It's not called a thrift store for nothing is it?.

Lol. yeah. Cord looked to me to be 12/2 w/g. I know that even at 20A/220V you would need 10/2.

code does require outlet within 25 feet of outside equipment, no?

I don't think this is what they had in mind...

Ian A.

KJ, love your sense of humor

Let's look at that idea a bit ...

Say you tap the required receptacle off the circuit feeding the equipment.
If tied in after the disconnect, there will be no power when you have shut the unit off for servicing. Kind of pointless.
If tied in before the disconnecting means, there is the issue of breaker sizing. You really can't put a 15 amp receptacle on a 40 amp breaker.
And, let's not forget that they usually don't have a neutral present ... which means that they're going to be tempted to do something 'clever' to 'make it work,'

Now, let's look at that cord.
-Cords not to be used in place of permanent wiring;
-"Temporary" limited to 90 days;
- Overcurrent protection suitable for wire size. Many such cords are #16;
-"Branch circuit wiring" must be at least #14; and,
-Such installs typically have poor / improper strain relief where they connect to the box.

Now... to be a 'wise guy' ... if the cord were 26 ft. long, woulf you consider the 'outlet' to be outside the 25 ft. requirement?

We installed some outdoor disconnects that are to be used by some tech. crews who come by regularly to do some power-quality monitoring. We did the line side only, being told they would take care of their load side hookups which are very temporary, only a couple hours a day every few months.

The technicians then went and installed something very similar to this picture here, which is most decidedly not temporary. The irony is, it was done almost right: Strain relief, water-proof connector, hard-service cord. But when they got the cord cap, they used a regular old NEMA 5-20 dry-location type, just hanging out their in every kind of weather waiting to be energized.

-John

Just a thought...Wouldn't the 12 "good" on an ac calling for 20 amp min. amps?:}

It is according to the inspector in my town.... 12/2 is routinely used for 240V window A/C units drawing 20A or less. If the cable length is longer than 50 feet or so, 10/2 is usually used.

Is it just me or is that cord entering the same KO as the A/C whip?

It's coming out of one in front of the A/C line I think.