Air conditioner pad

1. A pad for use in supporting an air conditioning unit, raising it off the ground, and maintaining it in a preferred position of use even when subjected to strong winds, said pad comprising a main body with an hollow interior chamber, at least one opening adapted for fill/vent/drain purposes, at least one central structural support, and a plurality of tie-down openings so that when an air conditioning unit sits atop said pad and substantially covers it, and said pad is filled with fluid or other material, said pad is able to maintain the air conditioner in its preferred position of use even when subjected to strong winds.

2. The pad of claim 1 wherein said main body has a vertically extending surface and further wherein said at least one opening adapted for fill/vent/drain purposes comprises a main fill/vent/drain opening and a secondary vent opening through said vertically extending surface.

3. The pad of claim 2 wherein said at least one opening adapted for fill/vent/drain purposes further comprises a secondary drain opening through said vertically extending surface.

4. The pad of claim 1 wherein said wherein said main body has a vertically extending surface and further wherein said at least one opening adapted for fill/vent/drain purposes comprises a main fill/vent/drain opening and a secondary drain opening through said vertically extending surface.

5. The pad of claim 1 further comprising overfill protection means adapted for leaving a void within said hollow interior chamber that can be used for fluid expansion when said pad is subjected to temperature extremes.

6. The pad of claim 4 wherein said overfill protection means is selected from a group consisting of a fill line on said main body and a drain/vent opening located through said main body in a position to prevent overfill.

7. The pad of claim 1 wherein said at least one central structural support is configured so that ground moisture is not permitted to reach an air conditioning unit positioned atop said pad when said pad is placed upon the ground.

8. The pad of claim 1 further comprising at least one cutout area associated with each of said tie-down openings.

9. The pad of claim 7 wherein said main body has a substantially rectangular configuration with corners, and at least some of said tie-down openings are located in said corners.

10. The pad of claim 1 further comprising at least one cutout area associated with said at least one opening adapted for fill/vent/drain purposes.

11. A method of supporting an air conditioning unit, raising it off the ground, and maintaining it in a preferred position of use even when subjected to strong winds, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a pad with a main body having an hollow interior chamber, at least one opening adapted for fill/vent/drain purposes, at least one central structural support, and a plurality of tie-down openings;

also providing an air conditioning unit, fill means, and at least one tie-down strap;

placing said pad in a preferred position of use;

adding said fill means to said pad via said at least one opening adapted for fill/vent/drain purposes;

placing said air conditioning unit atop said pad so that said air conditioning unit substantially covers said pad; and

inserting said at least one tie-down strap through a plurality of said tie-down openings in said pad and over said air conditioning unit whereby said pad is able to maintain the air conditioner in said preferred position of use even when subjected to strong winds.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said step of adding said fill means to said pad and placing said air conditioning unit atop said pad are interchangeable.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said main body has a substantially rectangular configuration with corners, and at least some of said tie-down openings are located in said corners.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising at least one cutout area selected from a group consisting of cutout areas associated with said tie-down openings and cutout areas associated said fill/vent/drain openings.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein said at least one central structural support is configured so that ground moisture is not permitted to reach an air conditioning unit positioned atop said pad when said pad is placed upon the ground.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein said pad further comprises overfill protection means adapted for leaving a void within said hollow interior chamber that can be used for fluid expansion when said pad is subjected to temperature extremes.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein said overfill protection means is selected from a group consisting of a fill line on said main body and a drain/vent opening located through said main body in a position to prevent overfill.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein said main body has a vertically extending surface and further wherein said at least one opening adapted for fill/vent/drain purposes comprises a main fill/vent/drain opening and a secondary vent opening through said vertically extending surface.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said at least one opening adapted for fill/vent/drain purposes further comprises a secondary drain opening through said vertically extending surface.

20. The method of claim 11 wherein said wherein said main body has a vertically extending surface and further wherein said at least one opening adapted for fill/vent/drain purposes comprises a main fill/vent/drain opening and a secondary drain opening through said vertically extending surface.