dpb writes:

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

12 AWG -- ~0.081"
14 AWG -- ~0.064"

So, 12 is a little over 1/16", 14 is about 1/16" diameter. Enough
difference if the connection at either end is visible to tell easily.

Do these numbers apply to stranded too? (I believe the power cord is stranded)


That said, what horsepower is the motor rated/current draw on the
motor plate? If the cord is the OEM-supplied one, it's unlikely it's
so undersized as to be discernible difference in changing it out...

My concern was just that at startup (or when bogging down) it will
draw more than the rated 13A/1.5HP so that maybe moving to 12 gauge
would help me out given that the total cord length is about 15 feet.

Assuming it's a dual-voltage motor, you could always go to the 240V
connections and cut current draw in half...

I would like to do that but the manual says "It is wired for
operation on 120 volts, 60 Hz alternating curent. IT MUST NOT BE
CONVERTED TO OPERATE ON 230 VOLTS". Now someone mentioned in another
thread that this may just be due to the fact that the switch only
switches one leg and that everything would be ok if I swapped in a
DPDT switch to switch both phases.

But I don't have any manual for the motor itself and don't know what
needs to be rewired.