Central AC Theft Prevention/Insurance

I live in a town house but it is also in the city. There are 2 sides. The street side which just has a sidewalk and is like the back side of the units.

You can enter on one end of the units or the other. When you pull in there is a row of cars garages etc like any standard townhouse unit.

The problem here lately has been the theft of central AC units. Half of them are on the garage side and the other half are on the street side. Mine happens to be on the street side.

So the other night unit 1 had their coil cut and had the ac stolen. These cost about $4,000 to replace including installation. 2 nights later unit 3 had theirs clipped. The pattern dictates unit 5 is probably next and I am unit 6. More than likely it is some junky stealing these things and selling the copper in them for $100

So I have been going out during the night and peaking out the window to see if I have any action. But this can only work for so long and isn't really the best prevention for theft as it takes 3 minutes to cut and steal these things.

What's my play? Cage and lock these things which I have read will run $500 or is there a way to insure these things and how much would that cost?

7 pages.

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Originally Posted by 4Dragons

7 pages.

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Wont be as good as the washing machine thread though, but I have high hopes

other note these guys are stealing these things in broad daylight but more toward the side of dusk. 30 mins before it goes dark

Pretty worthless but worth a look: http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Copper-Theft
http://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Air-Conditioner-Theft

Here's a pic of the cage I dm'd you a link to. They're ugly but pretty much the only thing you can do.

https://safeguardac.com/wp-content/u.../Standard2.jpg

Cameras are cheap these days china

Where do you live, germantown, the neck, or the point?

Park down the street and turn off all your lights for 3 days in order to create the impression you are not home.. Camp outside in a tree and wait for the junkie and his girlfriend to inevitably steal your AC. At this point shoot both of them dead. Make sure to record yourself in order to provide proof to law enforcement.

Should the above plan not work invite Marty to stay with you once he has exhausted his options in Mexico and have him bring over ice cold AC .

Note that plan B should only be used if Marty is not the thief. Given his penchant for AC it is possible his Mexico videos are being used as an alibi for his whereabouts during these crimes. It also may explain his legal problems, as stealing AC in Oregon is only a misdemeanor.

superglue razor blades to any hand hold/edge on the thing?

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Originally Posted by Steve-O

superglue razor blades to any hand hold/edge on the thing?

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I would go with 'electrify it' but there might be kids around, etc, etc..

motion sensor lights?

Maybe try a decoy camera, pretty cheap option $20-$50, might deter an attempt to steal if you set it up in a good spot.

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Originally Posted by SpewArtist

Maybe try a decoy camera, pretty cheap option $20-$50, might deter an attempt to steal if you set it up in a good spot.

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Couple that with some fake security sign nearby and it may deter the junkie. I have some fake sign in my yard

probably not the best route to take, but if you want to play hero, get yourself a small, hide-able GPS tracking device and hide it somewhere inside the unit, if possible. If they grab it, the chase is on.

Pay a Mexican $1/hr to keep an eye on it for you.

Move to where it's colder

The Washing Machine DD taught us a few valuable lessons.

Go to appliance repair shop. Hundreds of failed HE washing machines will litter the area behind their building.

1. Grab a circular glass front load door and attach it to your air conditioning condenser.

2. Grab a "Whirlpool HE" tag from one of the rusted hulks and attach to condenser

3. Put a bottle of Tide on top of air conditioner.

Thieves will recognize Whirlpool as worthless crap and move on - you will prolly have the Tide stolen but that will serve as the "sacrificial anode" (hot water heater reference).

Good appliance talk.

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Originally Posted by SpewArtist

Maybe try a decoy camera, pretty cheap option $20-$50, might deter an attempt to steal if you set it up in a good spot.

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I am going to do this, problem with cages and cameras right now is I have to get approval for them through a condo association

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Originally Posted by Sloppy Joe

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Originally Posted by SpewArtist

Maybe try a decoy camera, pretty cheap option $20-$50, might deter an attempt to steal if you set it up in a good spot.

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Couple that with some fake security sign nearby and it may deter the junkie. I have some fake sign in my yard

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There was one in the window right above the 2nd unit that got stolen, they didnt care, they just snatched it

A motion controlled/activated flood light - the brightest you can find.

The motion control field of view can be fine tuned. You can Afro engineer a the field of view with a little piece of paper inside the lens (say a small piece at top and small piece at bottom of lens).

An extension cord from deck to power flood will keep,this from being a project.

Bonus:
Tie in a motion controlled siren or horn.

This should all be a trip to Home Depot.

Obv we are talking with neighbors about the horn but I imagine they are gonna be all in with this. Let them know where the cord is to disconnect if it falses and you are not around.

