Splicing aluminum wires to copper
arrowshooter
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I have a mobile home which has aluminum wiring.
One of the receptacles has its wires all melted down and naked in the box.(two hots two grounds and two bond wires).
I want to access the box from outside and need to splice some copper wires to the existing wires.
Any suggestions
Replies
replace the whole run with copper....
EOS....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
IMERC, what's "EOS"?
End of story?
Ah. Thanks.
end of sparks? ;)
if he chages out all of the aluminium fer copper there's a good chance of that...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
End Of Subject...
leaves no room fer debate...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Not "End of Shooter" (the guy who started the thread)?
End of sentence. Period.
that too...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
End of sentence. Period.
I didn't realize you had to spell it out. And here I've been just using the little dot "."
could be if he tries to salvage theat AL wiring...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
My (limited) experience with aluminum wiring tells me that since you've already had a problem with one receptacle, you probably have potential problems at every connection. Replace the whole run or replace it all if you can. If you cannot then clean and retighten every single connection. Aluminum was only used for a short while here in Cal. Of the few houses I saw wired with it , all had serious problems -arcing at the connections if not outright housefires. Consult an Electrician!!
Tom
note: I did an archive search on aluminum wiring - lots of information there.
Edited 1/18/2005 12:06 am ET by mcfish
Arrowshooter,
Consult an experienced electrician...PERIOD! Do not attempt to splice copper into aluminum. Your outlet that arced is probably because it was not rated for use with aluminum wire. There is only ONE TYPE of outlet and switch type that is rated to accept aluminum wiring It is marked on the front of the mounting strap or on the casing with the letters "CO/ALR"
Check your burned outlet and see if it had this approved lettering...it probably did not. If it does not, chances are good that NONE of your switches or outlets have this approved rating. Every single switch and outlet wired with aluminum wire must be checked to see if they are of the approved variety...otherwise you seriously risk a house fire.
Reason being is that aluminum and copper are dissimilar metals...they expand and contract at different levels...over time this difference leads to the wires becoming loose at their contact points...causing the wires to arc...causing fires.
GET A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN TO INSPECT YOUR ENTIRE HOUSE.
You'll thank me later.
Davo
Actually, I believe it's "CO/ALR2", at least in fittings for smaller wire sizes. The original "CO/ALR" standard turned out to be insufficient.
Happen to live in a house wired with aluminum. My sympathies. Found the prior owner had simply wired copper to the existing aluminum (not even using a J-box) and when things stopped working (after I bought the house) I looked in the breaker box. Breaker not tripped. Tore out the gypboard and found the connection. Shiver!
All is not lost however. It might be more cost effective (not saying the bucks are available) to get a newer mobile home (called "manufactured homes" now). You probably have something from the 1960's.
If your money tree is lacking fertilizer there is an anti-oxidant made by GB Electrical, Inc. Milwaukee, WI 53209. I have coated both the aluminum and the copper, twisted them together with pliers, snipped off the end, and then packed a wire nut with the Ox-Gard and screwed it on. So far no problems for 20 years.
No surrounding houses have gone up in flames and they have aluminum too. Use a blue plastic (none conducting) J-box just in case. Previous post on outlet for copper or aluminum applies. If aluminum wires have melted too short and you attach copper pig tails as above then only copper will be attached to your duplex, switch, etc. so a copper only unit will be fine.
Ox-Gard is about the consistency of chassis lube. Clean the aluminum stub with emery cloth after you trim back the insulation, then use the anti-oxidant. Have fun. Maybe wires are easier to access in a mobile home than a stick built house but I doubt it. If so, replace, replace, replace.
PS Breakers are also rated for alum/copper or copper only. Thor
Thanks for the reply. Thanks also to others who have replied.
This is a rental unit I bought four years ago. It has covered porches, decks etc and a stick built roof and is pretty well attached to the land and is occupied so I can't just drag it away and replace it.
I had an electrician replace the original panel with a new breaker panel two years ago and this is the first problem I've had.
I created an access panel behind the burnt receptacle box and used Ideal twist connectors from HD (which contain oxide inhibitor and are designed to connect copper to aluminum) to run a copper pigtail back into the box to a new receptacle.
These connections were made in a junction box which has a cover and is accessible.
I Googled for "Copper To Aluminum Splices" and found some real scary reading.
Don't buy anything with aluminum wire.
don't use it either...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!