Hard to prove he did it. He could claim some friend did it for some misguided reason and he never even noticed. Not worth pursuing, I’d guess.
Spray the cord with sugar solution and then introduce lots of ants to your patio.
(OK, mostly I’m just posting to subscribe, because I’m really curious to know how this shakes out.)
I ordered a wattage monitor unit that’ll arrive thursday, so I’m going to let it go until then aside from taking pictures. I’m really curious if he’s powering some random little thing on his patio or drawing serious power trying to avoid his bill. Not sure if my power bill will show what he’s using conclusively - it’s been 110 all month so I’ve been running the AC a lot, my bill is already elevated.
Another vote for getting the landlord involved A.S.A.P. I wouldn’t go to the police yet, no need for that escalation assuming landlord can get the issue corrected.
Until you reel in the poor bastards oxygen concentration machine.
You’re really going to spend money to find out how much you’re being ripped off, while continuing to let him rip you off?
Bless your heart!
Do you guys have central AC, or wall units?
I’d be curious about what he’s powering with my power that I’m paying for, but not enough to continue letting him steal it. After taking all the pictures, I’d cut the end off of his cord and wait to see what he does.
Well shit, you just can’t buy this kind of entertainment until it plugs into your outlet and starts draining wattage.
I say go for the smoking gun, SenorBeef!
Let us know your findings, I’m staying tuned.
ETA: you could save some $ by just picking one up at your local hardware store, no?
Another question for you - how often do you need the outlet? If you can do without it then you might want to ask the landlord to just remove the outlet and fit a solid plate in it’s place. Remove the temptation outright.
I’d planned to get around to getting one of the wattage monitors anyway, this just pushes me into doing it sooner.
And we have central AC, so it’s not that.
I think mixing the live and earth wires is a very dangerous mistake and should be corrected immediately if noticed.
Unplug the cord and then superglue it to the wall about a half-centimeter too high up to reach the outlet.
In all seriousness though, I think the best way to do this is to subtly point out to the guy that you’ve caught him and that you don’t approve. Bringing in the landlord or the authorities might escalate things further than you’re willing to go (he won’t go to jail or anything - he’ll get a stern talking to and then be pissed off).
I don’t know much about electrical outlets, but this is one of the two prong variety. The ground wire is the third prong, right? So there’s positive and neutral, I think. Does crossing those have any effect?
I’m for this one. If you know the neighbors around you, then maybe you could run an extension cord to another neighbor’s patio where it attaches to another cord which runs to another patio and another extension cord which goes to your patio where it attaches to his original cord. At some point, he’ll figure it out, take the hint and hopefully have a laugh.
Get out your ladder, unplug the cord, and climb up to his window knocking on it like you’re trying to wake the dead.
When he opens it, hold out the end of the plug, and ask him if he wouldn’t mind holding it for you. He’ll be nonplussed as you calmly traverse back down the ladder, then when you reach solid ground, you yank the cord’s slack as hard as you can.
Once you attach the meter, the cord can also act as a very convenient pulley structure, so you can send up cute, little monthly bills (adjusted for interest and filing fees).
I don’t really have anything fresh to add, I just want to see how this all shakes out. I’m intrigued!
Just unplug it, then snip off the head with scissors or shears. Repeat until he gets the idea.
Photo. Call landlord. That’s what I’d do and what I recommend you do.
For fun: trim the wires inside the plug so they’re no longer connecting, replace everything so it looks like you still haven’t noticed.