About five years ago I bought a beautiful Jensen 20G off of ebay, one with a copper color firebox I believe is from the late 60s or early 70s. In fact, when I purchased it off of ebay, the seller wasn't sure if it had ever been ran. When I received it, there was no evidence that it had ever been used. I plugged it in and it ran well. After a few years of not running it, I got it out today to run it, but the power cord started cracking apart as I pulled it out of the box! So I guess a new power cord is in order.
As far as I know, the heater still works. It did when I ran it years ago. However, seeing that Jensen still sells the blanket heaters, would it make sense to replace the blanket heater as well? Do these deteriorate more from age, or from use? Any thoughts are appreciated!
Mike , it's a pretty simple operation to change out the cord. It's more than likely held in with a hayco cord restraint , a pliers will handle that, then remove the 2 screws holding the chimney support. Snip the wires and replace with grounded cord (if it doesn't have one) I drill a small hole in the rear of the firebox( for the ground wire) I look at a heater like I do a light bulb, if it still works ...it's good.
Having a number of Jensens, I bought a used, American made Heyco pliers off ebay for somewhere between $10-20 shipped a few years back.
For getting a power cord I find it can sometimes be cheaper to buy an extension and cut off the end than to buy just a cord.
Thanks for all the responses! It looks like I will just be replacing the cord. Looks like the cord on my Jensen 35 is starting to crack and needs replaced as well.