These Things Are Expensive!

[crokett]

Electrical splices:

http://www.aplussupply.com/nsipolari...connectors.htm

But worth it, especially since I have to splice aluminum to copper. The electrician and inspector I've consulted on this panel upgrade both say to use 'em. Don't need to tape split bolts, , they come with the anti-ox compound and they are apparently rated for damp locations, although this isn't one.

[atgcpaul]

Dang! Those are pricey! You can almost begin to understand why some
people skimp on the quality of their DIY jobs when they see prices like that
for a seemingly simple part.

[dbhost]

I've got to ask. Why are you splicing copper to aluminum instead of pulling out the aluminum and replacing it? I'm no electrical expert, but the stories I have heard about Aluminum make me want it nowhere near my electrical system.

[crokett]

I am extending circuits as part of the panel upgrade. I am not pulling out the 2-2-2-4 that feeds the sub in the basement, nor am I pulling the 2-2-4 that feeds the air handler. I asked the inspector. He says there are lots of houses of same vintage as mine with same issues and the Polaris is what he uses.

[dbhost]

Ah...

Gotcha...

Thought the aluminum might be in the new shop building...

Guess that makes sense.

It's probably ignorance of the stuff used in electrical that bothers me. I know that tons of 1960s and 1970s vintage homes here are wired with aluminum... Always heard connecting between alu and copper could be problematic... All the stuff I see on the shelves these days is copper...

[LCHIEN]

aluminum makes good wire sense for the economics - lowest cost and weight per foot for equivalent ohmic losses. Just will be larger for the same ohmic losses.

The bad rap comes when the terminations to copper wire are made improperly - there are a number of coefficient of expansion issues and oxidation of the aluminum can occur, resulting is connections that become loose and overheat and lead to intermittents and or fire when not made correctly (e.g with proper coatings and materials).

When made correctly aluminum-to-copper wiring has proven to be safe. Unfortunately in the late 60's- 70's they were not well understood about the problems and lots of houses were made with, lets say, potentially troublesome wiring issues.

So if he has a lot of internal or pre-existing wiring, its usually cheaper to use the correct transition fittings and antioxident coatings than to replace the wiring in the walls.

[crokett]

All the small loads in my house are wired with copper. Only the larger ones are aluminum.

[cabinetman]

I forgot if this question was ever asked, but I was wondering if copper is better than aluminum?
.

[Uncle Cracker]

I used to own a 1970 vintage FHA-235 home. All wired with aluminum. The problem back then was that copper was expensive and (due to the VN war) scarce. These houses all had to be built with minimal budgets, so they did what they had to do. The biggest problem arose from the fact that it was not known at that time that special materials were needed to properly connect to aluminum, so all the switches, outlets, etc. were not rated for it. In about 1983, I replaced all the hardware with AL/CU rated components (yeah, it was a pretty sizable job), but I was not going to try to replace the wiring, because it was pretty near impossible in that house.

End result: aluminum wiring remains, no issues to date. I still know the current owner, and he goes around once a year and pulls the plates, makes sure connections are clean and tight, and buttons it up for another year.