Raindem

Most of the time I'd agree with you. When I bought a new hot water heater a while back I paid an electrician $150 to come out and hook it up. I literally looked over his shoulder the whole time and decided next time I had something like this I'd try it myself.

It turned out with the compressor that I could not use the appliance cord I bought. The wires were #6 & #8 and just wouldn't fit in the tiny compressor electrical box. So instead I removed the outlet and direct wired it using #10 armored cable. I covered the box opening with a solid cover plate that the armored cable attached to. Then I replaced the 50a breaker with a 30a. The whole installation looks very professional and it runs like a champ.