Home & Garden

Aluminium Wiring

  • Last Updated:
  • Feb 22nd, 2009 3:25 pm
Tags:
None
Deal Expert
User avatar
May 10, 2005
36968 posts
11408 upvotes
Ottawa
All three are for profit companies with motivation to scare so they can make some money.
Here are some Canadian sites that are informational only, no ulterior motives:
http://www.safetyauthority.ca/bcsa_pdf_ ... e_Home.pdf
http://www.esasafe.com/GeneralPublic/bh_003.php
http://www.esasafe.com/pdf/Flash_Notice ... -01-FL.pdf
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2001
1049 posts
1 upvote
Pete: By pig tailing copper to my alum. wire, and showing a licensed company did the work, pilot insurance gave me 10% discount on my house insurance, so it cant be all that bad of an idea, and since there is still alot of houses with alum wire, and many that are pig tailed together, I would say its a good thing.

OP call a electrician in for a qoute and bounce some ideas off of him
Deal Addict
Sep 19, 2005
2838 posts
48 upvotes
There is alot of fear about alum wiring which is unwarranted. We have entire subdivisions wired this way,,, you think they have insurance??? Of course and the homes sell everyday and people get insurance. Make sure the outlets are alum type which you can buy.
From a emerg response perspective,,, there are very few fires related to the wiring directly but more so errors and accidents of homeowners.
Deal Addict
Nov 12, 2006
3109 posts
2308 upvotes
London
Pete_Coach wrote: You see, that is exactly the wrong thing to do. Pig tailing the wires together is what is causing problems. Differential in expansion and contraction under the heating of a load, as well as possible dissimilar metal corrosion. There is a method of connecting copper to aluminum wire but it is very expensive and requires special tools built for only that.
Pete, we seem to be in general agreement over the excessive paranoia with aluminum , however I do disagree with the above.
In your next post you provide some excellent links which conflict with the above quote.
Pigtails are one accepted solution, provided approved connectors are used.
They aren't overly expensive and no special tools are required.

Perhaps you thought Prankster meant that Cu only connectors could be used, but I didn't read it that way.
Deal Addict
Dec 1, 2003
1291 posts
10 upvotes
Pete_Coach wrote: All three are for profit companies with motivation to scare so they can make some money.
Here are some Canadian sites that are informational only, no ulterior motives:
http://www.safetyauthority.ca/bcsa_pdf_ ... e_Home.pdf
http://www.esasafe.com/GeneralPublic/bh_003.php
http://www.esasafe.com/pdf/Flash_Notice ... -01-FL.pdf
There is always 2 sides to the debate. While you don't see a house burning down every day because of aluminum wiring, the fire hazards are there, and it can be real, even when done properly.

In the one test they used the Ideal "purple" marettes which are desgiend for cu/al wiring and they showed the dangers.
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2001
1049 posts
1 upvote
Houses with copper wiring have burnt down due to electrical wiring issues also.

"What ifs" exist in everyday life.

Maintaining alum wire is one of them, and a part of home ownership! Nothing to debate, if the OP desires the house they shouldnt be afraid to buy because the wiring.
Deal Expert
User avatar
May 10, 2005
36968 posts
11408 upvotes
Ottawa
loudsubz wrote: There is always 2 sides to the debate. While you don't see a house burning down every day because of aluminum wiring, the fire hazards are there, and it can be real, even when done properly.

In the one test they used the Ideal "purple" marettes which are desgiend for cu/al wiring and they showed the dangers.
You are absolutely correct except that there is no longer a debate.
There is the side of those who profit from the work and effort to replace it and there is the side that regulates, which has seen fit to no longer deem it a hazard, meaning there is no regulation or law against using it or installing it.
Your fire example is an attempt at scaremongering. How do you explain the multitude of houses that burn down as a result of electrical issues that do not have aluminum wiring? It is not a very good analogy and only perpetuates a myth. ;)
Member
User avatar
Dec 9, 2008
237 posts
14 upvotes
H H Haaamilton
Prankster wrote: Houses with copper wiring have burnt down due to electrical wiring issues also.

"What ifs" exist in everyday life.

Maintaining alum wire is one of them, and a part of home ownership! Nothing to debate, if the OP desires the house they shouldnt be afraid to buy because the wiring.
Excellent point! Totally agree...+1
Allow me to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket. ~ Jack Sparrow

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)