Questions tagged [aluminum-wiring]

Aluminum wires were used for branch circuits in some older houses between the 60s and the late 70s. They are no longer used for residential branch-circuit wiring due to fire risk (old AA-1350) and economic (AA-8000) considerations, but existing wires can be maintained in a way that makes them relatively safe. AA-8000 wire and cable will be marked as such -- cable not marked as such can be assumed to be AA-1350.

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Installing a new Aluminum branch circuit. Do I need to use antioxidant grease?

I am installing a new branch circuit for an electric range (current range is gas). The only difference between this and all the other electrical work I've done is this will be the first time I've ...
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3 votes
2 answers
121 views

Existing same-phase multi-wired branch circuit

Bought a 1960s home with aluminum wiring. I noticed that I have two sets multiwire branch circuit? (also known as "multiwire circuit", "multiwire branch circuit", "shared ...
2 votes
2 answers
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Upgrading Garage Sub-Panel

Existing: I have a 100 Amp panel in my garage. It is supplied by 3-2/0 Aluminum cables (Hot-Hot-Neutral) in 2" PVC conduit, from my 200 Amp Main Service Panel on the house about 50' away. Goal: ...
7 votes
2 answers
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What current capacity does 6 AWG AL TYPE SE have for an EV charger?

We recently finished our basement and had electrician run a cable to the garage for an electric vehicle charger that terminates in a junction box in the garage. From the 200A panel the cable is ...
4 votes
2 answers
600 views

8/3 Aluminum wiring to dryer with junction box?

1970 home in Colorado - I’m pretty good with copper but still learning the do’s and dont’s of aluminum. I noticed the dryer was wired with 12/2 cu and a 3 prong outlet which seemed just bad so wanted ...
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Dangers of splitting and reconnecting a ring circuit with oxidized aluminium wiring

I'm in the UK, and have a ring circuit with old aluminium wiring. I need to temporarily split and reconnect the ring at several sockets, in order to discover which part of the ring has a live-to-earth ...
1 vote
3 answers
272 views

Locating the part of a ring main triggering a circuit breaker fault using a standard multimeter

I'm in the UK, and my house has old aluminium wiring for the wall sockets. I think it's a ring main. Over the last couple of weeks, either the RCD or a circuit breaker would trip every few days. ...
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1 answer
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Grounding pin on Type E socket is warm to the touch

I live in an apartment building built about 40-50 years ago, with aluminium wiring and Type E power plugs. I noticed that the grounding pin on one of the sockets is somewhat warm to the touch, I would ...
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Could this have been the cause of power issues I was having?

Based on comments/answer to my previous question, I cleaned the box up some, tightened all screws (no torque specs to be found) so I tightened to satisfaction. I also noticed the wire on lower left ...
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3 votes
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Old aluminum wiring for cooktop and wall oven

I have a home built in 1968 that had all aluminum wiring throughout I replaced the panel and all circuits with copper. The two remaining circuits for a cooktop and separate wall oven are wired in 8/3 ...
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1 answer
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Can dielectric grease be used on aluminum wire?

Can dielectric grease like this one be used with aluminum wire? (in place or in combination with black dioxide paste) to stop the oxygen in the air from harming the aluminum?
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Can I splice #12 aluminum with #14 copper on 15 amp breaker?

I am renovating the 2nd floor of my 1970's home. I decided to change from 1 switched outlet with a lamp in each room to the switch controlling 4-6 LEDs. Breaker Box: Dual Pole 15 Amp Breaker Supply ...
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1 answer
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What is the safest way to pigtail aluminum wiring? [duplicate]

I'm looking for a way to remediate the aluminum wiring in a home built in the 1970s. Currently, the whole house is wired with aluminum and the switches/outlets are original and not aluminum rated. ...
9 votes
1 answer
690 views

Aluminum Wire Restrictions

I am (hopefully) getting some major electrical work done soon by a professional electrician. While it probably won't matter much (meter is only a few feet from existing panels, and new panels will be ...
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1 answer
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Wire sizing question

I have to remove a wall and there is a 220 cable that needs to be re-routed. To do that I have to extend the cable. Is extending possible using boxes and the right alumicon connectors. Here is ...
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New ceiling fan with internal aluminum wiring and leads. Is it still safe?

