Interesting thought.
But also a really good way to make sure you’re caught if you’re growing pot.
Then again, potheads aren’t known for their prudence and foresight.
Smell any skunks lately, SenorBeef?
It would be the OP’s luck that he was plugging in a computer or something designed to be able to take 220.
Off topic but they (or at least did back in the day) make flashbulbs that screw into standard edison sockets and fire off 110. My father would have a fun time replacing the standard lamps in his friends room…
Oh, and its not that hard to read a meter yourself. Turn off everything in your apartment, make a reading, wait 30 minutes, make another reading. That will also give you an idea of how much power he is drawing.
No, doesn’t the average lease state that it is mandatory for a tenant to receive 24 hours notice before they enter your property? If they had to enter his property to plug this in on his patio, they had to notify him.
The neighbor is stealing and has trespassed. I vote call the police and utilities, and take it from there. If they are interested, they will handle it. (I would think they would be.) If both decline to help you, then call the landlord.
How fancy is this wattage meter? I saw a little box type unit at the hardware store and the packaging said (basically) that you plug the unit in the outlet and plug the cord in the unit and it will tell you how much power whatever you plugged into it is costing you over a 24 hour period. It was $20. I was thinking of getting one to see how much I’d save by unplugging things like the blender and the microwave when not in use.
I’m talking about how it screws with his PC if you unplug it. The only reason I’d plug it back in is so that it would be harder for him to figure out why his PC kept shutting down.
I don’t think you will recoupe your initial investment.
IANAL, and I’m wondering if those of you who may be versed in civil law can say whether or not the OP might be giving up some of his rights by not having reported the violation to the landlords/utility/police in a timely manner related to when he discovered it. Obviously, it doesn’t change any criminal aspect of what the neighbor is doing, but if it turned out the neighbor had sucked hundreds of dollars of electricity out of his apartment, could the OP be jeopardizing his ability to obtain legal recourse?
Anyone?
I still don’t see why there’s any question at all about this. The neighbor is absolutely and unambiguously stealing from the OP: He’s getting something of value without permission, and the OP is having to pay more than he otherwise would because of it. When someone steals from you, you call the cops. If the OP had gotten mugged, would anyone suggest that he should stick a joy buzzer in the wallet for the next time?
Regardless of how long it’s been going on, he only noticed it in the last 24 hours or so.
I don’t think this is like a property rights thing where the city will say, 'well, since you guys have been treating the property line like it’s 6 feet over for the last 45 years, we’re just going to move it".
If you’ve got an electrician friend with a clamp ammeter you could invite him by to do a quick check to find out how much juice the jackass is siphoning.
I know you’ve got a watt meter on order, but this will tell you without disconnecting anything. And unplugging the cord might turn off whatever is connected so it would be a while before you could get an accurate reading.
Then, if you were me, you install a current limiter adjusted to about 80% of whatever the usage was. Not a huge issue for lamps, but electronics and motors really don’t like that situation
Granted, but he’s talking about not reporting it to anybody until Thursday at the earliest. While I realize that’s nothing like years and years of this going on, I just wondered if there was a chance a judge would frown on him taking matters into his own hands prior to reporting.
Not really - if building maintenance wants to divert power from your outlet, they should ask first. Otherwise they are stealing it.
Unless electricity is covered by rent, my thoughts are that his electricity got shut off and he is living on your tit.
I think there could be a small chance that the neighbor might think that an outside outlet is on the apt company’s dime. Still stupid and the bonehead still had to trespass to plug in the cord, but I know plenty of people who think it’s OK to steal from “the man” but wouldn’t from a neighbor. Just a reason to lean toward having the apt manager look at it instead of damaging whatever is plugged in (not that there aren’t some great ideas being thrown around).
Oh for Christ’s sake.
Unplug the extension cord. Plug in a night light so you can tell when you have the right breaker and flip the breaker off. Install a locking exterior outlet cover. They cost less than $10.00. Put a little padlock on it. Maybe your landlord will even reimburse you for it. Slip a note under your neighbors door and tell him it’s not cool to steal electricity.
Drama over.
Oh, take your calm reasoned response and your logical solution on a long hike. This isn’t about “practical”, this is about “potential” and “revenge” and “retribution” – not to mention “fantasy”.
Spoil sport.
An intermittent problem is much, much harder to troubleshoot than one that is consistent. So if the power seems to RANDOMLY go on and off from this extension cord, Douchebag Neighbor will have a harder time figuring out why he gets juice sometimes, but not all the time. Same with any other electrical device, he’ll have a harder time figuring out why his lights or fans or whatever don’t work all the time.
Why should a tenant install a locking electrical outlet cover? That sort of thing is best left to the landlord/building management. Drama over.
If I was the OP these are the things that would bother me. The fact that some of “my” electricity was stolen would almost be irrelevant to the bigger picture.
Possibilities:
- Neighbor is growing pot. Not good.
- Neighbor has no idea of personal/property boundaries and or is stupid as shit and is a petty thief. Not good.
- Neighbor is a “honey badger and doesn’t give a shit” so he steals because he’s just daring somebody to fuck with him about it. Not good.
- Apartment maintainence has done some kind of half assed fix and has no idea of person/property boundaries and or is stupid as shit. Not good.
- Neighbor poor and desperate as hell and stupid as shit. Not as bad as the others but honestly still not a positive either.
So, IMO it really isn’t about theft or revenge or justice being done. Its a sign that things in the local neighborhood ain’t so hot. The real question here is which response results in maximizing the likelyhood of a good outcome for the OP.