A/C theft

[cj's dad]

Be on the lookout! There have been three thefts of central A/C units in my immediate area in the last week. Apparently, the thieves are doing so for the copper tubing inside the unit,

I was out on Wednesday evening and my son joined me for dinner and a few. When he arrived home, he called and asked what had happened to the A/C unit.. Obviously it was gone. Electrical service disconnect had been turned off, the cable cut along with the copper tubing supply line and the unit was whisked away.

If you have central air and the unit is located in an area where it is not readily visible, I think, in hindsight, it would be wise to have it secured to the pad or by a security cage.

According to the BC police this is happening nationwide due to the rising cost of copper,

[sammy the sage]

had my 3 ton unit snatched 4 yrs ago...ouch...never caught...

Fla. has really cracked down tho...now pic ID and fingerprints to sell ANY copper required...

am really torn as hate the MORE regulations/rules/tracking...just wish I'd been there...NRA'd them...would need no stink'n rules....

[Trijack]

Here in California they are stealing catalytic converters for their platinum content. Just had a tenant to call me and said thieves had cut theirs off during the night with car parked on the driveway.

[wiffleball whizz]

The thieves should die the worst death possible

[mostpost]

Be on the lookout! There have been three thefts of central A/C units in my immediate area in the last week. Apparently, the thieves are doing so for the copper tubing inside the unit,

I was out on Wednesday evening and my son joined me for dinner and a few. When he arrived home, he called and asked what had happened to the A/C unit.. Obviously it was gone. Electrical service disconnect had been turned off, the cable cut along with the copper tubing supply line and the unit was whisked away.

If you have central air and the unit is located in an area where it is not readily visible, I think, in hindsight, it would be wise to have it secured to the pad or by a security cage.

According to the BC police this is happening nationwide due to the rising cost of copper,
We have had several A/C thefts in the North Riverside area, including one stolen from the Rectory of the Catholic Church. :bang:

[Saratoga_Mike]

had my 3 ton unit snatched 4 yrs ago...ouch...never caught...



How do you steal a 3-ton unit? You were away for an extended time frame and the thieves presumably used large machinery to lift it into a truck?

[RaceBookJoe]

For the past few years here in vegas both a/c units and city street lights ( the base of them ) have been stolen/broken into for the copper.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Probably the most pathetic display of this "fad":

There was some accident at an intersection not that long ago here and there were fatalities. People made one of those roadside memorials that seem to be the new thing when such things happen these days and this was a pretty intricate artistic piece made of, among other materials, copper. It lasted about two days before it was stolen.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Probably the most pathetic display of this "fad":

There was some accident at an intersection not that long ago here and there were fatalities. People made one of those roadside memorials that seem to be the new thing when such things happen these days and this was a pretty intricate artistic piece made of, among other materials, copper. It lasted about two days before it was stolen.

Definition of scum

[Segwin]

In Cleveland, in a vacant home, they will tear off the aluminum siding as far as they can reach up and anything with copper is gone. They will go so far as to strip the wiring out of the home.

For some time now they carry a battery operated sawzall and when they find a parked pickup truck they will get under it, saw off the catalytic converter, and take it to the scrap yards.

Although no one wants more govement regulation it would be an easy fix to plug his hole. You need to be a licensed contractor to go to the scrap yard and the typical easy snatch and grabs will no longer be allowed.

What's funny is that they will work harder so they don't have to work. :rolleyes:

[dartman51]

How do you steal a 3-ton unit? You were away for an extended time frame and the thieves presumably used large machinery to lift it into a truck?

In case you were not trying to be funny, A 3-ton unit, does not mean the unit weighs 3 tons. :D It's a measurement of how much air it can move per hour, in simplistic terms. :ThmbUp:

[dartman51]

had my 3 ton unit snatched 4 yrs ago...ouch...never caught...

Fla. has really cracked down tho...now pic ID and fingerprints to sell ANY copper required...

am really torn as hate the MORE regulations/rules/tracking...just wish I'd been there...NRA'd them...would need no stink'n rules....

In TN, you have to do that when selling ANY metal. For COPPER, you must wait 3 days to receive your money. :ThmbUp:

[Saratoga_Mike]

In case you were not trying to be funny, A 3-ton unit, does not mean the unit weighs 3 tons. :D It's a measurement of how much air it can move per hour, in simplistic terms. :ThmbUp:

Nope, I thought it weighed 3 tons - thought it was odd to have a unit that weighed more than a car. Needless to say, I know close to nothing about construction/home repair. Thanks for the info.

[fast4522]

And things will get worse, without jobs nothing will be safe.

[Segwin]

A "ton" of cooling is equal to 12,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units).

This measurement of cooling was based on ice.

Now you're set for Jeopardy. Best of luck.

[JustRalph]

And things will get worse, without jobs nothing will be safe.

I have a friend who likes to say

"When the EBT stops working, the most valuable precious metal will be lead"

[fast4522]

In S. NH there are several places the same people are holding up cardboard signs, there was none of this in NH prior to the Obama administration. AC equipment is just the start of a more ugly picture to come.

[Track Collector]

We had a large external unit stolen from our Church not too long ago. The thief was tracked down from the info he was required to submit to the scrap metal facility.

There have been a number of other "valuable metals" thefts in the area as well, including one at a large local manufacturing plant. I do not know if they ever caught the thief/thieves in that case.

Anything that is valuable is a target for theft, even more so these days.

[cj's dad]

The redeeming part of this is that I have replacement value. The central A/C unit was installed in 1993 when I needed the entire house ac'd; no longer do I need that. I will replace the unit with two room A/c's - living room and bedroom--- thank you crooks , you rat bastards.

[iceknight]

A "ton" of cooling is equal to 12,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units).

This measurement of cooling was based on ice. (the melting of one short ton of ice in 24 h)

Now you're set for Jeopardy. Best of luck. Additionally, in automobiles it is equal to a 4 horse deficit (to run the AC).

At least, I think this is what I understood from the wiki entry and reference
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy00osti/28960.pdf

[HUSKER55]

CJ, just a thought

Remember those ads on TV about Mitsubishi room heaters and air conditioners?

Getting rid of the duct work and furnace may be a blessing in disguise. Depends on cost. I have no idea. Just thought you should check it out before you make a final decision.


GL

[jballscalls]

reminds me of that Sopranos episode where Tony buys up all the shitty houses in the ghetto and takes his kid there and the kid says "why you buying these crappy houses" "Copper plumbing AJ!"

[cj's dad]

A thought for those of you with central A/C units. The NEC (electrical code) requires a service disconnect switch in sight of the unit. Most of these disconnects can be locked in the "ON" position. Do so if possible, it could prevent a theft. If the a--hole is dumb enough to cut the supply cable (240 Volts), while it is energized, there is a fair chance he will be electrocuted or at the very least knocked on his ass.

[JustRalph]

A thought for those of you with central A/C units. The NEC (electrical code) requires a service disconnect switch in sight of the unit. Most of these disconnects can be locked in the "ON" position. Do so if possible, it could prevent a theft. If the a--hole is dumb enough to cut the supply cable (240 Volts), while it is energized, there is a fair chance he will be electrocuted or at the very least knocked on his ass.

Wow! That's tricky. Glad my neighbor didn't do that. I had to turn his off from outside a couple months ago. He wasn't home...........

bmAafM1b3EQ