Aluminum Wiring

[corpuswinn]

My wife and I are about to buy our first home. It was built in 1973. The inspector told us that the aluminum wiring was a fire hazard and that we need to have an electrician change the conections on all of the outlets and lights.

How dangerous is this? Do we need to have it done prior to move-in? Can we do this ourselves on does it require a licensed electrician? If we need to hire someone, is it an expensive job?

Thanks!

[Jimmer]

Hi there, welcome to the forum.

I always thought that there was no danger with aluminum wire as long as all the connectors are designed for aluminum wire. If someone has changed switches or outlets and used standard parts(designed for copper wire)... then there can be a problem with the connectors coming loose, overheating and causing serious problems.

Here is a website with info and links to tons of other sites... http://www.inspect-ny.com/aluminum.htm

If you are changing to copper then you have to replace all the wire and all the outlets/switches/connectors. Or use proper 'pigtail' connectors to convert to copper just before the switch or outlet.

As with any electrical work your requirement for using a licensed electrician depends on your local codes and/or your confidence in doing the work yourself.

I would recommend continuing your research and talking to local electricians for quotes and their recommendations.

Best of luck, Jim

'Just a handyman trying to help'

[irregularjoe]

I have done quite a few of these projects. (I'm an electrician). As mentioned above aluminum is not a problem per se if installed correctly. The problems associated with it come into play when connected to copper or if the alluminum connections become loose at the terminals.
Do pigtail the connections to new copper wire at the swich/ plug boxes, you need copper wire that is the same gauge as the al. wire, wire nuts and a tube of antioxcide compound. Clean the AL wire, apply the coumpund to the AL, and wire nut it tightly to the new copper. Now install new copper rated switch/ plugs.
As for the difficulty, it all depends on your expertise and also the numbers of wires in the box.
It's not something that has to be done before you move in, but you should attend to it in the near future.

[irregularjoe]

"Do pigtail" was a typo. Should have been "to pigtail"
oops!

[handyandy]

irregularjo,

You can always edit your posts by clicking on the image of the post.

And by the way, thanks for all the useful posts! I have learned a lot from you!

[]

[irregularjoe]

Thanks!

quote:Originally posted by handyandy

irregularjo,

You can always edit your posts by clicking on the image of the post.

And by the way, thanks for all the useful posts! I have learned a lot from you!

[]

'....Question: ".....can I get a rough estimate over the phone to rewire my house?" ...' Answer: "Somewhere between one thousand and twenty thousand".

[fshngmgc]

IT WAS WITH GREAT INTEREST THAT I CAME ACCROSS THIS SITE AND LOW AND BEHOLD IT WAS ON ALUMINUM WIRING.I HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH ON THIS AND FIND THAT IT IS EXPENSIVE AND YOU MUST HAVE A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN TO DO THE WORK.AND THEY MUST BE TRAINED IN amp copalum connectors and tooling made by TYCO ELECTRONICS.THIS IS A SURE FIRED WAY TO GET COPPER HOOKED UP TO YOU HOUSE. MY NEXT PROJECT IS TO SEE IF I CAN FIND THE RIGHT GOV. LINK AND ASK THEM TO PAY FOR THE CONVERSION.HOPE I HELPED A LITTLE.[?][?] ....... MIKE

[fosgate]

what if you ran an aluminum feed (like something around the size of 2/0) from the outside box to a shop and connect it to the breaker box in the new shop... that has all copper lines inside the shop. Is there a reason to be worried of a fire hazard?

Im in this situation now with about 100feet of aluminum wire on hand, left over from a recent electricity-hookup by the local utility company. I am wanting to run it to a new shop underground in PVC and of course, the entire shop will be run with copper... Im wondering if there will be any issues.