alu wire

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darrenh

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Someone asked me the other day about using some aluminum wire to feed a sub panel in his house. He has acquired some wire the type that utility companies use for service conductors 2 1/0's alu and 1 2awg alu it has a yellow strip on it. Sorry for the bad description but he only showed me a picture and I'm not familiar with that wire.

I know he will have to buy a egc #6 aluminum to route with the other single conductors

the sub panel would be 100amp the ocpd located in the main panel would be 100 amp circuit breaker.
From what I see having the ungrounded conductor a 2awg alu is not a code violation.
But is it ok to use that type wire routed though the attic not in conduit?
Thanks for any help
 
All that the description gives us is the size, from which we can take a stab at amperage.
Whether or not it can legally be used inside the house will depend on whether it has a UL type listing which is NEC-compatible for interior use, either loose or in a raceway.
I do not think that wire used by the utilities, operating under the NESC rather than NEC, needs to have a UL listing. But if that wire is also UL listed, the wire type should be printed at intervals on the insulation or on the jacket for multiwire cables. Once you know the wire type, you can determine two things:
1. Whether it can be used for the purpose you want (i.e. loose in an attic) under the NEC, and
2. What the insulation temperature rating is, which will allow you to calculate the allowed ampacity.
 
The yellow stripe on the neutral(grounded) conductor and the fact that it came from a POCO(utility) makes me think that it is possibly URD.

Unless it is dual rated and listed in 310(such as RHH,etc), as noted above, you cannot use it inside regardless of whether it is in conduit or not.
 
Buy the right 4 conductor cable for your application. Maybe offer to take the customer supplied cable off his hands & give a small discount. Don't get a reputation for shoddy work.
 
jumper said:
The yellow stripe on the neutral(grounded) conductor and the fact that it came from a POCO(utility) makes me think that it is possibly URD.

Unless it is dual rated and listed in 310(such as RHH,etc), as noted above, you cannot use it inside regardless of whether it is in conduit or not.
Click to expand...
I would bet that it is URD :thumbsdown:
 
csoc64 said:
Why does it need to be in conduit?
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Because it is not any of the listed cable wiring methods in chapter 3, particularly art 320 to 340.

I guess it probably is type USE, which is covered in 338. 338.12(B) Uses Not Permitted - basically says about the same thing though as what Dave said.
 
iwire said:
Could be, but very likely it is not.
Click to expand...

All the URD I see has individual conductors marked as USE. But not all of it is marked both USE and RHW so that means it can not be installed indoors. In general it still needs to be in raceway if not in the ground.
 
kwired said:
All the URD I see has individual conductors marked as USE. But not all of it is marked both USE and RHW so that means it can not be installed indoors. In general it still needs to be in raceway if not in the ground.
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Interesting, around here power companies do not purchase listed conductors. They save money using unlisted conductors as they have no need for a listing.
 
iwire said:
Interesting, around here power companies do not purchase listed conductors. They save money using unlisted conductors as they have no need for a listing.
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Big enough company purchasing in large enough quantities - yes it is likely.

The rural power companies I am familiar with probably are not purchasing as large of quantities and unless their supplier carries unlisted cable - they get whatever is available.
 
Sorry for taking so long to follow up been out of town.
This Is not a job I'm doing. Someone was asking me a question.
This is a picture of the wire he wants to use.
 

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Looks like a use-2 type insulation.
If it were installed in conduit neatly routed though attic. Seems like it would be ok.
i know it is a underground service entrance conductor but is that the only use it can be used far?
 
darrenh said:
Looks like a use-2 type insulation.
If it were installed in conduit neatly routed though attic. Seems like it would be ok.
i know it is a underground service entrance conductor but is that the only use it can be used far?
Click to expand...
If it is labelled as USE-2, then it can be used on the NEC side as a service conductor, and has other allowed uses.
But if is an unlisted URD, then regardless of what type of insulation it has, it cannot be used under the NEC even as a service conductor, let alone any other use.
 
Someone mentioned earlier in this thread about single conductors must be routed in conduit inside house. What article can I find that, I would like to read over it.
Thanks
 
darrenh said:
Someone mentioned earlier in this thread about single conductors must be routed in conduit inside house. What article can I find that, I would like to read over it.
Thanks
Click to expand...
300.3 Conductors
(A) Single Conductors. Single conductors specified in
Table 310.104(A) shall only be installed where part of a rec-
ognized wiring method of Chapter 3.
 
darrenh said:
Looks like a use-2 type insulation.
If it were installed in conduit neatly routed though attic. Seems like it would be ok.
i know it is a underground service entrance conductor but is that the only use it can be used far?
Click to expand...
May look like USE cable, but doesn't appear to be marked as such.

Even if it is USE it can not be used indoors. There are conductors out there with multiple ratings marked on them - typically USE/RHW maybe with a -2 included. Those can be used both as direct bury and indoors (in a raceway).

My understanding is straight USE does not pass/ has not been tested for vertical flame and smoke producing characteristics and possibly some other things to allow it for use indoors.
 
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