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Around here, they sell extension cords specifically marked for air conditioners (for dumb people like me who don't know about gauges). I imagine you could find one in Walmart.
Thanks for everyone very helpful info, decided not to go thru the hassle of removing the AC, i'm just going to buy a heavyduty
extension cord that can support my 5,000 BTU. Required 15 AMP
115 Volts
Thanks for everyone very helpful info, decided not to go thru the hassle of removing the AC, i'm just going to buy a heavyduty
extension cord that can support my 5,000 BTU. Required 15 AMP
115 Volts
It's 14 gauge and it's plenty heavy for a little 5,000BTU unit. The 5K won't draw half that current. These 14gauge and larger generally do come in the flat cords. Copper prices have caused a giant leap in prices.
Remember most household receptacles are good for 20 amps. But if there is more than one receptacle on the same circuit (total of 20 amps or less on all receptacles on that circuit). Trailer homes use 14 gauge wire and have 15 amp circuits generally, at least in the past. It is of course best to have a dedicated circuit for any A/C. But, this is rarely provided.
According to instructions, "Avoid fire hazard or electric shock. Do not use an extension cord or an adaptor plug."
This is stated by manufacturers for good reason. If you use too light or too long an extension cord you can have a voltage drop. Reduced voltage can cause the compressor motor to have start up problems. This can shorten the life of the compressor and or unit. Using an adapter (ground adapter) allows you to plug the 3 prong grounded A/C plug into a two hole polarized but non grounded outlet. This in effect does away with the safety provided by the ground connection. Many times people have replaced old non ground type receptacles with ground type receptacles. With these you can plug the 3 prong plug directly into the receptacle. There will still be no ground though unless a ground wire was added to circuit when the receptacle was replaced.
Remember to check all connections on these A/C's regularly. Keep curtains and other materials away from receptacles. When using ground adapters especially ...heat builds up in these connections. Over time these can lead to weakened contact and greater heat build up. Eventually can cause a fire. Heat will build up in the weak link of the electrical chain so to speak.
If you're operating a window A/C without a true ground use caution. Never touch the case outside especially if bare footed. With no ground circuit to route a short to the earth ground you will provide the path of least resistance. Compressor motors for instance become shorted to ground quite often. If this were to happen it makes the entire outer shell of the unit hot electrically. Without a ground circuit this type of short may not trip the breaker or blow the fuse. Safety #1 priority!
It's 14 gauge and it's plenty heavy for a little 5,000BTU unit. The 5K won't draw half that current. These 14gauge and larger generally do come in the flat cords. Copper prices have caused a giant leap in prices.
Remember most household receptacles are good for 20 amps. But if there is more than one receptacle on the same circuit (total of 20 amps or less on all receptacles on that circuit). Trailer homes use 14 gauge wire and have 15 amp circuits generally, at least in the past. It is of course best to have a dedicated circuit for any A/C. But, this is rarely provided.
That isn't true at all, most "general lighting" circuits are 15 amps. By current code, the only 20 amp circuits in a brand-new home would be for the microwave, the garbage disposal, and the washer/dryer. On an older home, all bets are off. There could be knob & tube wiring in the op's house for all we know. The biggest worry for me would be why they need an extension cord. Current code is for an outlet on every exterior wall surface, and if I remember correctly - no more than six-feet apart. If the home is wired like that, you would almost never have a need for an extension cord.
If it were me, I'd want to know for sure how the home is wired, if the wiring is aluminum, and probably swap the outlet for one of the "commercial" outlets with better quality guts at a minimum. Paying for an hour of an electrician's time to verify that and perhaps upgrade the outlet at a minimum would be money well spent, IMHO.
That isn't true at all, most "general lighting" circuits are 15 amps. By current code, the only 20 amp circuits in a brand-new home would be for the microwave, the garbage disposal, and the washer/dryer. On an older home, all bets are off. There could be knob & tube wiring in the op's house for all we know. The biggest worry for me would be why they need an extension cord. Current code is for an outlet on every exterior wall surface, and if I remember correctly - no more than six-feet apart. If the home is wired like that, you would almost never have a need for an extension cord.
If it were me, I'd want to know for sure how the home is wired, if the wiring is aluminum, and probably swap the outlet for one of the "commercial" outlets with better quality guts at a minimum. Paying for an hour of an electrician's time to verify that and perhaps upgrade the outlet at a minimum would be money well spent, IMHO.
If they are wired with 12 gauge copper wire they're good for 20 amps! Period! You may use 15 amp breakers on the circuits. Don't know where you live but 12G is standard here for lighting etc. All knob and tube was all 12 g far as I know. The chances of finding a home that still has knob and tube wiring are negligible. All aluminum wiring for regular circuits are outlawed in these parts and done away with long ago. Neanderthal stuff. I assure you a 20 amp receptacle is built no heavier than a 15 amp only the configuration is different.
Now please don't muck up an excellent post with baloney!
I've always had central air, the place i'm residing now don't have central air. So I buy air conditioner, put it in the window, after i'm done, I notice in the instructions, it says "Power supply cord must be plug into a wall receptacle."
