Wire nuts versus

[TimR]

Just to add, the Alumiconn connectors I used came filled with the paste. You can't avoid using it.

[Ralph Mowery]

I lived in a house built around 1965. It had aluminum wiring. There were about 10 houses built along the road all about the same at the same time. Around 1990 one of the houses caught on fire. I do not know if it was traced to the wiring or something else.

[gfretwell]

Usually aluminum wiring problems gave plenty of warning, if people were looking. The guys I have talked to who did mitigation and repairs say these are usually after someone altered the initial install assuming you didn't have problems right away. This wire is very brittle and pulling out devices to "check them" may cause a problem you didn't have. If you do have one out, it should be replaced with a CO/ALr.

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On Mon, 06 Jul 2020 20:35:20 -0400, [e-mail] posted for all of us to digest...

as long as to wire nut them, maybe more. Of course you'd get faster with practice. But I don't think anyone could afford to lose that much time in a production setting.

Even the lever nuts? I asked Wago 20 years ago for a few samples I wanted to try. I unded up with two bags of 100 each! They are great with people for carpel tunnel syndrome - no twisting your wrist - worked for my tests. Ideal has something like the stabber ones but I don't think they ever caught on around here, like the Wagos. If I can find them I will donate them to the vo-tech school near me.

[Ralph Mowery]

There are several kinds of Wagos. One is the lever nut type.

Another is the Wal-nut. That is just a push in similar to the back stab recepticals. I would only use those on some lighting fixtuers and to replace ballasts in the old flourescent tubes.

[gfretwell]

The code has required a quick disconnect on ballasts for several cycles to avoid splicing wires.

[philo]

One other reason not to use aluminum.

When I was working, I repaired industrial battery chargers that could deliver 100- 300 amps

One of the manufacturers switched to aluminum windings for a few years but went back to copper.

If a connection does get hot, with a copper wire, one only need to cut back the wire a little bit and clean it with fine sandpaper.

With aluminum, that never worked,

[gfretwell]

Copper is certainly a superior material but it costs more. Silver works better than copper in most cases but that ugly price thing raises it's head. That is why coins are not copper or silver anymore. A silver dime is worth about $1.35