Residential Aluminum Wiring Fix

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matt_mackay

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Zion National Park, Utah
Hello All and thanks in advance.
I just wanted to double check and confirm what I believe to be the fix concerning an older house that has aluminum wiring.
If I use purple wire nuts to connect the old aluminum wire to new copper pig tails and keep the old devices will this suffice?
 
matt_mackay said:
Hello All and thanks in advance.
I just wanted to double check and confirm what I believe to be the fix concerning an older house that has aluminum wiring.
If I use purple wire nuts to connect the old aluminum wire to new copper pig tails and keep the old devices will this suffice?
Click to expand...

Honestly: rip it all out or use copalum connectors. I know others will say otherwise, but purple wire nuts are not regarded as a real fix and there are reports of them failing.
 
Aluminum wiring was used in the 1960s and early 1970s. If the house is older than that, it's possible that you're looking at tin-plated copper wire. If so, no special materials or techniques are required.
To distinguish between the two, look at a freshly-cut wire end with a magnifying glass. Also the size: if it's 14 AWG or smaller, it's probably not aluminum.
 
This is like the 4th thread in two weeks regarding fixing aluminum branch circuit wiring... really ought to be in the FAQ... The best way that is easily available to fix them is using the alumiconn connectors... they cost the same as the purple wire nuts, they are slightly smaller and easier get in a box, and I have seen the lab reports on them versus the purple wire nuts... They run cooler and are more reliable. it's basically a 3-port insulated terminal block. another bonus of them over the purple wire nuts is it if the branch wiring is super short, you can usually still get them on the wire then pigtail to copper.

the copalum cold-press system is only available for rental, you cannot buy the tool, and last time I checked they did not even quote a price on their website. I'm sure there is a learning curve with that method of joining copper to aluminum, and I'm willing to bet if the wiring is too short, as it often is, it is useless.

Also, I do not provide any warranty reinstalling used switches or receptacles , and it a dollar a piece roughly, might as well give the customer new switches and receptacles... They are a very small cost in the overall part of fixing aluminum wiring. there's a fairly good chance at any receptacle more than a decade old and any switch more than 20 years old is worn out and or non code compliant anyway
 
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harpo

harpo

I may be able to help you with this.j fletcher is right. the purple wire nut was a listed product for the connection of copper to al wire. a few years ago ideal told the c.p.a. that there product (the purple wire nut was only to be used for temporary wiring). I have inspected houses that use a listed purple wire nut that connects a piece of #12 copper to a device and as the A.H.J. have approved this application. the problem that you will have as a contractor is that the underwriters for the insurance industry will not accept this method. as a side note the insurance industry gets involved when the house is sold, apartments ect. what the insurance industry will usually accept is the alumiconn device. also at least with the insurance agents that I have talked to, they require that a permit is pulled and the work is to be done by a licensed contractor.as always the final approval is by the A.H.J.,even for listed products.
 
My $0.02:

It took 30 to 40 years of current cycling to flatten the aluminum wires under the screw terminals. Now that they're flattened, tighten every screw and the flat wire will have even more contact area than when the devices were first installed. That should get you another 30 to 40 years of use.

Of course, this has no bearing on insurance companies.
 
LarryFine said:
My $0.02:

It took 30 to 40 years of current cycling to flatten the aluminum wires under the screw terminals. Now that they're flattened, tighten every screw and the flat wire will have even more contact area than when the devices were first installed. That should get you another 30 to 40 years of use.

Of course, this has no bearing on insurance companies.
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If the devices are 30-40 years old they are probably worn out anyway and need to be replaced.

If they have been replaced by homeowners and handymen they are probably not the correct devices that accept AL wiring. Really need to check that.

I'm just glad that there is not much AL wiring in this area.
 
a 40 YO electrical system is not completely defunct but is approaching end of life. rather than patching it back together it might be time to suggest to the owner that they consider a more extensive refit. a lot of systems in the house of this vintage are also going to be worn out.
 
Aluminum wire

Aluminum wire

I just looked at a mobile home where the whole thing was wired aluminum. I simply told them I would gladly re wire the whole place in copper but I will not repair or warranty anything in there. Asking for trouble in my opinion. Sure there are rated splices but no thanks....
 
Funny, I was under a trailer today looking at wiring. The whole thing was insulated underneath with some kind of thread mesh junk holding it all in place.

if the trailer is old enough to have aluminum wiring, chances are that a rewire would exceed the cost of the trailer
 
marmathsen said:
It took me a while to come to the conclusion that's it's not worth the liability to mess around with aluminum wiring. We say we can rewire or we refer them to a COPALUM installer.

Here's some documentation that led me to that conclusion

https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/516.pdf

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
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I wonder how old that article is? It says the alumiconn connectors did well in initial tests, but are too new to be considered reliable. Yet on the top of the page it shows a picture of them as good to go, versus a picture of a wire nut with a slash through it. It also says the Alumiconns are the next best method if the COPALUM system is not available.

I personally don't see a problem with the Alumicons, they have a terminal screw style mount that is like a circuit breaker, and those are rated for aluminum wiring.

~>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think Larry's reply was a little bit tongue in cheek, the problem in my opinion with retightening connections is that if they were loose, arcing, and carbonization will have ruin the Integrity of the device and the wiring at it. the alloy they used back then is subject to work hardening, and I frequently find that just removing device from the box and straightening the wires will cause the wires to break off, either at the screws or where any sharp bends are.

Stuffing aluminum wiring back into the usually shallow boxes of that era is putting a lot of strain on the conductors, that's why I mainly replace them with new ones... That and they are frequently near or overfilled, and getting more pigtails of any type in there is near impossible.
 
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I did one aluminum remediation using Alumiconns and that was enough for a lifetime. I now refuse to do these jobs.

Not only are the boxes from that era too small to stuff three Alumiconns into, you have now taken on the responsibility to fix every electrical problem in the house including all the unboxed joints you find when taking fixtures down and the others you happen to find while trolling the attic.
 
Sparky1999 said:
I just looked at a mobile home where the whole thing was wired aluminum. I simply told them I would gladly re wire the whole place in copper but I will not repair or warranty anything in there. Asking for trouble in my opinion. Sure there are rated splices but no thanks....
Click to expand...

Rewiring rates would cost more than a new trailer. :eek:
 
JFletcher said:
I wonder how old that article is? It says the alumiconn connectors did well in initial tests, but are too new to be considered reliable. Yet on the top of the page it shows a picture of them as good to go, versus a picture of a wire nut with a slash through it. It also says the Alumiconns are the next best method if the COPALUM system is not available.

I personally don't see a problem with the Alumicons, they have a terminal screw style mount that is like a circuit breaker, and those are rated for aluminum wiring.

~>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think Larry's reply was a little bit tongue in cheek, the problem in my opinion with retightening connections is that if they were loose, arcing, and carbonization will have ruin the Integrity of the device and the wiring at it. the alloy they used back then is subject to work hardening, and I frequently find that just removing device from the box and straightening the wires will cause the wires to break off, either at the screws or where any sharp bends are.

Stuffing aluminum wiring back into the usually shallow boxes of that era is putting a lot of strain on the conductors, that's why I mainly replace them with new ones... That and they are frequently near or overfilled, and getting more pigtails of any type in there is near impossible.
Click to expand...

As Per page 3 Publication 516 • June 2011.

Also remember that NEC 2011 requires AFCI devices for replacements.
 
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