Thoughts on high-joule surge protectors vs. heavy-duty extensions for portable ACs?

Seeing melting on your power strip is a massive warning sign that you shouldn't ignore. Most of those surge protectors, even the expensive 4800J ones, aren't built to handle the constant, high-amperage draw of a 13,500 BTU compressor. I had a similar setup in my old place with a Whynter unit, and the plug prongs whould get hot enough to burn. The issue is usually that the internal bus bars or the thin wiring inside the strip can't sustain that 12-amp load over hours of operation, especially as the components age and build up resistance. You really should bite the bullet and rearrange the studio to get that plug directly into the wall outlet. If that's physically impossible, look for a 12-gauge heavy-duty appliance extension cord—specifically one rated for 15 or 20 amps. I use a 12/3 Yellow Jacket cord for my heavy equipment and it stays cool to the touch. Those thin power strips with built-in breakers just aren't designed for the inductive kick of an AC motor starting up. It might be a pain to move your furniture, but it's a lot better than risking an electrical fire in those brick walls.

Everyone keeps blaming the power strip, but since it worked for two years, I’d look at the unit itself. My old Honeywell started pulling way more than its rated amps when the start capacitor began to fail. If the compressor is struggling to kick on, it causes a massive spike that trips everything. Also, since maintenace just worked on the outlets, they might have left a loose connection at the terminal, which creates resistance and heat right where you plug in. Instead of moving all your furniture, I’d ditch the surge protector entirely and get a dedicated 12-gauge appliance extension cord. I use a 3-foot Woods brand cord for my 14,000 BTU unit and it stays stone cold. Surge protectors have too many internal failure points for a high-draw motor. If the AC is drawing extra current because the internal coils are clogged with dust, no amount of joules will save you. Try cleaning the condenser fins with a soft brush and see if that compressor sounds 'rougher' than usual when it cycles.

I'm curious if you've ruled out the breaker itself. You mentioned maintenance was just in there messing with the outlets—did they happen to swap you over to an AFCI breaker? Those things are notoriously sensitive to the startup arc of a portable AC compressor. If they updated the panel to bring it "up to code" while they were at it, that coud be why your two-year-old setup is suddenly failing even when it's cool out. Might be worth checking the label in the service panel before you start dragging all your furniture around.

This is all pretty scary to read. I'm a total newbie with electrical stuff, but seeing that you mentioned melting realy makes me want to check my own setup now. If I look for that 12-gauge cord someone mentioned, does the length of the cord matter too? Like, if it's super long, does that make it work harder or get hotter? I don't really understand the 'inductive kick' thing either, but coud that be why my lights flicker when the AC turns on?