There is absolutely nothing inherently wrong with aluminum wire, and it is typically what is used for very large gauge wire ... even for the utility entrance in my location. I would bet that if you look closely at your breaker box you will see the same for the main feed coming in unless you have a very lowly rated box for current. I don't think you can even find , for example, 4/0 wire in copper at places like Home Depot or Lowes.
The historical problem associated with aluminum wire was the material used for connections at the sockets and other places. That has all been changed long ago and if you look closely at many electrical fixtures and buss bars you will see that the contacts are stamped to be rated for either copper or aluminum.
Dave AB7E On 11/14/2022 3:08 PM, Lyn Norstad wrote:
Ed - I cringe when I think of aluminum wiring. I know it's currently about half the price of copper, but a townhouse I lived in from 1979-1982 in Chicago caught fire because of aluminum wiring and copper outlets. In fact, statistics show that 50% of home fires are due to aluminum wiring. Aluminum does not meet any current (pun by chance ...) building codes around here. It's all copper. Has been for at least 40 years. If you're stuck with aluminum (and it's legal??), be sure to liberally apply antioxidant where needed. 73 Lyn, WØLEN
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