I'm a little surprised that'd you say anyone who uses set screws on aluminum wire is half assing it. I take pride in my work, I also don't think hypressing lugs on the ends and then covering it in heatshrink is the ONLY way to go. I guess since you've been doing it so long this way, I can only assume you are stuck in your ways.
I haven't been doing it 35 years, it's only been 11 for me, but I've seen A LOT of older installations with no issues with plain old set screws. And I've yet to go back on any of mine.
Keep doing what you're doing if it makes you feel good, but I don't see any reason to call the rest of us out just because we don't do it your way. I'm willing to wager there are millions more installations with set screws than crimps and I don't see these installations burning up left and right all around me.
and obviously, they aren't burning up all around. i was just pissy at
iwire's snarky response, for what thats worth, and was snarking back.
i've seen a fair amount of setscrew lugs that have loosened up,
and turned a leg on a large molded case breaker into a crispy critter.
aluminum seems more problematic that copper in this respect.
i've never seen a hypress fail.
normally, just taping up where the lug crimps on, to keep moisture
wicking up into the strands is all i do. but this is a salt water environment,
and tape doesn't have a UL direct burial listing, and the panduit heat shrink
does. normally, it'd be scotch 33, and finish it up. the panduit is slow, and
triples the make up time. scotch cold shrink is way faster, but about $30
or more a splice, the cost / benefit doesn't work.
so, don't get all sensitive on me, nothing you've ever written says you are
anything but a good mechanic.
woo hoo for bob. instead of just ignoring him, i got snarky. +1 for bob.