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I have a window AC of about 13,000 BTUs that last year worked OK but this year keeps making the cord become so hot you can barely touch it and it melts the 3-2 prong adapter (the outlet is 2 slots not 3) and trips the breaker. Understand that last year this AC did just fine with this arrangement, even when it was 96, this year it can't even handle 90.
I also have run space heaters on that outlet in the winter, the breakers never tripped. The extension cord I've used for the AC is thick and meant for such.
Everything I've read suggests the outlet or cord etc, but I'm wondering if it's possibly something with the AC itself. I also think this because I leave it running at night, in part to get it cool to make up for how hot it gets in there by day, and it hums right along. So I'm thinking it's time for a new AC.
They need to be rinsed out every year or two. The heat exchangers get clogged with dust (even in a clean home) and they become very inefficient and draw more power. This happened to me and I thought the AC was done for but after a good cleaning it worked like new.
I also have run space heater(s) on that outlet in the winter, the breakers never tripped. The extension cord I've used for the AC is thick and meant for such.
Tips?
I wouldn't have any faith on the power supply/receptacle/cord, especially if multiple heaters have been plugged into it simultaneously.
If you plug the unit into a different receptacle and the problem follows, the equipment is the problem
I wouldn't have any faith on the power supply/receptacle/cord, especially if multiple heaters have been plugged into it simultaneously.
If you plug the unit into a different receptacle and the problem follows, the equipment is the problem
Yes, I have tried it at different outlets, and the behavior has continued. Again, at night, when it's 75 and no sun, it runs forever just fine. It's during the 87-93'F degrees of the day and with the sun out that it starts acting up.
Also, just now I tried it at the outlet next to it, to where no extension cord is involved and it's grounded, despite it being night, it cut off immediately. Apparently my kid's ACs in the back rooms also operate on that circuit, but again, last year all was still OK at that outlet too. (Moving its connection back to the extension cord, tonight it's running along.)
With respect to heaters being used there in the past, only 1 heater was used at the time, it's just that it was a larger heater meant to heat an entire room. Just this past winter, it worked on that outlet just fine.
I was thinking that it's the air conditioner since it didn't do this last year and since the heater worked fine on that outlet, it's just that when I did a Yahoo! search about this ALL the articles spoke about it in terms of it being the connection, nothing was mentioned about it possibly being the equipment itself, but everything I've observed along these lines tells me that's exactly what it is. (When it starts acting up during the day, besides the breakers kicking off, I also turn it to "fan only" for a while to let things cool off, then let it run at night when it acts OK.)
A/C compressors draw more amps when they're working harder - hotter weather, plugged coils, improperly charged, when they're starting up & when they're about to die. Could be any of those, or some combination of them..
The biggest issue is as posted above - the wiring in your walls.
If your house is wired to code, the outlets in the walls & the wiring going to them are almost certainly rated at 15 amps. Sometimes people use 20 amp wire & 15 amp outlets, but that's rare, cause the bigger wire costs more & it isn't required by code - actual 20 amp outlets are significantly more expensive than 15's, and again, they're not required, so they're almost never used. I do a lot of my own wiring & when you do that & you know the "good" stuff is out there you add it whenever possible. Instead of using 3/$1 light switches, you buy the $3 each, commercial-grade ones.. I don't know anyone else like me & I've never been lucky enough to buy a house from anyone like me, so I wouldn't bet my life on the wiring in *your* walls.
That 13k btu air conditioner is absolutely exceeding 15 amps in draw, every time it starts, even when it was brand new - that's just how they work. As they age, they draw even more when they start up & on central-air units, they use amp-draw to predict failures. In any case - It's most likely drawing 12+ amps even when it isn't working hard. That's too much load, even assuming nothing else is plugged in. If the home was built today, and the builder knew there was going to be a window a/c of that size installed there, they'ed *have to* install a "clean" ( no other outlets on that breaker) 20amp circuit just for that device. Current code requires that for fridges, microwaves, clothes washers, sump pumps, etc - because they draw so much when they start. Just like your a/c does. Temporary discomfort is much better than death & disfigurement, so unplug that thing before you get hurt. Properly-sized wire doesn't get hot & burn the plugs off - you know that!
