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Aluminum wiring in home
Posted on 8/4/20 at 8:17 am
Posted on 8/4/20 at 8:17 am
Casually shopping for a house until things open up more, and finding some otherwise very nice homes from the 60s have aluminum wiring.
Is it a deal breaker? OK if pigtailed with copper? The cost to strip and replace all the wiring can be north of $10K from quick searches.
Is it a deal breaker? OK if pigtailed with copper? The cost to strip and replace all the wiring can be north of $10K from quick searches.
5
Posted on 8/4/20 at 8:27 am to TejasHorn
I was in the same boat a few years ago. My insurance company wouldn’t insure a house with aluminum wiring unless it had the pig tails installed by a licensed electrician. I ended up not buying one really nice house bc it had aluminum wiring.
I ended up buying another house where the 110 was copper and the 220 was aluminum. I replaced the 220 aluminum for copper to meet current code for a few grand.
I ended up buying another house where the 110 was copper and the 220 was aluminum. I replaced the 220 aluminum for copper to meet current code for a few grand.
Posted on 8/4/20 at 8:38 am to TejasHorn
Went through this several months back. None of my insurance companies I got quotes from really cared. I was very open about it. I ended up going with the purple pigtail box connectors where necessary and CO/AL-R plugs and switches everywhere.
Posted on 8/4/20 at 8:43 am to TejasHorn
Most times it is a deal breaker unless the seller is willing to take a price reduction to allow the buyer to remedy the situation. As you stated, replacement is expensive but is the best option. There are other bandaids including pigtails, but they increase the number of connection points in the system which is never a good thing. A house with aluminum wiring is something like 50 times more likely to have an electrical fire than one with copper wire.
Posted on 8/4/20 at 8:54 am to TejasHorn
Came across some large gauge aluminum wire for a feed for my shop, the size fits the load, but it must be fed through my house( has a separate conduit run for it in house slab) off house panel, should i even consider this given the info here?
Posted on 8/4/20 at 8:56 am to LSUengr
quote:While it is more risky than copper, the 50x number can seriously be mitigated by proper connections. Aluminum got a bad rap In the 60s and 70s when there was a copper shortage, lots of people went to aluminum, and didn’t change the install methods.
A house with aluminum wiring is something like 50 times more likely to have an electrical fire than one with copper wire.
Not to say it isn’t riskier the copper, but nearly every house I looked at in the last year (all built in 60s/70s era) had aluminum wiring.
This post was edited on 8/4/20 at 8:57 am
Posted on 8/4/20 at 8:59 am to LSUengr
My ex-girlfriend's subdivision built in the early 80s was aluminum. For the 20+ years we were together, there were no fires in the hundreds of homes as far as I know. I replaced every original receptacle with CU/AL rated devices.
It is a pain to work with since a 15A AL wire is closer to 12ga instead of 14ga. I never did the jumpers.
The insurance company didn't care. I don't think aluminum is a deal breaker, just know going in that it's more of a pain than copper is to work with.
It is a pain to work with since a 15A AL wire is closer to 12ga instead of 14ga. I never did the jumpers.
The insurance company didn't care. I don't think aluminum is a deal breaker, just know going in that it's more of a pain than copper is to work with.
This post was edited on 8/4/20 at 9:01 am
Posted on 8/4/20 at 9:33 am to jimbeam
quote:
While it is more risky than copper, the 50x number can seriously be mitigated by proper connections. Aluminum got a bad rap In the 60s and 70s when there was a copper shortage, lots of people went to aluminum, and didn’t change the install methods.
Even with modern installs, you don't want to use aluminum wire for small power circuits like what a home has. These small circuits can see high amp draw, short term loads like hair dryers, compressors, etc. The high amp loads cause the aluminum to expand and then when it cools it contracts. Doing this many times over the years causes aluminum to work itself free at the terminals creating fire hazards. If you use aluminum wire, it is going to happen.
