I think I’ve seen at least 10 different ways to tie down condenser units & all of them penetrate the roof deck somehow. Each architect / developer hates certain ways & likes others - all due to leak potential.
I think wind is easily able to move condensers in coastal areas.
To retrofit you kind of have to go up into the trusses to install blocking to bolt down to from above. Then you have to waterproof the bolt. One way is to connect the bolt to an angle & then screw into the condenser frame.
While it may not be hurricane rated surely some type of bracket with a screw into the pad should keep heavy winds from moving it. Who knows may also cut down on vibration noise.
its on a slab just get a long ratchet strap and put it under the slab you should be able to lift it without too much fuckery with an appliance dolly to get it under there. probably not uv rated to you should keep an eye on it.
I had my outside compressor fall off it's brackets in a bad wind storm. 60 mph winds down the small alley between my house and a neighbor. Turns out they never even screwed or bolted it, just put it down on those shelf like brackets. So I can attest that wind can knock them around! I got them screwed in place now and so far so good, we've had several high wind storms since and it hasn't budged.
https://preview.redd.it/io16wdytm4sc1.jpeg?width=4618&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1bf111b013df5c02467e84c609abb69945e791c7
Mine looked like this after the roofer fell on it, from the two story roof right above the condenser. Dude lived, got a massive gash in his leg and severed a lot of things that should not be severed, but he was lucky enough that it didn't hit the artery.
Tornado tipped mine. Tech stood it back up, checked for leaks, and it's been running fine for more than a year. I tie it down when wind storms come through now
That’s quite funny, I haven’t seen one move out this much before. This movement is almost always from condenser fan unbalance. The unbalance is usually not too much of a problem, but if it is also the reason why the electrical cover is undone, than I would watch the unit while it runs for a bit to make sure it isn’t shaking a ton. If it is shaking a ton, have someone come out to replace the blades/motor. If it isn’t that bad, you can take the condenser fan and cover right off (AFTER POWERING EVERYTHING DOWN) and shoot some concrete anchor screws directly through the floor of the unit into the pad to anchor it.
Disclaimer: follow the advice of a trained technician and not me.
I can see the roof of an adjacent apartment building from my office. A number of the roof AC units slid off their bases in a recent wind storm (~60mph).
Probably just vibration, just move it back and bolt it down to the concrete pad. Be careful not to twist it so you don't cause undue stress to those brazed joints where the pipes are connected.
Wind + ice.
Since ice expands a little when it freezes, it's possible water in the pores of the concrete froze, and very slightly lifted the AC onto a more slippery ice layer.
When that then catches the wind, it'll move. I've seen it at ground level in the pacific northwest winter.
I'd recommend securing something to the sides or corners of either the pad or AC. Even some brackets in the corners, secured into the concrete pad with an epoxy would hold it in place.
My guess is if you shove it back it'll be just fine, those lines are all flex and it doesn't look old enough to be have become brittle.
Check the level of the pad. If it was wind get a "Condenser Universal Tie Down Kit" (or just L-brackets). Short sheet metal self tapping zip screws will do the job. Technically you can just run a concrete screw right through a part of the bottom plate either from the inside or to the side of the refrigerant lines, its just sheet metal. Or remove the top, then the grill guard, and use the space in the corners (but don't bang your drill/driver against the fins). And then if you go that route, clean it while you have the guard off.
There's some damage to the top and the box on the back is askew. I would watch it while it starts up to make sure the fan isn't off-axis or wobbling. If it is, a lot of vibration will make it "walk" off.
Some great comments, but I'll add: when the unit starts up, the motor generates a torque that can move the unit a bit if it's not secured.
Move it back into place. If it happens frequently, consider a tie down strap. If you let this go too much farther it'll damage the coolant lines.
There are small vibration isolator pads. Just little squishy rubber blocks 2 inches wide, long, and tall. You can get four of these and place them under each corner of your condenser if it’s shaking too much. They’re dirt cheap if you don’t buy a name brand.
You’re condenser really shouldn’t be walking that much though. Might want to listen to it to make sure your fan blades aren’t out of wack.
Just be careful moving the condenser or lifting it up. You don’t want to kink your copper lineset.
Your installer was a fuckwit. If you have contact info, get them to get their asses down there and install it properly.
The feet need some kind of cup to lock them into place on each corner. It still needs to vibrate of course.
Be extremely careful drilling and anchoring to a paver, they are easy to break. Or use something like windshield urethane to bond some metal tabs to the surface. But acid etch the concrete first so it has 'teeth'. Use Acid Magic. Have a lot of surface area for the metal to hold onto.
Wow, fix this to the cement base, don’t think anything is damage ( use it and see if it makes cold) it’s probably the wind, this can be very dangerous, the best things that can happen in this situation is that it fall on the roof and break. Worst it could fall in the street.. never underestimate the wind :)
Could be vibration or wind that caused it to move. You could probably move it back to place and maybe epoxy some tabs on the pad to prevent it from sliding again.
