Yes, if you want to burn your house down, they react together and cause and corrode which makes a weak connection that increases resistance and gets nice and toasty.
There are special pasts and connectors that have to be used to avoid this reaction.
Alum wire question?
Hello,
Can I tie existing alum wire to copper together with regular wire nuts? Since they are dissimiilar material, will they fused together or cause anything other problems? Just light relocation on a bath project. Thanks
Jeff
Can I tie existing alum wire to copper together with regular wire nuts? Since they are dissimiilar material, will they fused together or cause anything other problems? Just light relocation on a bath project. Thanks
Jeff
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There are special pasts and connectors that have to be used to avoid this reaction.
That and the other part is aluminums tendency to 'cold creep' where it expands and contracts and loosens the connection between itself and the copper.
Thanks guys,
So what are the parts? What are they call?
So what are the parts? What are they call?
Expensive.What are they call?
http://www.idealindustries.com/products/wire_termination/twist-on/twister_al-cu.jsp
They are pricey....Check to see if they comply for your need.
I was on a job a long time ago and the GC freaked when he was told by the electrician that he needed to use these.
They needed a bunch of them.Granted it was only an additional 250.00 or so.But this GC used to cry if he found a bent tico clip on the ground....
They are pricey....Check to see if they comply for your need.
I was on a job a long time ago and the GC freaked when he was told by the electrician that he needed to use these.
They needed a bunch of them.Granted it was only an additional 250.00 or so.But this GC used to cry if he found a bent tico clip on the ground....
thanks sparky for the link.
I went to look for their products down at my local elec. supply house and of course they do not carry them. They call Ideal and they suggest using a special wire nut or a product called Noalox, also by Ideal. Yeap, they are 25 bucks a box. Little box. I am thinking that's my ticket. What do you guys think. Thanks for your input. Let my know if there are other tricks. Love to learn more.
Jeff
I went to look for their products down at my local elec. supply house and of course they do not carry them. They call Ideal and they suggest using a special wire nut or a product called Noalox, also by Ideal. Yeap, they are 25 bucks a box. Little box. I am thinking that's my ticket. What do you guys think. Thanks for your input. Let my know if there are other tricks. Love to learn more.
Jeff
See link in post #7.thanks sparky for the link.
I went to look for their products down at my local elec. supply house and of course they do not carry them. They call Ideal and they suggest using a special wire nut or a product called Noalox, also by Ideal. Yeap, they are 25 bucks a box. Little box. I am thinking that's my ticket. What do you guys think. Thanks for your input. Let my know if there are other tricks. Love to learn more.
Jeff
You have fallen victim to the hype and exaggeration. If the "reaction" causes problems, why don't all the connections fail instead of a tiny portion of them?Yes, if you want to burn your house down, they react together and cause and corrode which makes a weak connection that increases resistance and gets nice and toasty.
God only knows how many MILLIONS of wirenuts are currently in use on AL splices every single day.
Ever wonder why more of the aluminum connections haven't failed?
A loose connection in an AL splice just burns more than one in a copper connection.
I live in a large metro area and started wiring houses when AL romex was in full swing. There are tens (hundreds?) of thousands of homes here with AL wiring and I have worked in thousands (hundreds?) of them.
I pull apart existing wiring all the time and I don't see any more failure in properly installed AL systems than I do in copper systems. One time, out of thousands, I found a burned splice in a wirenut that was a good tight connection and this was on the ironing board recep.
The issues I see are generally attributed to improper devices installed. The screw terminals on copper only devices will indeed cause issues. The metal terminals may expand/contract at different rates causing them to loosen up in some cases.
The AL wire also gets damaged easily by improper stripping techniques reulting in a compromised connection prone to failure.
The purple wire nuts are nothing more than wirenuts with nolox in them. There is nothing special about the alloy of the spring inside.
That said, if someone calls me to have their devices pigtailed, I will certainly do it. I use the purple nuts strictly for the liability/legal factor. If it were my house, I would simply pigtail with regular nuts and not lose a minutes sleep.
Are they listed for 600volts AC?Any of you guys know if you can get these in the US? I have had a few moments where they would have been handy.
Are they listed for 600volts AC?
Yep 600v AC upto about 30amps but i think they make them over 100amps for commercial applications. Twist type connectors are not allowed in UK so thats what they use over there. I do like the twist type though. A lot faster than choc blocks.
The Purple wirenuts are UL listed for this application and are about $2 each at HD
5.00 ea in my neck of the woods...The Purple wirenuts are UL listed for this application and are about $2 each at HD
I was told years ago by my electrical supplyer that Noalox would work to solve the reaction problems between copper and alumnium wire, been using it for along time and no problems, cept hard to get off fingers.
You were told wrong. Noalox, or Deox, or whatever the name is, are anti-oxidants. It keeps the atmosphere from reacting with the aluminum and causing...... oxidation!I was told years ago by my electrical supplyer that Noalox would work to solve the reaction problems between copper and alumnium wire, been using it for along time and no problems, cept hard to get off fingers.
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