Reinstalling Aluminum Wire

Little Bill

Little Bill

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee NEC:2017
Occupation
Semi-Retired Electrician
If you have to pull out Al wire from the lugs, and there isn't enough wire to re-strip to get a fresh end, should you try and reshape the ends where it is flattened out, or just tighten them back like they are?
 
LarryFine

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
If you tighten them like I do, the starting shape won't matter that much.

I would reshape as little as is necessary to get the strands into the lug.

The goal is to have the greatest contact area and little room for creep.
 
Little Bill

Little Bill

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee NEC:2017
Occupation
Semi-Retired Electrician
LarryFine said:
If you tighten them like I do, the starting shape won't matter that much.

I would reshape as little as is necessary to get the strands into the lug.

The goal is to have the greatest contact area and little room for creep.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
I hate it when creeps try to force their way in too!:)
 
roger

roger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Fl
Occupation
Retired Electrician
You ought to see some of the AL wires I have reconnected after years of salt water exposure and associated corrosion.
 
M

MD Automation

Senior Member
Location
Maryland
Occupation
Engineer
Bill,

What a timely post. I have been wondering the exact same thing.

I started a thread ~2 weeks ago about a failing main breaker at my house. I have located the correct lugs for the new breaker and have an electrician coming over tomorrow to help swap in a new one.

I hope to cut off the last inch or 2 from the 4/0 AL service conductors and will try, as you say, to reshape the top bends to bring the new clean ends down into the lugs. I don't want to have to re-use the old ends, as they are a bit overheated. And I wonder how those AL wires will behave after sitting there for decades. Hopefully things go well tomorrow and I can update my post with how they behaved.

Lastly, to end with a laugh, I had let some co-workers know about my problem and one of them apparently was actually listening! He sent me a photo yesterday from an elec inspectors forum suggesting (with a wink) that I could take the approach in this picture if I don't feel like moving the old cables down.

1707227584411.jpeg


Missing a little NoAlOx , but otherwise ready for inspection??

If this were the TV show Let's Make A Deal, I think I know what's hiding behind Door#1 on the left!! ;)
 
don_resqcapt19

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
The original termination has already crushed the conductor and it should not be re-terminated without trimming it back. The original torque specifications accounts for the cold flow that will occur over time as the pressure extrudes the conductor out from under the screw. There is no way to account for that when you re-terminate it as that cold flow happened with the original termination.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top