I Installed a new ceiling fan, but I'm still freaking out, because the fan itself used aluminum wiring! I thought aluminum wiring was banned or something, or at least fell out of use. I know different ...
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Wire guage needed for adding a 100 amp breaker box in garage

I'm running a wire buried wire from my indoor breaker box to an indoor breaker box in my detached garage. I have a 200 amp main breaker box but in the garage I am using a 100 amp breaker box. The main ...
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0 answers
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How to fix overfilled 1-gang switch box?

I have a 1-gang electrical box for a lightswitch. Because of how the room was historically wired it has a lot of cables coming into it. It has the following romex wires coming into/out of it: Home ...
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1 answer
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Black&white live wires, unidentifed breaker

We have 2 wires that were attached to a non functional baseboard heater when we bought our house.We've since removed the heater, but cannot locate the breaker to stop power to the wires. We've gone ...
3 votes
1 answer
676 views

Can I use an existing range circuit for a new sub-panel?

Lots of good information out there but wanted to confirm that what I'm learning is accurate and also ask a little about aluminum wiring. Context/Background I'm finishing my basement (one bedroom, an ...
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Can I replace the aluminum cable of a single circuit with romex?

There is a single run of cable that needs to be replaced; all of our wiring is aluminum. I want to use cable with copper conductors instead of aluminum if at all possible. The run goes directly from ...
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4 answers
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Is this the kind of situation where aluminium wiring is potentially dangerous?

I recently moved into a rental that has aluminum wiring. My understanding is that the wiring itself isn't dangerous, it's just the interface between aluminum and copper where you have problems ...
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125' Run 30 Amp Service Camper

I have a Camper that needs a 30 amp service. Its about 125' away from the panel in the house. I'm looking into using aluminum, but I'm struggling to find the right information. I see 6-6-6 URD and it ...
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498 views

Should I have all the aluminum wiring removed from my home or just the damaged portion?

My home has aluminum wiring, which was wired approximately 20 years ago. A single line of wiring connecting bathroom geyser caught fire and got burnt. I am planning to rewire my house again. Should I ...
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991 views

I have aluminum 12 2 wiring i want to add an extra light Daisy chain what gauge/amp copper wire do i use for a 3 ft span, i will be using alumiconns

Adding 1 extra light total of 2 on circuit. Need to know what gauge of copper wire to add to aluminum 12-2 gauge 3’ span. I will use AlumiConn connectors
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Need help wiring and design/layout questions [duplicate]

I am installing a 60 amp outdoor sub-panel 600+ feet away from the 200 amp main service panel. Here is what I am doing based on my requirements: Run a 2-2-2-4 Aluminum underground feeder to this 60 ...
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3 answers
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High temperature aluminum to copper connection

Summary 120v Oven power wire connector melted and shorted out. Was going to splice the wires together with high temperature wire nut, but found that internal oven power wires are aluminum and the ...
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1 answer
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Reuse aluminum wire for basement Sauna heater

I have existing aluminum wiring, previously used for an electric stove top, that I would like to repurpose for a sauna heater in my basement. The electric stove top is gone. Heater Specs from the ...
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1 vote
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150A for outdoors kitchen - wire size

I am working with the city to get the permits to build an outdoors kitchen with its own sub-panel. I decided to place it 100ft from the house. In my list[*] I have an electric tankless water heater, ...
2 votes
4 answers
2k views

Is soldering copper to aluminum wire allowed under NEC?

Another question made me curious, does the NEC allow copper wire to be joined to aluminum wire by soldering?
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3 answers
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Is there anything to be concerned with this picture?

I just got a W/D combo unit that only needs a 120V outlet and my laundry room only has a 240V outlet. Rather than converting the 240V to a 120V, I want to be able to have both 120V and 220V outlets ...
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8 votes
4 answers
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GFCI for aluminum-wired house

I recently bought a house built in the US in the 1970s. It has all-aluminum wiring. A last-second fix to pass the occupancy inspection involved replacing some malfunctioning GFCIs with, unbeknownst ...
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What Happens When a Copper Wired Component is Introduced into an Antique Lamp with Aluminum Wiring?

