Window AC unit help..

[liebs]

I have a small window AC unit in a bedroom at the cabin that stopped working. It's only about 3 years old. I can get it turned on but the breaker in the plug keeps tripping. If I reset it, it will run for a minute or 2 and then trip again. This unit worked great that past 2 years. I've cleaned the filter and coils. Earlier this spring, we had a breaker in the breaker panel go bad. I'm pretty sure that the AC was plugged into that circuit. Not sure if that has anything to do with the AC not working but I don't believe we used that AC since the breaker went bad until a few weeks ago when it stopped working.

Any ideas on what is tripping this? I only paid $100 for this so probably not worth taking in to get repaired.

Don

[delcecchi]

OK, put in an arc fault breaker or outlet. Why would AC cause more fires from arcing than anything else?

I found this article, which hardly supports the arc fault plugs...

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v2i5-508.pdf

[Whoaru99]

Interesting link...it must have sent us to different papers.

I'd say just the opposite of "hardly supports".

Since, according to that paper, the majority of AC fires are window/wall units, and are electrically related, something to further mitigate electrical risk on window/wall AC units (those typically being cord connected) seems pretty logical.

EDIT: As I eluded to early on in the thread, I don't believe there is anything legally stopping you from changing that type of cord. However, if there is some other local rule/regulation/insurance policy, etc. that stipulates use of UL-listed devices, then your device no longer qualifies because you modified it and assume the risk therein.

[delcecchi]

Figure 2 shows 25% of fires from window/wall units and 30% from portables. Then they talk about undersized wires (extension cords?) How can that be an issue when house wire defined by code (#14) is enough for a window AC?

Then they talk about mechanical malfunctions and include shorts "in the unit".

Let's do the numbers. The total number of fires is 2300 per year. If window/wall units are 55%, that is about 1200 fires per year. 25% of households have a window/wall AC (probably several). There are 80 million single family houses in the US. So there are somewhere north of 20 million window/wall units. The odds of one catching on fire are 1200/20e6 or 1 in 16,000 per year (or lower due to multiples per house). Fire damage is 10,500 per incident. So the new gizmo saves 63 cents per household per year.

Sounds like somebody has too much time on their hands, making new rules. Or there is a lawyer behind this somewhere, like the ones that wrecked gas cans.

Looking at the numbers, I would replace it with a regular plug and not think twice. Oh, and don't plug it into a 16 Ga extension cord.

[Whoaru99]

Quote:

Fire damage is 10,500 per incident. So the new gizmo saves 63 cents per household per

Hehe, yeah...the 63 cents angle works, only so long as the $10k number, or something worse, doesn't directly affect you. Insurance, extended warranty, etc., etc. are all a waste of money until... ;-)

[delcecchi]

Extended Warranty is a known bad deal. Insurance is to protect against a disaster. If you have fire insurance, you are covered financially against the very unlikely incident of your window AC catching fire.

[Whoaru99]

Extended Warranty is a known bad deal. Insurance is to protect against a disaster. If you have fire insurance, you are covered financially against the very unlikely incident of your window AC catching fire.

There is essentially no difference between extended (purchased) warranty and insurance. You pay a little now on the chance you have a big problem sometime down the road. Like extended warranty, most people will never collect from insurance what they have paid in.

Also, like warranty, you may not be protected by your insurance if you have modified the unit by changing the cord to a standard one, and that change plays into a problem.

Yup, its all a big "if", but indeed "if" does happen.

[delcecchi]

Yes, the main difference is how big a problem an uninsured event is, and how fairly the insurance is priced. Extended warranties typically cover things that would be painful but not life changing, like a tv set or automobile breaking. And typically they are priced very high for the expected loss, that is the likelihood of the event times the cost of the repair.

(Typically the failure occurs, if at all, long after the extended warranty runs out) Why do you think best buy pushes the extended warranty?

[swamptiger]

Quote:

(Typically the failure occurs, if at all, long after the extended warranty runs out) Why do you think best buy pushes the extended warranty?

$$$ - it adds to their bottom line. Same as a car dealer. But the extended warranty might make sense if you are talking about a four or five thousand dollar transmission or engine instead of a $100 throwaway A/C unit.

[Whoaru99]

(Typically the failure occurs, if at all, long after the extended warranty runs out) Why do you think best buy pushes the extended warranty?

Im pretty familiar with how warranty and purchased protection works, considering I spent around 10 years as warranty administrator (amongst other things) for a respectably large equipment mfg. This included putting into place an extended warranty/purchased protection plan, something previously never offered by this company on this equipment line.

The interesting thing is that the drive didn't come from the standpoint of a profit center (hey, lets sell something nobody will collect on) or the need to do it, the drive came from the sales side to keep up with the Jones' because our biggest competitor had such a plan. Apparently those making the switch from them to us felt more comfortable having such a thing because they were accustomed to needing it .

[liebs]

I ended up going with a new AC. Looking at the old one where it is wired into the AC, it appears that some wires have a special little plug on them while 2 others are screwed in. I don't want to mess with it anymore.

If anyone thinks they can fix this or would like to tinker with it, it's yours for free. If nobody here is interested, I'll throw it out on the list of Craig. If that fails, I'll recycle it.

Thanks again...