The Issues Associated With Aluminum Wiring And Possible Fixes

In between 1965 and 1972, about 2 million houses were built with aluminum wiring.

The wiring that is of major concern is the single strand solid aluminum wiring, hooked up to the smaller sized branch circuits energizing receptacles, switches, lights, and appliances like dishwashers, furnaces, etc. Corrosion of the metals in the connection, especially the aluminum wire itself, causes increased resistance to the flow of electric current and that resistance causes overheating.

Most modern-day houses have some aluminum wiring, including the main service wires, and the heavier 240 volt circuits that feed other major appliances, such as ranges and air conditioners. The higher voltage wiring does pose the same hazard as 15, 20 and 30 amp circuit wiring. More Information

Indications of trouble in aluminum wire circuitry consist of:

1. Cover plates on outlets or switches that are warm-to-the-touch.

2. Circuits that do not work, or work irregularly.

3. Flickering lights.

4. The smell of burning plastic at outlets, switches, or lighting.

6. Smoking outlets, switches, or lighting.

7. Tripping circuit breakers, for no obvious reason.

Sadly, not all failing aluminum wired connections offer such readily detected warning signs, as they can fail without having any prior signals or problems

How to Fix the issue?

One-- complete replacement of the system-- is generally too costly for lots of home owners, as it can cost $ 8,000 or more. The other is to replace every connection in each outlet, switch and junction box with a copper pigtail using a special Copalum connection-- a short piece of copper wire is bonded to the aluminum wire using a tool designed specifically for the task. The copper wire makes the connection.

But the trouble is that only electricians educated by the Copalum manufacturer, Tyco Electronics, can rent the special tool necessary for installation. So it might be challenging to locate an electrician to make a Copalum repair. linked web site