A retired lineman at the supply house changed how I feel about aluminum wire

I was picking up some 2/0 for a service upgrade and an old guy named Frank saw me grab the copper. He said, 'Kid, I wired half of this town with aluminum in the '70s and those houses are still fine. You just have to do it right.' He explained the old Noalox paste was junk, but the new anti-oxidant compounds and proper torque specs make it solid. I've always just paid the copper tax thinking it was safer. Now I'm looking at the specs for a 200-amp panel job next week and the cost difference is over $400. Has anyone here run aluminum feeders recently with the newer products?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarah_hart2d ago

My uncle's house in Toledo had aluminum branch circuits from 1974. We found three melted outlets when we remodeled his kitchen last fall. The old twist on connectors just couldn't handle the creep over fifty years. I'm sure the new stuff is better, but seeing that blackened plastic stuck with me. I'd still use it for the big feeders like you're talking about, but I don't think I could sleep at night putting it in the walls for the 15 and 20 amp stuff.

grace_gonzalez462d ago

That's pretty wild, but wasn't a lot of that old problem from the wrong connectors and not the wire itself? Like using devices not rated for aluminum. The new alloys and proper anti-oxidant paste seem to handle the creep way better.

robinson.hannah1d ago

Yeah, that blackened plastic would stick with me too.