That’s why I make $500 /1100 ft2 house.
Do you charge less? If not, I may need to raise my prices!
I’d love to get a clear close-up picture showing the aluminum wire with the charred area.
You missing the point !!!
What is your point?
Mine is that I do more/charge more and provide more testing on those unsafe issues. I elect to do the electricians unsafe job to determine if there is really an issue in there to warrant the electricians expense.
I refuse to defer anything to another contractor that I don’t know actually exists. You can make it safe, shut off the power! Who said he pulled a live outlet anyway?
I don’t hide behind the State Law or SOP if I can make it safe and finish my job. I have worked at power plants, a little 120vac does not concern me except when it is a bare wire in the attic/ CS. You do what you feel safe doing. But there may come a point when you client will want to know what your there for.
To David Andersen: My point was "So you removed a receptacle with a LIVE CIRCUIT. NOT SAFE and NOT SMART."
I won’t pull an aluminum wired device unless there is a very good need to do it, beyond just getting a look inside. There is way too much chance of breaking a wire and causing a problem that didn’t exist before.
That old 1350 alloy only has about 5 or 6 bends in it before it breaks. Mr sparky probably used up 2 or 3 in the rough and trim.
Barry,
In the paper that you posted, I love the first sentence of the into…
“A fundamental principle of electrical safety for wiring in buildings is that
high temperatures are hazardous.”
Ya’ Think? :mrgreen:
All in all, this makes you think a little bit about what we do. It would be pretty easy for any of us to run into. Testing an outlet, only to have his short out.
I just ran into another aluminum wired house yesterday built in 1982. Thanks for the attachment! It also has a ITE push-o-matic panel. I have never seen one installed in th 1980’s.
Was this common in other parts of the country in the early 1980’s to use aluminum and ITE’s, were they really cheap to obtain then?
I didn’t even know you could get aluminum 12 & 10 wire in the 80s.
What was on the jacket? Any indication of the alloy? It should have been the AA8000 type after 1978(?) but I have never actually seen any.
Are electricians licensed in TN?
120 VAC does not concern me either. 15-20A does concern me. :shock:
More proof a fire extinguisher should be a part of every ones tool collection.
Back in inspection school they took us all out to this late 70’s, early 80’s dump and the fpe panel caught on fire and fire dept was called. What a learning experience eh? Since one of my classmates was a fireman he had one in his back seat so it saved the home. Ever since that experience I’ve kept one in my truck.
Thanks for the attachment .
Aluminum wire fire 7/3/08 3:54 PM right back at you asshole!
My fan club adores me
Have a Safe and Happy Independence Day!
I realize that this is a bit of an old thread, but though that the thread title fit well with this website I found while surfing around the Internet (had an aluminum wired house for inspection on the weekend). For the record, I did recommend further investigation after removing a sample number of receptacle and switch cover plates.
There are a couple big statements on that page if you read the whole thing.
Paul-Marc
He opened energized outlets? If I owned the home, any ‘fires’ caused I would hold him 100% liable.
Point is becareful, if it was broken but unburned before your arrival, and it’s burns after you get there, guess who is getting the blame.
tom
Hi Tom,
Not sure if your comment was meant to me or for the original thread/story. In any event, if I see aluminum wiring all I do is remove a sample number of switch/receptacle cover plates to see if they are meant for aluminum wiring or not (I may be wrong but I’ve always thought that that is what we were supposed to do when we see aluminum-remove a few cover plates to visually examine for proper CO/AL hardware). I don’t pull anything out as indeed, that could start trouble.
Thanks,
Paul-Marc
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