Wonder if homeowners covers this cause I need a bigger condenser to cover the renovation we did in attic.

Stay cool China. You ever in Concord trolling for turtles I'll have to leave my basement and buy you drink at the Colonial Inn.

consult jewdonk on all questions regarding this

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Originally Posted by Sanlmar

A motion controlled/activated flood light - the brightest you can find.

The motion control field of view can be fine tuned. You can Afro engineer a the field of view with a little piece of paper inside the lens (say a small piece at top and small piece at bottom of lens).

An extension cord from deck to power flood will keep,this from being a project.

Bonus:
Tie in a motion controlled siren or horn.

This should all be a trip to Home Depot.

Obv we are talking with neighbors about the horn but I imagine they are gonna be all in with this. Let them know where the cord is to disconnect if it falses and you are not around.

Wonder if homeowners covers this cause I need a bigger condenser to cover the renovation we did in attic.

Stay cool China. You ever in Concord trolling for turtles I'll have to leave my basement and buy you drink at the Colonial Inn.

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I'm going to look into a some of this stuff tomorrow, right now I have a smile your on camera bright yellow sticker on the way with some fake bubble cameras. I would like this thing caged and locked but I need to get approval first for the cage I think.

I have a light that is near the area but not directly on it.

Condo association said their insurance would not cover the 2 that got stolen because the value was not high enough. Needed to be more $$$ in theft. My brother is an insurance agent and he said these things are a gray area and I would have to check to see if they were covered but he said some bigger companies will cover these but most will not and it is not guaranteed that big companies will cover these as they are not in the house although it is connected.

Also have digital thermometer sitting on my desk. As soon as this thing rises I take a walk

Will hit u up for a drink next time I am over that way

Oddly, this has me hooked.

You got your brother the agent on this. Interested in answer.

My guess is that this is not the condo associations issue. Maintenance, recharging refrigerant, and the evaporator inside your unit tied to the other end of your condenser are your responsibility.

What's your homeowner's deductible?

I'd be on the horn to your insurance carrier in the AM. Tell them the story. Loss prevention or loss control ought to have an interest here in preventing a loss/claim. Ask them to contact you with their suggestion.

Make a note of date, time insurance contact. I am awful or lazy being about this shit. It shows due diligence on your part and that ought to be worth something if you get stung.

Kinda puzzled why this grey area wasn't resolved with a five minute phone call by your brother.

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Originally Posted by Sanlmar

Oddly, this has me hooked.

You got your brother the agent on this. Interested in answer.

My guess is that this is not the condo associations issue. Maintenance, recharging refrigerant, and the evaporator inside your unit tied to the other end of your condenser are your responsibility.

What's your homeowner's deductible?

I'd be on the horn to your insurance carrier in the AM. Tell them the story. Loss prevention or loss control ought to have an interest here in preventing a loss/claim. Ask them to contact you with their suggestion.

Make a note of date, time insurance contact. I am awful or lazy being about this shit. It shows due diligence on your part and that ought to be worth something if you get stung.

Kinda puzzled why this grey area wasn't resolved with a five minute phone call by your brother.

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He's not my agent , cannot insure family etc + this policy was put in place before he became an agent. he just gave me advice on what to do.

Dopesick junkies might not be deterred by a camera.

They might already be wearing hats and hoodies to mitigate this possibility.

i think there are alarms you can install that go off in your home if any of the wires/connections get cut.

You neighbors should maybe call all the local recyclers (or whoever else buys copper) and see if anyone has been showing up with A/C copper for sale. They should have paperwork on the sellers.

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Originally Posted by JimAfternoon

Dopesick junkies might not be deterred by a camera.

They might already be wearing hats and hoodies to mitigate this possibility.

i think there are alarms you can install that go off in your home if any of the wires/connections get cut.

You neighbors should maybe call all the local recyclers (or whoever else buys copper) and see if anyone has been showing up with A/C copper for sale. They should have paperwork on the sellers.

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Ya I have seen these alarms and you need a home alarm system for these to connect to. I may go this route as well.
Your right dopesick junkies may not give a fuck about the cameras but it also could send them away.

I think they have called around about the copper and nothing has showed up. A potential plate has been also passed onto the police too. Some guy pulled up here middle of the night and got out of his car. He picked up an empty grocery bag that was blowing around on the sidewalk and got back in his truck and left.

Well here is where I am at, upped the coverage on the home which wasn't much so now it's covered.

Condo people are moving most of the acs to the other side of the unit. Mine will not be moved because it cant be moved without a lot of work.

They installed locks on all of the boxes that shut the power down. Also they may be caging mine in on their dime or they will let me know if I have to pay.

Also setting up some fake cameras