One last thing - those 2-wire to 3-wire adaptors.. grounded wiring isn't a scam just there to inconvenience you. When an electric motor (a compressor in an a/c unit is a motor) fails, it's pretty common for them to "short to the frame" of the motor.. the "frame" of the motor is the outside metal housing of the motor.. that motor housing is bolted & often wired to the "frame" of the appliance (the part you can touch) - and the frame of the appliance is wired to the 3rd wire, or ground.. so in that kind of failure, the motor shorts, sends the current to ground & the breaker pops. Without that ground hooked up, the frame of the appliance is "live" & anyone who touches it could get killed. At the very least, they're gonna have a bad day. Please google it if you don't believe me.
OK, laugh, but to me every single outlet in the house ought to be designed to handle whatever you throw at it period, AND they shouldn't charge so much. BOTH. A person shouldn't have to think about such things, they should be able to just plug in what they need and go with it AND it shouldn't cost so much. Having an outlet be able to handle a window AC isn't a far fetched possibility, it's not like we're powering the DuPont factory here.
Seriously, if I knew how, I'd BYPASS the breaker box, MAKE it stay on whether it likes it or not. I'm hot, I DON'T CARE that wussy wiring is "hot." I'M hot, that's all I care about. Cool ME, and yes, DON'T CHARGE SO MUCH. Make it RIGHT, or don't make it at all. If wiring can't handle what a person plugs in, that means it's done wrong. It should be illegal to do that AND it shouldn't cost so much.
Rant aside, the thing is, those 5000 BTU units in the bedrooms and the refrigerator AND stand alone freezer I have they all hum along and nothing ever trips or gets hot. That does make me think the 13k AC, which was also that way last year, is the culprit. I don't mind doing routine cleaning to it per se (I've done the filter) other than that thing is HEAVY (dealing with anything heavier than, say, 20 lbs really annoys me) and heaven knows what someone would charge to come out and clean it, if they do that.
I wonder if it's an easy thing to add a dedicated 20 amp circuit from the breaker box just for that? If it can be done, and it would cost (say) $200-300, my inclination is to do that. I suspect, however, it would be more like $500-$800 and at that point I go like "GEEZ!!!"
I feel for you on the weight. They are heavy and that could be a major issue. Getting someone to do things like this for you, if you can't or won't do it yourself, is imperative though. If maintenance things are ignored they only become more expensive and potentially dangerous. Life sucks sometimes but you probably already know that.
By-passing the breaker box will simply cause the wiring in the wall to get very hot and cause a fire in the walls.
The capacity of outlets/wiring is very dependent on the age of the building. Before there were household appliances drawing 15 + amps the 15 amp circuits were more than enough to handle the demands put on it. Modern times have lead us to appliances that draw more than 15 amps. Even if the appliance draws only 10 amps by itself you have to add in the current draw of every item plugged into the same circuit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shyguylh
OK, laugh, but to me every single outlet in the house ought to be designed to handle whatever you throw at it period, AND they shouldn't charge so much. BOTH. A person shouldn't have to think about such things, they should be able to just plug in what they need and go with it AND it shouldn't cost so much. Having an outlet be able to handle a window AC isn't a far fetched possibility, it's not like we're powering the DuPont factory here.
Seriously, if I knew how, I'd BYPASS the breaker box, MAKE it stay on whether it likes it or not. I'm hot, I DON'T CARE that wussy wiring is "hot." I'M hot, that's all I care about. Cool ME, and yes, DON'T CHARGE SO MUCH. Make it RIGHT, or don't make it at all. If wiring can't handle what a person plugs in, that means it's done wrong. It should be illegal to do that AND it shouldn't cost so much.
Rant aside, the thing is, those 5000 BTU units in the bedrooms and the refrigerator AND stand alone freezer I have they all hum along and nothing ever trips or gets hot. That does make me think the 13k AC, which was also that way last year, is the culprit. I don't mind doing routine cleaning to it per se (I've done the filter) other than that thing is HEAVY (dealing with anything heavier than, say, 20 lbs really annoys me) and heaven knows what someone would charge to come out and clean it, if they do that.
I wonder if it's an easy thing to add a dedicated 20 amp circuit from the breaker box just for that? If it can be done, and it would cost (say) $200-300, my inclination is to do that. I suspect, however, it would be more like $500-$800 and at that point I go like "GEEZ!!!"
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