We have about 3 dozen Windsor vacuums at my maintenance location and I need to change cords regularly. These replacement cables are great. 18 gauge is what most vacuums draw up to 12 amps, so that's fine. A hard smooth jacket is necessary because if you use a soft jacketed cable (I did) it will after a while become twisted like a phone cord as it twists around the corners. The color is a nice neutral beige that won't mark corners or furniture where string is pulled. I haven't had any problems yet and have fitted them to at least 5 vacuums. The picture shows the ground wire has a crimped ring connector, but the wires I received didn't have them. It's not a problem for me as I have a lot of them, but others may want to know.