Most of the time, engineers won't spec or allow the use of aluminum for circuits less than 100A (at least I wouldn't when I'm stamping drawings). Using aluminum on larger feeders to things like panels, switchboards, switchgear, etc. is fine because these circuits have lots of diversity and rarely see enough current to heat them up and the dont go all the way down to zero load leading to cooler temps.
Posted on 8/4/20 at 1:01 pm to notsince98
Are all the power lines on poles made out of aluminum?
Never understood why when building they use it for temp service and nothing else?
Never understood why when building they use it for temp service and nothing else?
Posted on 8/4/20 at 2:42 pm to Greenseed
quote:
Are all the power lines on poles made out of aluminum?
Never understood why when building they use it for temp service and nothing else?
It varies. I think most modern overhead lines will be aluminum but you may still find some copper ones. I have run into both at utility substations. I haven't done much work in distribution where utility lines meet residential transformers.
Posted on 8/4/20 at 3:40 pm to TejasHorn
Aluminum is Common for 220 volt and up.My house has 120 volt wiring. I bought plugs for aluminum wiring and petrol.(General Purpose Anti-Seize, 8 oz., Can, Aluminum, Paste, Aluma-Shield, -50°F, 250°F)Just for safety reason. All appliances and light bulbs pull less watts now really not a problem.I had burnt spots from 4 100 watt bulb in light fixture not the wire. Aluminum wiring expands when heated and contract when cooled but with less watts it's not a really bad problem as before.
Posted on 8/4/20 at 7:52 pm to Greenseed
quote:
Came across some large gauge aluminum wire for a feed for my shop, the size fits the load, but it must be fed through my house( has a separate conduit run for it in house slab) off house panel, should i even consider this given the info here?
Aluminum feeds are common, more than copper, not really what's being discussed here.
Posted on 8/5/20 at 9:29 am to Greenseed
quote:almost everyone uses aluminum for feeder wire these days. Those are usually going from lug to lug, both of which are rated for use of aluminum wire, and isn't a cause for concern IMO
Came across some large gauge aluminum wire for a feed for my shop
Posted on 8/6/20 at 12:14 am to bee Rye
The first home I bought in Baton Rouge back in 1971 had Al wiring. I don't think I knew it was AL when I bought the 4 year old home.
Only problem I had was when the house was about 7 years old. I got up one morning to go to work, and about 1/3 of the electrical outlets in the house did not work.
The problem was that on the electrical meter, one of the connections coming into the house was not holding the wire down tight. The wire connection was loose and had gotten very hot and burned the connection.
I got an electrication to make the repairs. After talking with the electrical company, I found out that the home owner owns the meter pan, therefore they would not make repairs.... But why does the electrical company put that little wire lock on the meter pan door?
For the remaining years that I owned that home, I cut that wire lock [and carefully reinstalled it] so I could check the nuts to be sure the connection was tight. The first few years I did turn the nuts a little to get them tighter.
I also checked all the connections in the house breaker panel box. Never had any other problems in 10 more years owning the home.
FYI... that home got a little water in it back during the flood of 2016. The houses to the west of it stayed dry.
Only problem I had was when the house was about 7 years old. I got up one morning to go to work, and about 1/3 of the electrical outlets in the house did not work.
The problem was that on the electrical meter, one of the connections coming into the house was not holding the wire down tight. The wire connection was loose and had gotten very hot and burned the connection.
I got an electrication to make the repairs. After talking with the electrical company, I found out that the home owner owns the meter pan, therefore they would not make repairs.... But why does the electrical company put that little wire lock on the meter pan door?
For the remaining years that I owned that home, I cut that wire lock [and carefully reinstalled it] so I could check the nuts to be sure the connection was tight. The first few years I did turn the nuts a little to get them tighter.
I also checked all the connections in the house breaker panel box. Never had any other problems in 10 more years owning the home.
FYI... that home got a little water in it back during the flood of 2016. The houses to the west of it stayed dry.
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