Originally Posted by
newattitude
I could, I have cords - would that be safe though?
It will be safe as long as the cord you put onto the appliance is at least as large as the one that was cut off. For example, you wouldn't want to use a Christmas light extension cord to rewire a vacuum cleaner; typically those wires are too light and you would overheat them and create a risk of a fire. On the other hand, if you have some of that orange heavy-gauge outdoor extension cord, that would be appropriate to use on a vacuum cleaner.
You must also make sure you make the connections correctly. You must mimic the type of connectors that were originally used by the appliance manufacturer, and you must be taking care to make sure that you wire the "hot" side of the plug to the part of the appliance that originally was connected to the "hot" side (typically a black wire.) If you reverse the wiring, the appliance may still operate, but you will risk electric shock while using the appliance.
Unfortunately, you have to know what you're doing, and there isn't an easy way for me to explain it beyond what I've said above. If you aren't sure -- certain, even -- that you know what you're doing, then DON'T. Your safety and health are not worth risking on a curb-shopped appliance. If you don't know what you're doing, you could start a fire, or electrocute one of your children, or any number of other horrible things. If you DO know what you're doing, then you risk none of those things.
Hope this helps.
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