AC Cage costs $700?

[Bienes Raices]

I called a place and they want $599 + $100 installation for the cage. I don't know much about these, but this seems like a lot.For those who invest in neighborhoods where AC condensor theft happens, what do you do for security?

[Patrick L.]

Unfortunately for the old lady she's getting retail pricing and they're probably trying to take advantage of her. I can get an entire system replaced inside and out for $300-400 above the supply house price on the units.

I was just calling my cage cheap because it's a pretty simple lower end cage (great cage for $85) but it did exactly what I thought it would.....it kept that outside unit there. I was hoping that the copper thieves would see the cage and keep driving but I guess they needed the $10 in scrap that my line set will bring. I just replaced both units and the line set less than 2 weeks ago too (this is a newly acquired rental and it was stripped while vacant) It really pisses me off but it's all part of the business.

[Glenn Ge]

As a HVAC Mechanical Contractor, I have tried several manufactured cages, what I found in Baltimore is they will steel your cage and your AC unit. I now build our own cages, the steel I use is a high grade burglar bar steel that I use in Defense & Government building jobs. To date none of these cages have been breeched. In addition I build a steel heavy gauge sheet metal guard that is painted like the building or house that protects the line set. If you are going to build a cage, ask yourself a question when your done, "would I put a live tiger in that cage and feel safe", funny I know, but those steeling copper and AC units are animals! My dad always said "do it right the first time, and you will not need to do it the second time". Guys with the cost of materials stay away from cages under $300.00 these guys have battery powered band saws, sawsall, and they only need time. In closing I will tell you we had 18 roof top units on top of a 29 foot tall building that every coil was stolen in one night, that is two coils for each unit, they slid them down a cable into the truck. Security video caught most of the action of these three guys in the act.

[Glenn Kopensky]

A search brought me to this discussion forum. I need theft protection for several A/C units. Has anyone tried the GPS tracking module that you put hidden in the A/C unit? When it is moved, you get a call or police get a call, and it is tracked so it can be found. The huge benefit is the thieves hopefully get caught. I found this site and asked for pricing. www.protectmyacunit.com