URGENT: Is this extension cord setup dangerous?

seeker

Fri, May 27 2016, 4:19 pm

Our three-prong shabbos timer died and it's a gazillion degrees out and our air conditioner is the type that has only one setting (noisy and blowy) and doesn't turn off when it's cool enough. So I made a different setup but I have no way of knowing how dangerous it is:

Air conditioner cord (3 prongs) plugged into a little piece meant to convert 3-prongs to 2-prongs.
2-prong end of adapter plugged into 2-prong hole on smaller shabbos timer.
Shabbos timer (2-prong) plugged into extension cord (3 holes)
Extension cord (3-prong) plugged into wall (2-prongs)

I couldn't do the Shabbos timer straight into the wall because the shape of the extension cord plug stuck into it couldn't go flush against the wall. And the a/c doesn't reach to the outlet.

I know this is definitely not ideal but is it likely to kill someone?

MagentaYenta

Fri, May 27 2016, 4:27 pm

seeker wrote:

Only if you don't get everyone out of the house when the fire starts.

seeker

Fri, May 27 2016, 4:30 pm

Do you know anything about these things? Which part would need to change to make it work? Is it just the fact that there are 4 steps involved? The adapter is kosher. I'm not sure exactly how to interpret whether it is appropriate for the a/c's capacity. I think it says 15 amp on the adapter, but the a/c says a bunch of different things including 15 amp but also other numbers and I'm not sure what's referring to what.

MagentaYenta

Fri, May 27 2016, 4:38 pm

seeker wrote:

Tappets that adapt a grounded plug so it can be used as an ungrounded plug have an exceedingly high failure rate. The ground is there for a reason. Another issue is the tappets aren't rated, so your appliance may be drawing more than the tappet can handle. That would cause the tapped to overheat, fail and cause a fire.

I you are using an extension cord on an appliance, first check the manufacturers instructions to see if it is advised. Then always make sure that the extension cored is rated for the same power draw as the appliance. This is just the basics. I won't even get into the second extension cord, but suffice to say you are not using anything close to best practices.

seeker

Sat, May 28 2016, 7:01 pm

Magenta Yenta, thanks for the explanation and please do continue to describe best practices! I can't believe they don't go through things like this in high school. Seriously, geological layers from the mesozoic era are not nearly as meaningful as how to work a house without killing anyone.

Anyway we opted to just leave the a/c off and fry. But we did live to tell the tale. Spent most of the daytime hanging out at a neighbor with a working unit. DH was upset, he would have rather had it ON all Shabbos but from experience that has been very uncomfortable.

Amother, the wall socket was 3-pronged. The only 2-prong issue was the shabbos timer. My 3-prong timer stopped working.

amother

Aubergine

Sat, May 28 2016, 7:32 pm

seeker wrote:

......
Extension cord (3-prong) plugged into wall (2-prongs)
......
?

This is the bit I didn't get, I guess it doesn't matter now anyway. Glad you are still alive!

seeker

Sat, May 28 2016, 7:46 pm

Yes, that was an error. Wall outlet had 3 holes. Oops. Now, does anyone know where to get a 3-hole shabbos timer that works? This is about the third one that's died on us. Mechanical issues, it seems, not electrical.

ra_mom

Sat, May 28 2016, 7:49 pm

seeker wrote:

Have you tried this one?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/.....lSrch

mfb

Sat, May 28 2016, 8:00 pm

Go into a local hardware store and ask for a heavy duty timer.
Also its always best to have the least amount of extension cords, especially when dealing with appliances that are heavy electric uses. If its an outlet that always gets used for an airconditioner, you might want to add another outlet, closer to the machine.

seeker

Sat, May 28 2016, 8:22 pm

ra_mom looks pretty similar to one we had in the past. The biggest issue with that is that it never comes with enough little pieces for an air conditioner that doesn't auto-off/powersave/whatever, and the little pieces tend to break or get lost. Anyone know if they make refill packs of like 50 little pieces?

There is no way to add an outlet closer to the a/c. Even if we were planning to live here long enough to make it worth it...

greenfire

Sun, May 29 2016, 1:10 pm

you see the thing is that everything could likely be okay - until it's not

extension cords are never advised & yet people use them all the time

but electrical fires can happen within walls as well if the outlet cannot handle the load ...

a 3rd prong is a place for the electrical current to flow should there be an incident ... a surge protector might not even work or it would be moot to use should it go off too soon & then you're back to square 1 ... no air conditioning

how big is this unit ? is this a dedicated outlet ?

how about using the thermostat on a lower setting so it goes on and off more often sans a timer ...

seeker

Sun, May 29 2016, 2:19 pm

kb wrote:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008YXR1SY/ref=pd_aw_sim_201_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=41s-xucdlsL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL100_SR100%2C100_&refRID=1ZAQ4H8QC4WGKY1JV34D

$5 for two sets... It would cost an extra $50 to have my a/c turn on and off at regular intervals to not have our ears blown off.

It's probably just time for a new a/c unit...

And I'm not sure extension cords are ALWAYS dangerous. There must be safer kinds. They're used in so many applications.

seeker

Sun, May 29 2016, 3:26 pm

Oy. Is that why they come with such short cords? Why is there a difference between extending the wire in the wall (as when adding an outlet) and extending it out from the outlet?

Great. Now we have a real problem. It is literally the only window in the apartment and it is just a couple of feet too far from the outlet.

MagentaYenta

Sun, May 29 2016, 3:29 pm

seeker wrote:

In the US that would not meet code. ACs really need their own designated outlet because of the draw.