DerbyDad03 writes:

On Sep 2, 2:21*pm, blueman wrote:
To avoid voltage drop (and power loss) at startup, I want to make sure
that the power cord to my 15 year old Craftsman table saw is 12 gauge
(or upgrade it if it is not).

There are no markings on the cord and no reference in the manual. The
saw is long discontinued so Sears is no help.

So is there any simple way of determining whether cord is 12 gauge or
not?

Thanks

I assume that you don't trust Sears to have installed to proper size
cord for the unit in the first place, right?

Well, it is a 15A motor, so "technically" 14 gauge would be OK, but
I'm getting some bogging down so I thought maybe I could get a few
ounces more of power by upgrading to 12 gauge if it is not already. On
the other hand if it is already 12 gauge, seems like it would be a
waste to replace it.


If you can disconnect the cord at the saw end (unplug it first!),
possibly in a junction box near the switch, you should be able to
determine the size by using any device that is marked with wire gauge
sizes, such as a wire stripper with pre-set holes/markings.

On the other hand, if you are going to disconnect it to check it, you
might just as easily replace it with a known 12 gauge cord.