LCHIENI would be very wary of these 12g power cords. In a 100ft cable, the copper alone is probably worth almost $8. These days, all the Made in China cables use 16 & 18g copper and wrap it in a thick shield to make it look like 12g. Power cords is not something you would want to takes chances with. The problem for the buyer is that there is no easy way to verify, short of cutting one up and measuring the copper inside.
Just gentle warning
Just gentle warning
that's what i worry about, unscrupulous makers will put thick insulation on a cord to make it look heavier gauge than it is, insulation being much cheaper than copper.
There is an easy, non destructive way to tell, you can just measure the resistance. 12 gauge should have abour 1.6ohms/1000 feet, or .32 ohms if you tie both prongs together at the male end and measure the resistance between slots at the female end of a 100 feet cable. A 16 ga. would have 0.8 ohms resistance measured the same way. 14 ga, 0.5 ohms. This can be done with a decent Voltmeter but you have to be very careful about test lead resistance and how good your connections are to the item being tested and how well the meter is zeroed.
Incidentally Kaydee is right about pricing. Market prices for raw copper are about $2.90+ per pound (todays market price), 3 x 100 feet of 12 gauge copper wire would weigh just shy of 6 pounds, so raw copper for 12/3 would cost nearly $18. - not counting stranding, drawing and spooling the bare wire, insulating and spooling the inividual wires, then jacketing an filling the whole cable then attaching and molding the connectors, labor and materials, packaging and shipping. Even with free labor the Chinese can't do that.
I'd really check if my $8 cable was really the gauge they said it would be.
If it is and since you can get 1.20 per pound scrap prices (stripped) you should buy all you can!
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