Goodbye Copper, Hello Pex and Aluminum

[JimL]

A 10 foot copper pipe that cost $4.00 last year is now going for $16.00

A roll of 12/2 copper wiring that cost $68 last year is now marked at $199.

[No]

Dang it! I was thinking of a sub panel in my garage. I'm scared to price out the wire. I guess I'll look into Al.

[digitalmaster]

don't forget the tube of anti-corrosion paste for the Al wire.

[Steve Barker LT]

It'll be coming back down soon.

[JimL]

Nope.

[hallerb]

right up with gas another 30 cents a gallon increase:(

I will NEVER use alunimum house wiring, copper is a ONE TIME expense.

[Steve Barker LT]

Yep.

[JD]

Its gotten so bad around here and recycling prices have gotten so high that contractors have had to hire patrol vehicles to watch their houses during the night and weekends. Several have reported having the wire stripped from houses the night it was installed. Copper plumbing taken out. Heck, one air conditioning supplier in town had the coil stolen from the air handler they cooled their own building.

I'm waiting for my first theft. I install aluminum ornamental fencing.

Wonder what would happen if I wired an electric fence box to the fence.......that would be worth seeing.

JD

[hallerb]

someone would sue you.

people are stealing copper gutters and downspouts off homes.........

[gfretwell]

I haven't seen a house built with copper pipe here for 15-20 years. It is all CPVC and PVC. The aluminum salesmen are starting to hint at using aluminum in 15 and

20a circuits again. It has always been common in 40a or greater circuits and the power company uses it almost exclusively.

[Bob]

After you got out of jail.

Bob

[Jeff Wisnia]

And the Boston Globe reported a wew weeks ago that a lot of bronze plaques are disappearing from monuments all over our area.

I attended a funeral at a huge cemetary last monday and couldn't help noticing that the grave markers were all the "flush with the ground" ones each having a pretty fair sized bronze plaque on it. I wonder how long before those start "growing legs" too. (Why did it take me until just a couple of years ago to realize they went to those ground level grave markers because mowing the grass is so much easier that way?)

On another newsgroup someone was asking for a way to separate solid copper pennies from the copper plated zinc ones, because there's far more than a penny's worth of copper in the solid copper ones.

My kid was given permission to take away some old romex and some heavier gauge copper wire from a plant rewiring job where he works. He took a tangled mess of it maybe three cubic feet in volume to a local scrap metal dealer and came home happy as a pig in s**t with nearly a hundred bucks in his wallet. I hope his bosses never catch on to what they gave away.

Jeff

[Ralph Mowery]

His boss should be happy. I work for a large company and lots of wiring was torn out. This is big 4/0 size to about # 12. We sold about $ 40,000 worth and it only cost us about $ 60,000 to get it removed.

[Harry K]

Look for steel to come back in place of aluminum in highway signs and guardrails. They are taking the entire guardrail out here. Report in the paper where a company lost a batch of copper wiring. Cut pff from breaker boxes with the circuits live.

Harry K

[hallerb]

I seriously doubt steel will get much use as guardrail sinve it REQUIRES painting etc.

Alunimuum is just set and forget till someone destroys it

[Harry K]

There are treatments and alloys that do not require painting. Putting aluminum rails up just to have them stolen is a losing proposition.

Harry K

[EXT]

Built my house in the early 1970s, for those who can remember that far back, was when aluminum was popular as an electrical wire because the price of copper had skyrocketed. Even though I was on a tight budget, I paid the price and installed only copper wire in the house. I cut corners to pay for copper by buying cheaper finishing items that could be easily replaced at a later date, and they were replaced. Many years later, many remodels later, I am still happy, safe and comfortable that some of the original wiring is still in place and working properly.

Back then the NM cable had each wire paper wrapped over the insulation, additional paper cords to fill out 3 wire cables to make them rounder, then a paper over wrap under a braided sheath which was soaked in tar then painted orange. Finally they coated the cable in a wax material to make it easier to pull through holes in the wood framing. It took time to strip the ends of the cable and to work your way down to the actual wires. There is still some of this cable in use in my house.

Bite the bullet, buy copper, save money on something else, you won't regret it.

[John Hines]

Or galvanizing.

-- Silly sig to prevent isp ad

[HeatMan]

That's kinda what I tell my customers building a house. Spend the extra money on upgraded windows, not upgraded wall paper. Increase the efficinecy of your heating and cooling system, don't install the granite countertop!

Good point.

Many years later, many remodels later, I

[George E. Cawthon]

Strange. I know signs are made of aluminum. Never seen an aluminum guardrail. An aluminum guardrail wouldn't have much strength (unless very thick) compared to steel. Maybe aluminum ones are used for decoration. Guessing you guys live in the east.