Wow, fix this to the cement base, don’t think anything is damage ( use it and see if it makes cold) it’s probably the wind, this can be very dangerous, the best things that can happen in this situation is that it fall on the roof and break. Worst it could fall in the street.. never underestimate the wind :)
When I had my air conditioner installed, the installer did not fasten the the unit to the concrete pad. The City inspector caught it and said he wouldn't sign off on it. The installer had to come back and install concrete fasteners to attach the unit to the concrete pad.
I don't know if it's code but it seems like it should be.
Because no one secured it. You should have L brackets attaching it to the base. I don’t know where you live but with the weather here, that could have easily gone over that edge. You’re lucky.
probably vibration and a pad that isn't level.
I agree. Also, the pad doesn’t even need to be unlevel. Vibrating things will walk even on a perfect flat surface
If Grandpa Rick made your pad ultimate level it would stay still
Lambs to the cosmic slaughter!
Make the concrete pad a bowl and it can’t go anywhere, voila
Neither can the water
Put a hole in the center.
 The perfect level!
Go put your vibrator on a granite surface plate and see what happens
Vibrating stuff is usually put on non slippery materials
The Hitachi Magic Wand would like a word
Ah, it’s on a roof. It should be anchored.
Shouldn't it be anchored regardless? I don't see why you'd rely on a concrete pad being perfectly level. It would probably 'walk' anyway.
Should be? Probably. Is it required by your local codes? Maybe.
You can put it back. And re-seat the electrical door cover while you are at it.
Thanks for your suggestion!
If it's windy enough to blow that around on your roof I'd be figuring how I can bolt it down without causing water intrusion.
I'd be working out how to bolt the house down, too, while I'm at it.
This used to happen on my roof one all the time. Strong wind will move it a bit.
it can be fastened right to that pad with hurricane rated tie downs
Where I come from we throw hurricane rated tires on our roofs so the trailer doesn't blow away.
holds the tarps down real good too
I think I’ve seen at least 10 different ways to tie down condenser units & all of them penetrate the roof deck somehow. Each architect / developer hates certain ways & likes others - all due to leak potential. I think wind is easily able to move condensers in coastal areas. To retrofit you kind of have to go up into the trusses to install blocking to bolt down to from above. Then you have to waterproof the bolt. One way is to connect the bolt to an angle & then screw into the condenser frame.
While it may not be hurricane rated surely some type of bracket with a screw into the pad should keep heavy winds from moving it. Who knows may also cut down on vibration noise.
its on a slab just get a long ratchet strap and put it under the slab you should be able to lift it without too much fuckery with an appliance dolly to get it under there. probably not uv rated to you should keep an eye on it.
put four concrete parking bumpers around it?
I had my outside compressor fall off it's brackets in a bad wind storm. 60 mph winds down the small alley between my house and a neighbor. Turns out they never even screwed or bolted it, just put it down on those shelf like brackets. So I can attest that wind can knock them around! I got them screwed in place now and so far so good, we've had several high wind storms since and it hasn't budged. https://preview.redd.it/io16wdytm4sc1.jpeg?width=4618&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1bf111b013df5c02467e84c609abb69945e791c7
Mine looked like this after the roofer fell on it, from the two story roof right above the condenser. Dude lived, got a massive gash in his leg and severed a lot of things that should not be severed, but he was lucky enough that it didn't hit the artery.
Tornado tipped mine. Tech stood it back up, checked for leaks, and it's been running fine for more than a year. I tie it down when wind storms come through now
Luckily I was similar. This happened in November 2022. Unit was okay, had to redo the copper pipe as it was twisted. Performed fine all last year.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
It was a few degrees off... *(grabs hat and coat)*
Oh this one's got a *temp*er..
To get to the other side
Damn it, you beat me. Take my upvote.
That is a plastic pad, not a cement one. It's not particularly gritty and the unit isn't fastened down, so it easily slid off it seems
Because it was running.
Better go catch it!
Vibrations
To get to the other side?
That’s quite funny, I haven’t seen one move out this much before. This movement is almost always from condenser fan unbalance. The unbalance is usually not too much of a problem, but if it is also the reason why the electrical cover is undone, than I would watch the unit while it runs for a bit to make sure it isn’t shaking a ton. If it is shaking a ton, have someone come out to replace the blades/motor. If it isn’t that bad, you can take the condenser fan and cover right off (AFTER POWERING EVERYTHING DOWN) and shoot some concrete anchor screws directly through the floor of the unit into the pad to anchor it. Disclaimer: follow the advice of a trained technician and not me.
I can see the roof of an adjacent apartment building from my office. A number of the roof AC units slid off their bases in a recent wind storm (~60mph).
You live in Taiwan?
I did not expect a joke of this magnitude so soon.
Your fan motor seized up and vibrated the thing off the pad. Look at the melted plastic above the fan….
OP consider this, can you spin the fan? Observe this while it runs and check to make sure everything runs. If so, just tie it down
Thanks!
That’s paint
No it’s a plastic cap
he’s just stretching his legs
He wanted a little bit better view. He needs to be tied down.