"Do not use an extension cord or an adapter plug." Well, I put the AC in a window far from a wall outlet, so I end up having to use a extension cord & adapter plug.
Now I've got to go thru all the trouble of removing the AC & putting it in a window near a wall outlet!
Wish I had known this prior.
All you need is an extension cord that is heavy enough.
Typical outlet wiring is 12 guage "weight." If you make sure you get a short extension cord that is at least 12 guage, you'll be fine. If you're feeling a little scared about it, get a 10 guage extension cord. You'll be fine.
If they are wired with 12 gauge copper wire they're good for 20 amps! Period! You may use 15 amp breakers on the circuits. Don't know where you live but 12G is standard here for lighting etc. All knob and tube was all 12 g far as I know. The chances of finding a home that still has knob and tube wiring are negligible. All aluminum wiring for regular circuits are outlawed in these parts and done away with long ago. Neanderthal stuff. I assure you a 20 amp receptacle is built no heavier than a 15 amp only the configuration is different.
Now please don't muck up an excellent post with baloney!
Neanderthal stuff? Really? The op never said how old the house was, and the fact that there is not an outlet anywhere near the a/c (and the fact that there is no central a/c!) is a huge tip-off that the house is not modern. In my area, there are huge numbers of homes with aluminum wiring - even though it's not legal for new homes, there are many *many* homes that still have it. I've personally seen lots of older homes with knob & tube wiring kludged into what looks like "modern" wiring, with heavily overloaded circuits & while it might work for a while, it can burn your house down.
Paying for an hour of an electrician's time is the sensible thing to do & it's cheap peace of mind.
This is stated by manufacturers for good reason. If you use too light or too long an extension cord you can have a voltage drop. Reduced voltage can cause the compressor motor to have start up problems. This can shorten the life of the compressor and or unit. Using an adapter (ground adapter) allows you to plug the 3 prong grounded A/C plug into a two hole polarized but non grounded outlet. This in effect does away with the safety provided by the ground connection. Many times people have replaced old non ground type receptacles with ground type receptacles. With these you can plug the 3 prong plug directly into the receptacle. There will still be no ground though unless a ground wire was added to circuit when the receptacle was replaced.
Remember to check all connections on these A/C's regularly. Keep curtains and other materials away from receptacles. When using ground adapters especially ...heat builds up in these connections. Over time these can lead to weakened contact and greater heat build up. Eventually can cause a fire. Heat will build up in the weak link of the electrical chain so to speak.
If you're operating a window A/C without a true ground use caution. Never touch the case outside especially if bare footed. With no ground circuit to route a short to the earth ground you will provide the path of least resistance. Compressor motors for instance become shorted to ground quite often. If this were to happen it makes the entire outer shell of the unit hot electrically. Without a ground circuit this type of short may not trip the breaker or blow the fuse. Safety #1 priority!
I don't think the voltage drop and potential compressor issues are the primary reason. As others have already stated, the more immediate danger is overheating of the extension cord and subsequent fire due to inadequate current carrying capacity.
I also don't agree with your grounding advise. If the device has a 3-pin plug with ground, it needs it to meet UL or other regulatory certification that requires a grounded chassis due to either potential leakage currents (from starting capacitors, noise suppression circuity or compressor motor issues) or due to a loose hot wire coming into contact with the chassis. Since you cannot guarantee who may touch the unit, it is incredibly bad advise to even contemplate running the unit off an ungrounded input. As you said safety is #1 and in this case this means the unit must be grounded, no question. Of course if the unit is double insulated then perhaps a case can be made (but that is not something you can easily ascertain), but most units are metal cased or have some touchable metals parts.
In a lot of countries, the manufacturer uses an integrated MCB/GFI in the power input to further protect the user. I'f it were me I'd also put a GFI on all window units (think of moisture or critters causing leak to earth issues).
Last edited by timfountain; 06-26-2012 at 07:21 PM..
Standard warning to prevent lawsuits, too many people hooking them up to little extension cords that might be OK for a single light. You need a heavy duty extension cord.
Exactly. If you use a good heavy duty extension cord, 14 gauge wire or bigger, you are fine with essentially any length of extension cord.
Depending on how hard or easy it would be to do, though, a good single recepticle 20-amp plug, close enough to the window to avoid the need for an extension cord,wired in with 12-gauge Romex, would be a neater and more idiot-resistant solution. I favor the 20 amp plug as it has higher spring tension so it grips the plug tighter, lower resistance connection, and favor the 12 gauge wire as it will have less voltage drop for a given length of wire. The single-recepticle is to avoid some numbskull plugging in another high-amp-draw device in parallel with the A/C unit.
Kind of surprised you were surprised it needed a plug - did you think it ran on microwaves from Mars?
Kind of surprised you were surprised it needed a plug - did you think it ran on microwaves from Mars?
Um, I think he meant he was surprised that the instructions said it needed to be plugged into a wall outlet instead of an extension cord. (Although I must admit I read his post the same way at first!)
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Safety #1 priority!
(Although I must admit I read his post the same way at first!)