Power Cord replacement on Craftsman Air Compressor

[Dale_W]

I have a Craftsman compressor that is 4 or 5 years old. When brought it home, I noticed it had a very heavy looking power cable, even though it was only AWG 14.

That cable is stiff in summer, and rock hard in winter. You guessed it, the insulation finally broke, and exposed some wires.

Why such heavy insulation?

I have a nice soft AWG 14 extension cord that is 6 foot long.

If I pay attention to the polarity (hot, neutral, ground) does anybody see any problems with me replacing the stiff cord with the flexible one?

Thanks

Dale

[bgsengine]

The heavier thicker insulation is more to protect the wires from being stepped on or similar traffic damage (or being yanked around a corner, etc.) So you will want a POWER TOOL Power cord.
an ordinary extension cord or appliance cord will NOT do the job and you'll risk a nasty shock if not worse. Though if you have a professional grade shop duty extension cord (round, much thicker insulation) you can use that , but it'd be a shame to cut up an expensive extension cord if you can locate a good power tool power cord.

[Dale_W]

Thanks!

See? This is why I come here to ask. I will do some searching. I bet I can find a nice heavily insulated replacement that wont turn to rock in the winter time.

Thanks again

Dale

[bgsengine]

Thanks!

See? This is why I come here to ask. I will do some searching. I bet I can find a nice heavily insulated replacement that wont turn to rock in the winter time.

Thanks again

Dale

Do you have a model number on that unit? (Craftsman model number) Might be I could be of some help in that regard. - And then there's SearsPartsDirect.com (but they are a bit overpriced, and then throw in shipping on top!)

[Dale_W]

Thanks BGS,
I'll take a look and write it down tonight. I deliberately did not want to get the direct replacement from sears, thinking the new cord would be stiff in summer, and rock hard in winter, just like this one.

Home Depot used to have a nice selection of bulk cable.

[KE4AVB]

Have you thought about your local electrical parts or appliance parts warehouses. These places are usually fairly knowledgeable about their products. They should have the wiring needed that is flexible in cold environments especially for equipment that is used in the supermarket meat departments.

Something that has a rubberize covering probably would be what meets the requirements.

[Dale_W]

Thank you for the suggestions. I find it ironic that they put on such thick insulation to protect the wires from being stepped on or damaged when going around corners, and yet, that very same insulation is what broke where the cable comes out of the box. The compressor was made in 2010, and the insulation probably first cracked in late 2013.

The model is 921-166420

And get this - the compressor is a home-owners-garage-queen. It sees use on weekends, and not every weekend at that.

No way am I going to give sears more of my money. (at least on this compressor) I like the idea of the supply warehouse that can set me up with a heavy tool or appliance cord.


D

[sblg43]

This thread was a couple months old but...

I work at a True Value hardware store and I can tell you that we stock a replacement power tool cord.