al/cu connections

[sparky_magoo]

I received a call today from a well respected home inspector today. He wants me to goto a 2000 sq. ft. house and give an estimate to correct AL branch ckt. wiring.

The plan is to replace all receptacles and switches. I will also pig-tail all connections with CU pig-tails.



I went to Ideal's web site, after the conversation, and found that "purple wire nuts" are not listed for more than two CU wires under one purple.

I assume that when I goto the house, I will find outlets with three cables in the box. I also have to pigtail. How can I do this legally?

How can I legally splice three al conductors to a CU pig tail.

 

[KJay]

I now use the AlumiConn connectors [http://www.alcopstore.com].
Even so, the AlumiConn can still only hold a total of three conductors and you need use a torque control screwdriver on the terminals for the UL listing to apply. You’ll likely find that you need multiple connectors for most boxes and the box fill could be so much that you may even have to add surface box extensions to be able to get the devices in.
That job is going to be a time consuming pain in the butt no matter how you look at it, so I hope you make your money on it because I think you could really be putting yourself out there if anything goes wrong later on.
What about maybe including a complete updating of the smoke and CO alarms as part of the bid?
Just to CYA a little more.

JMHO

 

[electricmanscott]

I received a call today from a well respected home inspector today. He wants me to goto a 2000 sq. ft. house and give an estimate to correct AL branch ckt. wiring.

.

Make sure you charge for this time.

 

[1793]

As stated before here on the Forum it is not the wire but the terminations that are the problem. I was asked to do the same thing by a customer and after.

I looked at the cost of the AL/CU connectors and the labor and I found it to be less expensive and in my opinion a better rout to go to just change all of the switches and receptacles with those listed rated for AL. This also eliminates a splice which could cause a problem in the future.

Color may be an issue but I'm sure your Supply House could order the appropriate colors.

 

[mdshunk]

There was very little AL installed in my area, but when I do these jobs, I find that certain sections of circuits can be replaced with CU for the same net cost as the AL-CU pigtail conversion, so I do just that. I take sort of a hybird approach to this sort of work.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

With the older aluminum conductors it is not only the termination, it is also the conductor itself. Are the CO/ALR devices listed for use with the old aluminum alloy? They were designed to be used with the newer alloy that came on the marked in late 1973 or early 1974.