how bad is it to have a house with aluminum wiring vs. having copper

holden j caufield

Diamond Member
Dec 30, 1999
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all I know is that aluminum might be a bigger fire hazard. How much to rewire the entire house with copper wiring? SQ footage of house is 1650 ft. lot size is 6200 ft. one story. thanks
 

Colt45

Lifer
Apr 18, 2001
19,720
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not much of a hazard really.. its not like it is moving all the time.

as far as rewiring.. its a PITA to do once the walls are all up. yuck i hate that. grr.
 

Bluefront

Golden Member
Apr 20, 2002
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It's not the wire that's the problem....it's the connections. When aluminum wire is connected at an outlet which is copper, for instance, corrosion develops....leading to heat, fires. There is a special compound that can be applied at each connection point, preventing corrosion. But who knows if it was used at every point in your house? Tough call.
 

etech

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
10,597
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Bluefront is correct the problem is at the connections. I hadn't heard of the "special compound" to prevent corrosion being used for house connections.

What I know of is a "AL/Cu" mark on each switch, outlet and fixture that is connected to the aluminum wire. That mark signifies that if the connection is made properly with either aluminum or copper wire it will not corrode.

I'd call an electrician and get an estimate but it isn't going to be cheap.

 

woodie1

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2000
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AS has been stated above, if you have the correct devices connected to the aluminum wires ther will be no problem. Most of the overhead high voltage power lines are aluminum.
 

308nato

Platinum Member
Feb 10, 2002
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All the houses with problem aluminum wiring have burnt down by now. If your house is still standing, you are OK>
 

Electric Amish

Elite Member
Oct 11, 1999
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Originally posted by: Bluefront
It's not the wire that's the problem....it's the connections. When aluminum wire is connected at an outlet which is copper, for instance, corrosion develops....leading to heat, fires. There is a special compound that can be applied at each connection point, preventing corrosion. But who knows if it was used at every point in your house? Tough call.

Correct.

Copper corrodes too, but Copper Oxide is still electrically conductive. Aluminum Oxide is not. That's where the problem develops. :)

I have seen some sort of "Goo" that is supposed to be used when Aluminum connections are made. I don't know exactly how it works, tho.

Talk to an Electrician.

amish
 

Tripleshot

Elite Member
Jan 29, 2000
7,218
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My electrician found problems with my aluminum wiring developing opens at the connection points. He said it is a heat/cold contraction issue. He tightened down the connections and things have been somewhat better, butn as others have said, re wiring is extremely expensive. There are one heck of a bunchof homes and businesses wired with aluminum. I am not too worried about a catastrophic event from my wiring. There are more important things to worry about.;)
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,917
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Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Originally posted by: Bluefront
It's not the wire that's the problem....it's the connections. When aluminum wire is connected at an outlet which is copper, for instance, corrosion develops....leading to heat, fires. There is a special compound that can be applied at each connection point, preventing corrosion. But who knows if it was used at every point in your house? Tough call.

Correct.

Copper corrodes too, but Copper Oxide is still electrically conductive. Aluminum Oxide is not. That's where the problem develops. :)

I have seen some sort of "Goo" that is supposed to be used when Aluminum connections are made. I don't know exactly how it works, tho.

Talk to an Electrician.

amish

My failed Chemistry degree comes in handy here (I changed majors midway through :) ). Whenever you have two dissimilar metals placed into contact with each other, a battery is formed. The power of the battery depends on the properties of the metal. Well, when you have all those electrons flowing between the metals, you get a lot of ions left over and are more than happy to combine with oxygen, so you get a residue of copper or aluminum oxide (I can't remember which...i'd have to look up which way the current flows). Anyway, you can put some goop on there that will either a) block air from getting to the wires, or b) combine with the ions to make a harmless byproduct.

I'm guessing it's a).

Man....I can't beleive I remember that stuff! I used to pour beer on Cherrios before I went to that class heheheheh.