On Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:43:56 -0400, Boden wrote:
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
Measure the resistance. 14 gauge is 60% higher than #12 so it should be
easy to do.

Measuring resistance of wire is difficult with a common multimeter. The
resistance of one's probes tends to be greater than the resistance of the wire
and most 3 1/2 digit meters are very inaccurate for milliohm readings.

You either need to measure at least 100' of it, or use a 4 wire
probe.

Why wouldn't the table saw already have an appropriate line cord?
s