231 posts, read 669,106 times 1,955 posts, read 7,530,185 times 8,309 posts, read 28,190,502 times Originally Posted by Narfcake Exactly what I was thinking. As a kid I used to call that the "angry" plug. My house was built before central A/C was a consideration and the bedrooms were all retrofitted for window units. At the time window units were usually 240V systems. If this plug is near a window, that's very likely to be why someone would put such a thing in the wall. Switching to 120V probably isn't going to be very difficult or time consuming and if you know much about wiring and applicable codes, you could probably DIY. I'm guessing, however, by the subject of this thread that you would be smart to hire this job out. If the stars are aligned your electrician may be able to leave your existing wires in place, cap one leg of the 240V at the panel and in the wall box and replace the breaker with a 15A. You may get off as lightly as $25 in materials and an hour or two labor.

*EDIT* I just realized that you were renting. Your landlord probably has people he would want to use, have you talked to him or her about this? 8,293 posts, read 18,846,880 times Originally Posted by jmax I can't say for sure, but I'd bet my big fat butt that it's a 220V outlet, and you have a 110V window unit. If my hunch is correct, the bottom line is that you simply can't plug your AC into that outlet. Get an acceptable (heavy) extension cord and run to a different outlet. Bigger window AC units used to be 220V. Imagine how THAT would make your electric meter spin! 26,348 posts, read 69,637,911 times Maybe not much more if the current draw was half as much. 13,975 posts, read 39,423,209 times 10,205 posts, read 33,380,249 times Take a look at the standard wall outlet and figure out if it has a 15 or 20 A breaker, then look at the data plate on your air conditioner - if it draws less than 15 amps, you should be able to use the outlet nearby.

Get a heavy-duty extension cord, 14 gauge wire or better, no longer than needed (don't stretch it tight, but the longer it is the more resistance) If your A/C draws more than 15 but less than 20A, you can use that recepticle *if* it's on a 20A breaker. window air unit freezing upThis might require changing over to a 20A type 110 outlet. commercial ac unit diagramThis is rare but I am mentioning it to be complete.ac unit for tent I agree that the existing outlet is probably a 220/240 type outlet. Actually you can get some good high-efficiency 220 A/C units anymore, or heat pumps. Electrical billing is by watts, so it does not matter if you use 10A at 110 or 5A at 220 - same price. Same power, actually the 220 is a bit superior as there is less "IR" loss in the cabling and the device itself.

Surge protection for A/C is not usually needed, a surge protector won't affect breaker tripping. Anyway bottom line is any good hardware or building supply can sell you the extension cord you need to use your existing A/C with the nearby outlet. Just tell us about your needs and we'll quickly match you to the pre-screened, Colorado Springs Window Air Conditioner Services you can trust to get the job done. Know any great Window Air Conditioner Services in the Colorado Springs area? More Colorado Springs HVAC & Air Conditioning Contractors More Colorado HVAC & Air Conditioning Contractors More Colorado Window Air Conditioner Services Big job in Breck with awesome views of Peak 10. Job had BIG windows and lots of small french panes ... This is a bay window with wood interior and simulated divided lights ... Recent Job Requests for Relocate or Service a Window Air Conditioning Unit Contractors in Colorado Springs, Colorado: Summer's ending, but Noria is heating up!

We hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend! We know many of you have been eagerly awaiting an update, and thank you again for your patience as we have... Our Noria Kickstarter campaign officially ended on June 3, 2016, at midnight - with a final tally of 3,714 backers who collectively contributed $1,467,498 in pledges (more than 5x our... A Million Dollars Isn't Cool... ... you know what's cool? Over 2,500 passionate backers that collectively pledged over a million dollars to the Noria Kickstarter campaign because they, like ourselves, believe it's time for a... Things are really heating up, and it’s not just the weather! It’s been an amazing few weeks! We are currently over $800K in pledges and going strong. We also want to clarify our position on international distribution. $500,000 in 3 Weeks! When we launched the Noria Kickstarter campaign a mere 3 weeks ago, we weren't sure exactly what to expect. Noria is a product that we have invested years of our...

Project of the Day WE HIT OUR GOAL! We've reached our funding goal in just 1 week!  Thank you so much to all of our backers and well-wishers. Without you, our small company could never even dream of... Wow what a day! We are humbled by all the support shown to us on the first day of our campaign.  Noria is a passion project that we have self-funded and worked tirelessly to... Ah, New York City in the summer! Generally, we really do love it, despite the on-the-way-to-work sweatiness and fish-in-an-old-sweat-sock smells. But with summer comes air conditioners, and with air conditioners come inept installations into apartment windows, and with inept installations come the occasional, every so often, reports that an air conditioner has fallen from the sky and bashed someone in the head. Which would be awful. So, how much should we worry about this, really? We took to the Internet, place of great knowledge, to find out./2006/06/14/... , which happened back in 2006.

