Hi Guys,

I have a problem/question for you. I am an air conditioning freak, I love a nice cold room. I have trouble sleeping if the room is not cool so I figured that I would rig up an X10 device to turn my AC on an hour before I normally go to bed, and off again after I leave for work.

I could not figure out how to tell what kind of power my AC was drawing, but I figured since it was a normal 3 prong plug that it would use a normal appliance module. The heavy duty module's seem to take different plug configurations (ie the T prong). I plugged the AC into the module, and everything seemed to be working fine.

That night I was experimenting with it, and it would turn on with no problems. When I turn it off, I saw a blue "glow" out of the corner of my eye. I took a closer look and it looks like when the relay is turning off my AC, it arc's and produces a big blueish spark. I was not sure what to do so I stopped using it. I would really like to controll my AC with X10, but not so much that I burn down my house. :) I am using a cheap Radio Shack Appliance Module, I ordered some other one's but they did not have the ground prong so I did not use them. It claims that it can be used with AC units, but only if they draw less than X current (or was it voltage?). Either way I was not sure what my AC was doing so I don't know if I am "in spec" or not. It is just a normal ~2 year old small room AC.

I spoke with a friend and he suggested that the blue spark is expected behavior with a relay, and if I look at it logically, I would agree. I was wondering if anyone had any input on the subject. Stuff like: Is it safe? Should I get a different modle that has sheilding? Should I stick it on an extension cord and put the module in a fire-proof box...:) Any suggestions or info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Will
will@madravings.com