Aluminum Wire
- Thread starter Bowhunter
- Start date
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jumper
Senior Member
- Location
- 3 Hr 2 Min from Winged Horses
It doesn't, see Table 310.15(B)(16) (formerly Table 310.16) for listed/approved sizes of AL conductors.
Although insurance companies may frown on this install.
frank everingham
Member
- Location
- michigan
harpo
harpo
the n.e.c permits you to install 12/2 & 10/2 aluminum nm cable, but none of the cable manufactures sell it. years ago some cities in michigan required that an inspector,at a cost of $30.00 p/hr had to be at the job sight if you installed al romex.
harpo
the n.e.c permits you to install 12/2 & 10/2 aluminum nm cable, but none of the cable manufactures sell it. years ago some cities in michigan required that an inspector,at a cost of $30.00 p/hr had to be at the job sight if you installed al romex.
jumper
Senior Member
- Location
- 3 Hr 2 Min from Winged Horses
Those sizes of AL wire/conductors are not limited to NM cables
texie
Senior Member
- Location
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Occupation
- Electrician, Contractor, Inspector
It is still recognized by the NEC, so so won't find where it says you can't.
That said there is the practical reality. There are no manfacturers at this time marketing aluminun building wire in sizes smaller than #8 and almost no devices suitable for aluminum wire in the smaller sizes.
Back starting in about the mid 60's it was very common to see #12 and #10 AL wire. Problem was that the alloys used then were not what they are today and AL wiring got a bad rep. and justifyably so. The alloys of today are vastly improved but the damage was done and it never came back in the smaller sizes.
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
It did for a couple of years in the mid-70s, but as you said the damage was done by the failures of the older stuff and it never really got back any market share. The new alloy along with the CO/ALR devices did not have the issues of the older aluminum and standard wiring devices.
In fact we did a couple of apartment complexs at about the same time in 1974-75, one with copper and the other with aluminum. I ran the sevice van for a number of years after those jobs and we had no more problems with the aluminum job than with the copper job.
- Location
- Simi Valley, CA
In the 1987 NEC 310-14 has a change, but that's the oldest book I have in the office so I don't know what it said before, but I thought that I remembered that you couldn't use smaller than #8 AL at one time.
915Ben
Member
- Location
- El Paso, Texas, USA
Many times the restriction is in the state or local codes. For example, the New Mexico electrical code prohibits aluminum smaller than #8 unless used as an EGC.
Gregg Harris
Senior Member
- Location
- Virginia
- Occupation
- Electrical,HVAC, Technical Trainer
2008 was it eliminated for 2011 or relocated?
310.14 Aluminum Conductor Material. Solid aluminum conductors 8, 10, and 12 AWG shall be made of an AA-8000 series electrical grade aluminum alloy conductor material. Stranded aluminum conductors 8 AWG through 1000 kcmil marked as Type RHH, RHW, XHHW, THW, THHW, THWN, THHN, service-entrance Type SE Style U and SE Style R shall be made of an AA-8000 series electrical grade aluminum alloy conductor material.
310.14 Aluminum Conductor Material. Solid aluminum conductors 8, 10, and 12 AWG shall be made of an AA-8000 series electrical grade aluminum alloy conductor material. Stranded aluminum conductors 8 AWG through 1000 kcmil marked as Type RHH, RHW, XHHW, THW, THHW, THWN, THHN, service-entrance Type SE Style U and SE Style R shall be made of an AA-8000 series electrical grade aluminum alloy conductor material.
- Location
- Placerville, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Retired PV System Designer
240.4(D) also specifically describes use of 12AWG Al with a 15 amp OCPD.
david
Senior Member
- Location
- Pennsylvania
550.15
Only applies to "trailers". You can call them manufactured homes, mobile homes, or factory built homes, but a trailer by any other name is still a trailer.
- Location
- Simi Valley, CA
You know you could be right, it might have been in the City of Los Angeles Electrical Code at one time.
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
See 250.64(A) for the restriction on aluminum within 18" of the earth. It only applies to Grounding Electrode Conductors. See 344.10(A)(3) for the aluminum conduit.did i hear right somewhere in mike holt's training that aluminum wire cannot be installed less than 18 inches from earth? i don't want to go thru 30 hours of video to hear 1 sentence
david
Senior Member
- Location
- Pennsylvania
Only applies to "trailers". You can call them manufactured homes, mobile homes, or factory built homes, but a trailer by any other name is still a trailer.
Yes I know but the Q was where in the NEC. So can you supply a heat pump on a slab next to a Manufacture home with aluminum when the disconnect/ overcurrent protection is from the service equipment pedestal adjacent to the manufactured home
ggunn
PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Occupation
- Consulting Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
"...shall be permitted to be installed where judged suitable for the environment" sounds like a bit of a copout to me.
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
You have to read all of the section. That part does not apply to concrete encased or directly buried.
This does: "...Rigid aluminum conduit encased in concrete or in direct contact with the earth shall be provided with approved supplementary corrosion protection."
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