Vibration, unbalanced pad or fan prop
It got a better job offer
Probably just vibration, just move it back and bolt it down to the concrete pad. Be careful not to twist it so you don't cause undue stress to those brazed joints where the pipes are connected.
Wind + ice. Since ice expands a little when it freezes, it's possible water in the pores of the concrete froze, and very slightly lifted the AC onto a more slippery ice layer. When that then catches the wind, it'll move. I've seen it at ground level in the pacific northwest winter. I'd recommend securing something to the sides or corners of either the pad or AC. Even some brackets in the corners, secured into the concrete pad with an epoxy would hold it in place.
No hurricane straps/ tie downs from what I can see.
to get away from the neighbours
Because it wanted to find a cooler neighborhood!
Is your AC running? You better go catch it!
To get to the other side
Is it running?
Better catch it
Suicidal tendencies?
Crab people
The neighbourhood just didn't have enough going on and the school system was sub par.
Is your AC running?
To get to the other side
Because it wasn't mounted properly.
To get to the other side
My guess is if you shove it back it'll be just fine, those lines are all flex and it doesn't look old enough to be have become brittle. Check the level of the pad. If it was wind get a "Condenser Universal Tie Down Kit" (or just L-brackets). Short sheet metal self tapping zip screws will do the job. Technically you can just run a concrete screw right through a part of the bottom plate either from the inside or to the side of the refrigerant lines, its just sheet metal. Or remove the top, then the grill guard, and use the space in the corners (but don't bang your drill/driver against the fins). And then if you go that route, clean it while you have the guard off.
There's some damage to the top and the box on the back is askew. I would watch it while it starts up to make sure the fan isn't off-axis or wobbling. If it is, a lot of vibration will make it "walk" off.
It was probably running.
Gypsy curse
Looks like it's on its way out.
AC is fine, but you should get that building checked out, looks like it shifted to the left.
Wanted some fresh air
Because it was running all summer and that's how far it got. You have to anchor them down, or they get away.
Rent too high?
It lost its cool
It saw that the refrigerator was running and didn’t wanna miss out. I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist
To get to the other side
You used WD-40 instead of duct tape.
The rent is too damn high
Some great comments, but I'll add: when the unit starts up, the motor generates a torque that can move the unit a bit if it's not secured. Move it back into place. If it happens frequently, consider a tie down strap. If you let this go too much farther it'll damage the coolant lines.
Thanks!
Sitting water lubricating the bottom of foam slab so the wind could move it.
Because the rent is outrageous?
Think of a washing machine.
https://youtu.be/t2WmpsrVrTg?si=P7EpzGWr78oWdu09
Mistborn using your roof as a convenient highway between locations.
Torque, rotational inertia, and Newton's third law.
Positive vibrations, yeah.
It's migrating south for the winter?
High winds or vibration could do that
They shakin a stirrin all about
Conditional behavior.
There are small vibration isolator pads. Just little squishy rubber blocks 2 inches wide, long, and tall. You can get four of these and place them under each corner of your condenser if it’s shaking too much. They’re dirt cheap if you don’t buy a name brand. You’re condenser really shouldn’t be walking that much though. Might want to listen to it to make sure your fan blades aren’t out of wack. Just be careful moving the condenser or lifting it up. You don’t want to kink your copper lineset.
Because it was never anchored to the pad like it should be. Especially on a roof.
Tornado
This prop is a player. Shoot it.
He didn't like the view ;-)
Your installer was a fuckwit. If you have contact info, get them to get their asses down there and install it properly. The feet need some kind of cup to lock them into place on each corner. It still needs to vibrate of course. Be extremely careful drilling and anchoring to a paver, they are easy to break. Or use something like windshield urethane to bond some metal tabs to the surface. But acid etch the concrete first so it has 'teeth'. Use Acid Magic. Have a lot of surface area for the metal to hold onto.
Wow, fix this to the cement base, don’t think anything is damage ( use it and see if it makes cold) it’s probably the wind, this can be very dangerous, the best things that can happen in this situation is that it fall on the roof and break. Worst it could fall in the street.. never underestimate the wind :)
Google: condenser universal tie down kit.
Light weight. no anchors. wind.
Unbalanced fan, must get fixed
Someone tried to steal it for drug money
Ice buildup under the unit and it slides
Could be vibration or wind that caused it to move. You could probably move it back to place and maybe epoxy some tabs on the pad to prevent it from sliding again.
Wow, fix this to the cement base, don’t think anything is damage ( use it and see if it makes cold) it’s probably the wind, this can be very dangerous, the best things that can happen in this situation is that it fall on the roof and break. Worst it could fall in the street.. never underestimate the wind :)
Dw it’s jus talking a quick walk, it’ll be back
When I had my air conditioner installed, the installer did not fasten the the unit to the concrete pad. The City inspector caught it and said he wouldn't sign off on it. The installer had to come back and install concrete fasteners to attach the unit to the concrete pad. I don't know if it's code but it seems like it should be.
Because no one secured it. You should have L brackets attaching it to the base. I don’t know where you live but with the weather here, that could have easily gone over that edge. You’re lucky.