the AC unit
http://www.leviton.com/en/products/515PR, and it draws about 10A after 45min at max. the new plug and extension cord fit together with a snugness that would make my girlfriend jealous, i think it will be OK.....but i'm still leaving it under the desk where i can check the temp. frequently.
