aluminum #12 to copper #12

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calvin1

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I have been using barrel set screw connectors, but if anyone knows of something smaller I would appreciate it. the purple wire nuts are rather bulky I think but may be smaller and faster than what I have been using. thanks for any help.
 
The purples are about the best I have found. I didn't know there was a barrel connector made for copper to alum. I have never used them. Interestingly enough, I have been told that there is not a wire connector out there that is rated for alum to alum. The purples are rated copper to alum, not alum to alum.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
The purples are about the best I have found. I didn't know there was a barrel connector made for copper to alum. I have never used them. Interestingly enough, I have been told that there is not a wire connector out there that is rated for alum to alum. The purples are rated copper to alum, not alum to alum.
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Here is one:

alumiConn-2-port.jpg


http://www.kinginnovation.com/products/alumiconn/alumiconn-2-port/

Fill out the form on the page and get a free sample.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
The purples are about the best I have found. I didn't know there was a barrel connector made for copper to alum. I have never used them. Interestingly enough, I have been told that there is not a wire connector out there that is rated for alum to alum. The purples are rated copper to alum, not alum to alum.
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I always thought if connectors were rated Cu/Al, that meant they could connect Cu to Cu, Cu to Al, or Al to Al. Is that not correct?
 
ggunn said:
I always thought if connectors were rated Cu/Al, that meant they could connect Cu to Cu, Cu to Al, or Al to Al. Is that not correct?
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The link K8MHZ posted says aluminum to aluminum for the purple connectors at least.
 
ggunn said:
I always thought if connectors were rated Cu/Al, that meant they could connect Cu to Cu, Cu to Al, or Al to Al. Is that not correct?
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If they have separate termination points (screws for example) for the two wires, like the purple whose photo was posted, and they are not separately labelled, you can certainly put two Cu, two Al or either combination into those termination points.
If it is a wire nut which applies force to both conductors at the same time or a termination rated for two wires in one opening, it might not work as well for Al to Al as for Cu to Cu, and might not be tested for all combinations.
When in doubt, look at the instructions and not just the product name. On a switch or receptacle, Cu/Al means that each individual termination point can accept either Cu or Al, but you will not be dealing with the situation of two conductors under one screw or one pressure plate. (I have used a combo USB/120 receptacle which for space reasons provides only one screw for hot and one for neutral, but has two wire slots going under each pressure plate so that you can still extend the wiring without using a pigtail. That unit was not rated for Cu/Al though. :))
 
GoldDigger said:
If they have separate termination points (screws for example) for the two wires, like the purple whose photo was posted, and they are not separately labelled, you can certainly put two Cu, two Al or either combination into those termination points.
If it is a wire nut which applies force to both conductors at the same time or a termination rated for two wires in one opening, it might not work as well for Al to Al as for Cu to Cu, and might not be tested for all combinations.
When in doubt, look at the instructions and not just the product name. On a switch or receptacle, Cu/Al means that each individual termination point can accept either Cu or Al, but you will not be dealing with the situation of two conductors under one screw or one pressure plate. (I have used a combo USB/120 receptacle (Pass & Seymour freebie) which for space reasons provides only one screw for hot and one for neutral, but has two wire slots going under each pressure plate so that you can still extend the wiring without using a pigtail. That unit was not rated for Cu/Al though. :))
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In particular, if you look at the detailed evaluation of the Ideal Twister connector as described here you will see that in a single compression, wire to wire, joining method the results will be quite different between an Al-Al current path and an Al-Cu current path even when all three wires are installed into the same twist connector.
An Al-Al connection will have twice the opportunity for development of an insulating oxide layer and a higher probability of the current being confined to a small surface area than with an Al-Cu connection. If the actual current path goes from Al to Cu to Al, there can be twice the contact resistance and twice the heat
 
GoldDigger said:
If they have separate termination points (screws for example) for the two wires, like the purple whose photo was posted, and they are not separately labelled, you can certainly put two Cu, two Al or either combination into those termination points.
If it is a wire nut which applies force to both conductors at the same time or a termination rated for two wires in one opening, it might not work as well for Al to Al as for Cu to Cu, and might not be tested for all combinations.
When in doubt, look at the instructions and not just the product name. On a switch or receptacle, Cu/Al means that each individual termination point can accept either Cu or Al, but you will not be dealing with the situation of two conductors under one screw or one pressure plate. (I have used a combo USB/120 receptacle which for space reasons provides only one screw for hot and one for neutral, but has two wire slots going under each pressure plate so that you can still extend the wiring without using a pigtail. That unit was not rated for Cu/Al though. :))
Click to expand...

I would just like to say that the alumiconns are only listed for 1 wire per port
 
drspec said:
I would just like to say that the alumiconns are only listed for 1 wire per port
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Duly noted, and each port can accept either one Al or one Cu in the listed size range. My references to two or three wires were for other devices.
And while we are on the subject, the AlumiConn is listed for solid or stranded Cu and solid-only Al.
Interesting to note that the required screw torque setting is 50% higher when stranded wire is used. Also that the manufacturer does not allow the device to be reused. One tightening is all you get.
 
I was trying to say the purples are not rated for al/al. I called ideal and they said they did not have one that was rated al/al. I guess you can put a short piece of 14 copper in there and cap the end.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
... I guess you can put a short piece of 14 copper in there and cap the end.
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Read Jesse Aronstein's paper.
- The Ideal #65 connector does not consistently pass the UL "heat-cycle" test requirement when tested with aluminum wire of the type actually
installed in homes with current passing through the aluminum-aluminum path in a pigtailing (aluminum-aluminum-copper) splice.
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It is dated, and does not necessarily apply to any or all current Al/Cu connectors when used for Al-Al, but the principle is there.
Putting a stub of copper into the connector too will not necessarily help if the current will be flowing from Al wire to Al wire.
It would depend on just how the purple wirenuts in question were tested in terms of Al/Cu combinations.
And, yeah, the box fill gets pretty tight. Time to extend the box if nothing else will work.
 
aluminum #12 to copper #12

There is a permanent coppper to aluminum connection which is a crimp-style connection. It is called COPALUM. The unfortunate aspect of this product is that it is offered by one company and the crimper can only be rented. Do an internet search "COPALUM crimp" and see if this is helpful
 
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