AA-8000 rated aluminum (article 310)

N

Nwood505

Member
Location
Santa Fe NM
Occupation
Electrical contractor
Ok there is mention of AA-8000 in NEC 2014
with a exception that is very confusing. Article 310 states that USE-2 cable is not required to be AA-8000 rated if they are not marked RHH or RHW-2. So, in 2017 I don’t see any mention of any of this requirement and now in 2020 it’s back again with no exceptions. Well all of my city supply houses are only selling the old USE-2 triplex and in my case 350 USE-2. So yesterday I was shot down by a state inspector for running 250’ of this wire in an open trench. I had called him to discuss this job in preparation before I bought materials with no mention of enforcing the AA-8000 requirement. So, I’ve talked with the head of the state electrical board to plead my case and he says that if they make an exception for me then they will need to make an exception for everyone. Basically Im the first to get slapped with this; the supply houses are freaking out and it’s costing me thousands. One supply house said that the USE-2 exception still stands.
Everyone is confused about this including the state and city inspectors.. any feedback is appreciated!
 
This is from the 2020 Nec. I don't get it. It appears that all aluminum alloys must be made of AA-8000. Is your supply company selling some older cables?

310.3(B) Conductor Material.
Conductors in this article shall be of aluminum, copper-clad aluminum, or copper unless otherwise specified.
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.
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The way I see it, if it is marked ONLY type USE-2, then it is NOT required to be 8,000 series aluminum. So isn't that where you have? Perhaps I misunderstanding? If you had the dual-rated stuff that's RHH/USE then it would need to be 8000 series.
 
The specific wire that I have is
Wesleyan 350 URD 1350-H19 series.
It’s stamped USE-2 on the sheathing
and from my research it is not AA-8000
rated but falls under the 2014 exception.
New Mexico hasn't been enforcing until just now and I believe everyone is confused.
 
Nwood505 said:
The specific wire that I have is
Wesleyan 350 URD 1350-H19 series.
It’s stamped USE-2 on the sheathing
and from my research it is not AA-8000
rated but falls under the 2014 exception.
New Mexico hasn't been enforcing until just now and I believe everyone is confused.
Click to expand...
I don't know it seems pretty clear to me based on what Dennis posted. Are you on other than 2020 code?
 
electrofelon said:
The way I see it, if it is marked ONLY type USE-2, then it is NOT required to be 8,000 series aluminum.
Click to expand...
Agreed that per post #2, if it is stranded, and not "marked as Type RHH, RHW, XHHW, THW, THHW, THWN, THHN, service-entrance Type SE Style U, [or] SE Style R", then 310.3(B) does not require it to be "made of an AA-8000 series electrical grade aluminum alloy conductor material."

Cheers, Wayne
 
BTW, 2014 NEC 310.106(B) appears equivalent to 2020 NEC 310.3(B); I don't see any exception language related to USE. Ditto for 2017 NEC.

So the point is that 310.106(B) / 310.3(B) has never required AA-8000 series for conductors marked only USE.

Perhaps the inspector is confusing Type SE Style U (aka SEU) with Type USE?

Cheers, Wayne
 
wwhitney said:
Agreed that per post #2, if it is stranded, and not "marked as Type RHH, RHW, XHHW, THW, THHW, THWN, THHN, service-entrance Type SE Style U, [or] SE Style R", then 310.3(B) does not require it to be "made of an AA-8000 series electrical grade aluminum alloy conductor material."

Cheers, Wayne
Click to expand...
By golly it seems these inspectors have it wrong. I just drove to the job site and wrote down the exact stamp: PRYSMIAN GROUP PIWERSERVE (R) WP JULY 18 2024 350 KCMIL AL XLBE 600v (UL) USE-2
From what I see in Article 310 2020 code this wire should be fine to use..agree?
 
electrofelon said:
I just looked up 4 or 5 examples from Southwire, encore, priority, and kingwire, and all that non-8000 series wire I could find is USE only. All the dual-rated stuff is 8000 series.
Click to expand...
PRYSMIAN GROUP POWERSERV (R)
WP July 18 2024 350 KCML AL XLBE 600V
(UL) USE-2 This is what’s stamped on the wire.
 
The stuff marked just "USE" is utility grade and does not use the 8000 series alloys, and the jacket has not been evaluated for flame spread and smoke production. That is why 338.12(B) pretty much limits it to outside underground applications.
 
jim dungar said:
It looks like the NEC indoor applications must be AA-8000, while outdoor only applications do not need to be.
Click to expand...

don_resqcapt19 said:
The stuff marked just "USE" is utility grade and does not use the 8000 series alloys, and the jacket has not been evaluated for flame spread and smoke production. That is why 338.12(B) pretty much limits it to outside underground applications.
Click to expand...
The wire in question 350 kcml AL XLBE 600v (UL) USE-2 still confused.
 
The UL Guide Information for Service Entrance Cable (TYLZ) says:
" ALUMINUM ALLOYS
Solid 12, 10 or 8 AWG conductors are Recognized under Aluminum Wire Stock, Conductor Material (DVVR2). Single-rated Type USE or USE-2 cable containing other than solid 12, 10 or 8 AWG conductors are of an EC-1350 grade aluminum alloy or a registered AA-8000 series electrical-conductor-grade aluminum alloy. In all other cables, the aluminum conductors are of a registered AA-8000 electrical-conductor-grade alloy only.
...
Type USE cable utilizing EC-1350 aluminum is not dual marked with any other conductor-type letters, such as RHW-2.[/quote]
It is my opinion the the USE using the EC-1350 alloy is code complaint for your application.
 
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