Solid branch aluminum question

Junior, George is the epitome of electrical knowledge… :smile:

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Larry You shouldn’t be calling George names…He’s not a bad guy…

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He deserves it! That so and so… :thinking: :rofl: :joy:

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I believe Canada may have different wire nuts for aluminum.

Fudge, are you in Canada…?

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Larry, I know George is a wealth of electrical knowledge, and much appreciate the replies. I’m not doubting George or anyone else that shared information here. It bugs me that two master electricians from two different provinces would give similar information when asked about it. It makes me curious now if the others I know would give similar or not, know what I mean? :grin:

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Yes, was in Alberta, now PEI.

As for aluminum wiring, it doesn’t scare me. It wasn’t even in our plan to pig-tail, until we talked about getting things all down to the panel in the basement. One thing leads to another! :grin: I find it interesting that the home we purchased here is 1971, and there is no evidence so far of any loose wiring/arcing, flickering lights, or any other problems.

Yes, I do, Junior…no worries…I was just havin’ fun. :smile:

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For sure! That’s the way it should be! :stuck_out_tongue:

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Hi Jr. Here in NB the black marretts and anti oxide are used as well. My house has Al wiring and i use anti oxide on every connection. Receptacles and light switches incuded. Had a few issues when i bought the house 40 yrs ago, but tackled the crimped connectors with antioxide and marrettes and nothing since.

Hi Kirk,

What kind of issues did you encounter? I got the info of the black marettes from two different master electricians, one in PEI, and one in Alberta. I know the blacks are rated for a much higher temp, with blacks being at 150°C, and purples at 105°C. They both mentioned about safety concerns with the purple ideal twisters. I have aluminum on my main floor, copper in the basement. From what we’ve pig-tailed so far, we have not found any signs of arcing, loose wiring, or any other electrical problems. Are you an electrician, or did you receive the information of using blacks from an electrician?

I’m curious, what does the temperature rating of the wire connector have to do with anything?

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Better protection in the event of overheating/to withstand extreme temperatures?! You tell me (you’re the electrician), why are the purples only rated at 105°C?

The conductors are only used at either their 60° C or 75° C ampacity so their operating temperature should never exceed that. If it’s NM cable then the 60° C ampacity is used. The fact that a wire connector is listed for 150° C is irrelevant. There should be no condition where the temperature of the connection exceeds either 60° C or 75° C. If there is then something is wrong. You should not be using a wire connector that is not listed for copper to aluminum connections regardless of it operating temperature rating.

It sounds like you’re saying that the 150° wire connectors are better just in case the splice heats up.

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So the solution to overheating wire is to provide a wirenut that can withstand the overheating at the connection? What about the conductor insulation? Some of the answers in this thread and the purported support of them by master electricians is kinda scary.

as an added bit of information, I have some of the high temp ceramic wirenuts in my home workshop. I also have a few spools of TGGT where their use is necessary. the wire and the connector match in rating. TGGT Wire | Allied Wire and Cable
I used this wire in the construction of “high-temp” parts washing machines for a friends startup. It was an application where standard mtw was melting and an atmosphere appropriate conductor and connector was necessary. Does this make sense as to why these high temp wire nuts exist?

This was information from master electricians, from two different provinces. The blacks were rated for higher temps, safety issues with ideal purple twisters, etc. I have another master electrician that will be coming to run things to a new panel, etc. I’ve only done the receptacles and switches in the main hallway so far, not too much to change again. I don’t feel the Ideal Twisters would be any safer after reading about them, but the AlumiConn seems like a much better connector of the two. I’ll bring this up to him as well.

Both accurate. I dislike the purple ideal wirenuts and don’t believe in their safety. I think I may have mentioned that earlier in the thread. The point of my last post was to try and illustrate why they make the high temp wirenuts, it is not for this application. The Alumiconn connectors and an adjustable torque screwdriver are the best. If you PM me your address I will drop a handful of them in an envelope and ship them up to you so you can give them a try.

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Just realize that just because that’s how the local master electricians do it (with high temp wirenuts) that doesn’t make it right. If you saw that on an inspection would you call it out as a defect?

If I see aluminum wiring period, I include the write-up about it, and call it out for further evaluation. It makes me wonder how electricians are getting away with it. What if a fire ever broke out, and it was seen that the electrician used the black marettes to pig-tail the home, would they not be held responsible?

So would I.
I would rewire the place with all copper wiring.
The more connections you have the more of a possibility of problems you will have.
Aluminum branch wiring is junk and should be replaced.
Connecting copper at the outlets is like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound.