Need a source for electrical wire ( cord )
 

I've been getting my electrical wire from a source I don't feel comfortable mentioning right now. I'm not mad at them but the problem is they have some miss marked wiring and that could cause trouble. They've offered to give me a store credit, but it would cost me shipping and I don't feel like spending that.

Here is the deal. Last February I bought some 18-2 SPT-1 and 18-2 SPT-2 electrical cord. The 18-2 SPT-2 is good and the wire is the correct 18 gauge.
The SPT-1 however must be miss marked because the wire is much smaller than the 18 gauge should be.

Here are some pics of the wires:
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The brown wire is 18-2 SPT-1 bought from a Lowes I believe.
The first black wire is 18-2 SPT-1 from an old sewing machine motor.
The second black wire is 18-2 SPT-2 from the supply I bought in Feb.
The third black wire is NOT 18-2 ( more like 20-2 ) SPT-1 from the batch I bought in Feb.
If you look close you can see that all the wires except the bottom one are 18 gauge, the bottom one is smaller.

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Here is a closer comparison view of the wires. This is the second and third black wires shown in the first pic. In this pic you can clearly see the thinner wire is marked 18-2 and yet is thinner than the other wire this "IS" 18 gauge.

Now, I'm not whining or ranting I just thought I'd post this in case others decided to do their own wiring. It never occurred to me to check the wiring gauge of newly purchased wire, especially when it was marked as what I ordered.

I've been taught to never put a smaller gauge wire between the load and the power source than the wire the load uses.
Nother words the sewing machine motor is wired with 18 gauge wire, so don't rewire it with 20 gauge wire. I do not know if it would cause problems or not, but I won't do it.

I can use this thinner wire for rewiring sewing machine lights but I can't use it for controllers or motors. Not sure what I'm gonna do with it as I have 30' ± left.

Does anyone know of a source of 18-2 SPT-1 BLACK electrical cord?

Oh, for those that don't know, the SPT-1 and SPT-2 designations refer to the thickness of the insulation around the wire, not the wire itself. You can see this in my first picture.

Joe

Jenny at Sew-Classic. Or, you can buy black extension cords from radio shack which is what I do.

Radio Shack has black cords? I will check them out, but last time I was in one all they had was cell phones and computer things. No electronics any more.

I just received an email from the supplier of the cord with the thinner wire. They told me that 20 gauge was rated up to 2 Amps and that few sewing machine motors were over 1.5 amps with most being under 1.0 amps. So there would be no problem using it.
Perhaps I'm a bit paranoid, maybe.

Joe

I think you should be sent what you want - if it's available.

I agree, but the seller does not have any correct 18-2 SPT-1 at this time. So that's why they offered a store credit rather than an exchange. They have told me they will be trying a different supplier in the future. So I'll try them at a later date.

Joe

Joe

I'm not saying what I did was right ... but when I replaced the foot pedal on my Spartan with new wiring to the motor, and new wire from the motor to the wall plug ... I purchased a "Small appliance" cord from Menards. These cords had a standard 3 prong plug on one end and an "appliance plug" on the other. I simply snipped the appliance plug off and used the wire. I admit to not running that particular machine a whole lot to know if there is a problem ... yet.

Sue,

I've used appliance cords too. I don't use the grounded though. The package of brown cord in the first pic is for lamps and appliances.

I "try" to keep the machines looking as close to original as I can.

Joe

What about Grainger, or a local electrical supply like Locke, CED/American Electric, or a store that specializes in lighting?

I had forgotten them. My wife actually got some year before last, I'll see if she remembers what it was she got.

Joe

Joe, have you checked with Home Depot and Lowes, they have a lot of wire you can buy in bunches or right off the real at HD too. And as someone said, a lamp store or electrical suppy house. Good luck.