A couple years ago I inherited a reading lamp my Grandfather gave my Grandmother back in the 40s. It was functional, except the 3-way rotary switch needed to be replaced. The new switch had copper ...
3 votes
2 answers
417 views

ALUMAFLEX Wire + Copper Wiring

Greeting Electrical wiring experts ! In consideration of a Southern California house built in 1975, we discovered that most of the branch wiring is labeled as ALUMAFLEX AL/2, so we assumed the house’ ...
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Why would a new switch come with aluminum wires?

I just bought a dimmer switch from Lowe's, and it came with aluminum connection wires (I believe). Our house wiring is copper. I understand that connecting aluminum to copper isn't recommended, and ...
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9 votes
2 answers
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How to electrically ground a gas furnace connected with an armoured cable

My gas furnace will not turn on. I verified 120V where the armoured cable enters the furance, so I was going to continue testing for voltage before and after the transformer (with the door safety ...
5 votes
2 answers
537 views

Aluminum wiring with dark discolouration on outside

We are in the process of doing renovations on a home which was built in the early 70s in Toronto. The home has aluminum wiring in most places except the basement which was completed later. When some ...
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2 answers
519 views

Correct torque settings for Polaris connectors

I am connecting 6 awg aluminum wires and 10 awg copper wires with a Polaris connector for my new cooktop. What are the correct torque settings?
2 votes
3 answers
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10/3 Aluminum 20A with multiple electrical circuits? What is correct wiring?

I have a house built in 1971 (EQ Load Center - 200 amp service panel) that is all aluminum wiring and I remodeling the kitchen. The existing wiring is technically working but questionable. We have ...
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pigtailed aluminum replacing regular receptacle to GFI

Need to replace a receptacle closest to panel that has a light and another receptacle inline. All are aluminum. They have alumiconns on them (purple) pigtailed. Need to replace sink receptacle with ...
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1 answer
259 views

Is aluminum wiring the cause of this strange electrical activity?

My house is old and built in the 50’s so the house was made with aluminum wiring. we’ve had a few houses catch in the neighborhood and lately we’ve been having weird stuff happening. First the stove ...
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2 answers
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Black wire crossed with white in box

I was helping my dad install Alumiconn pigtails in his home when I spotted something weird in a 1-gang outlet box: a black wire shorted with a white wire. Alarm bells went off in my head, so I spent ...
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

CO/ALR Outlet Wire Mount Screw Torque

When installing a CO/ALR outlet is there a recommended torque specification for the mounting screws? Unfortunately, I have some aluminum wiring in my home.
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Connecting 6 gauge aluminum wiring to 10 gauge copper with AlumiConn

I am replacing a 20 year old wall oven. When I opened the electrical box I noticed very large gauge aluminum wiring (6 gauge?). I purchased a box of AlumiConns (3 port style) to connect the aluminum ...
3 votes
1 answer
706 views

Is it okay to reuse Alumiconn connectors?

After having redone the aluminum-to-copper pigtails in my house's electrical outlets using AlumiConn connectors, I subsequently had to undo a few to debug a wiring problem. All I did is unscrew the ...
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7 votes
1 answer
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How to handle 4 wires using 3-port AlumiConn connectors?

I'm rewiring outlets and switches in our 1960's California home using AlumiConn connectors to connect the aluminum wiring to copper pigtails. Most cases are straightforward, but I've run into a case ...
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1 answer
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Confused about CO/ALR devices versus AlumiConn and Copalum

Our 1960's house in California has aluminum wiring. When we bought it 15 years ago, I wanted the nicer Lutron receptacles and light switches, so I rewired all the outlets and switches using twist ...
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3 answers
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Is copper clad aluminum wiring safe to use?

During remodeling I have found some copper clad aluminum wire. If I recall correctly is all 12 gauge used for outlets. It is clearly labelled as CU clad aluminum on the jacket of the insulation. I ...
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reuse hot tub wiring for an EVSE?

I need to install a 240V 40A circuit into my garage. The end goal is to plug in a level 2 EVSE. (maybe it can be a 50A circuit? not sure). I have an existing 50A GFCI breaker hooked up to 6 gauge 3 ...
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Alumium Wiring in Charlotte, NC [duplicate]

My son just bought a house in Charlotte, NC which was built in the 1960's. Is Aluminum Wiring and Pig tailing acceptable to Code in Charlotte, NC?
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