Given that I only had one hit, and that that was only for someone injured by a falling air conditioner, I'm going to say that the number of people killed by a falling air conditioner is statistically insignificant, and most likely does not occur on a yearly basis. But should we be so easily placated? After all, it's only THE INTERNET. So, we carried on with our research. The 2006 post on Gothamist reveals that a woman was indeed hit by an air conditioner unit falling out of a window on East 104th Street, as reported by the Post. Her "right leg was crushed, the bone shattered. She also suffered broken ribs, a broken pelvis, fractured vertebrae, and internal bleeding." She was, fortunately, expected to recover.Another person, on the mixed martial arts forum of Sherdog, suggests that there might be a greater conspiracy at work with regard to plummeting air conditioners. There has got to be some NYC government cover up on this.... And lo, we recall that in September of last year there was another air-conditioning incident, near Village Voice HQ, in fact.

We even wrote about it. 67-year-old Tony Franzese was just walking his Shih Tzu down 2nd Avenue at 3rd Street when he got bonked on the head with the errant A.C. He reportedly suffered a head wound and was taken to Bellevue, where we're told he's in stable condition. The NYPD also told us that the A.C.'s fall had been determined an accident, with no charges against the tenant -- a/k/a, "It was not pushed." According to the New York Post, building inspectors have already ordered air conditioner brackets be installed immediately and given citations to the building's owner But! The awning of the Wine Bar, which generously took the brunt of the initial impact, may have saved his life, says the Wine Bar's owner, Raymond Azzi. (Franzese later sued for $21 million.)Just a couple of months later there was another A.C. plummet, this one in West New York. As reported by the Jersey Journal, 24-year-old New Jersey man Esidra Valles was hit by an air conditioner that fell 15 stories and struck him in the head.

"His injuries required a one-hour surgery and about 50 staples and stitches across his head and face." He had this to say: "I feel like, if your air conditioner is falling, yell something," Valles said, "I heard nothing." The New York Times was worried about air conditioners falling out of windows and hitting people back in 2004, as related to co-op liability. Earlier this year, EV Grieve reported on a piece of an air conditioner that had fallen on East 10th Street, prompting a response from the FDNY. Air conditioners have also struck people in London and Chicago (they -- the people, that is -- survived).In fact, in our admittedly unscientific search, we found zero confirmed cases of death by air conditioner, and only a few mentions. A child was critically injured when he fell from a window (that lacked bars, which had been removed to put in an air conditioner) and landed on another air conditioner unit. But, air conditioners can save lives, too. So what's the deal? Has anyone in New York City ever been killed by a falling air conditioner?

According to Jennifer Gilbert, press secretary for the NYC Department of Buildings, Accidents involving air conditioners are rare in New York City, but property owners of buildings seven stories and higher must submit façade reports to the Department every five years to ensure that the buildings' exteriors are properly maintained. All property owners are responsible for the maintenance of their buildings and are encouraged to follow the Department's installation tips.But what is RARE?We checked with the NYPD. Detective Cheryl Crispin of the Office of the Deputy Commissioner said, succinctly, "We do not compile data on those accidents."Yahoo Answers, meanwhile, has its own questions to ask about air-conditioner-icide. If a portable air conditioner falls from window (killing someone, is that manslaughter? Scenario 1: The owner of the apartment unit was too lazy to secure the air conditioner in the unit and was just desperate for cool air and did an inferior job putting it in the upstairs window.

Sadly, the air conditioner was slowly and steadily rolling more and more outside, and eventually it fell out the window, hitting a street pedestrian and killing the person. (Is the owner liable? Is the owner guilty? if Guilty, of what crime?) Scenario 2: The owner installs the portable air conditioner and does an inferior job. Then the owner paints the outside of the window with the message "I am PURPOSELY making sure the air conditioner falls out the window." And it kills someone. What would the charge be in scenario 2? New York Red Bulls vs. Philadelphia Union New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers New York Jets vs. Seattle Seahawks New York Red Bulls II 2016 USL Cup Playoffs Round 1 The more we know, the more we want to know. But, going back to our original question: How worried should we be about Death by Air Conditioner? Since there seem to be few of these incidents, and fewer still reported by the cops or Department of Buildings, and zero on historical record that have actually killed anyone, we say...