Aluminum wiring really ????

I purchased a townhome for my son to go to college. The previous owner had put in a new air conditioner to sweeten the deal and of course the installer was an idiot. I was able to quickly identify and fix the condensate drain.. ( was plumbed to the wrong hole.. yep water everywhere )

The evap fan started to not run. After looking a bit I got a repairman to look at the unit. He quickly noticed that the wirenut to the main leads was burnt. So he replaced it and we went on our way.. ( ok.. at this point I should have known something was wrong.. but no.. did not notice..)

The fan did run.. but that night again quit.. so had to wait a week because I only go and work on the townhouse on weekends.. and this time the repair business owner came out. Yep.. the new wire nut was burnt..

So he rewired it again.. this time putting in some sort of 'bundie'. Fan is now works some.. and doesn't work some..

Last weekend owner came out and put in a whole new fan unit. Those burnt up nuts caused a voltage drop and burned up the fan..

Fan was covered under warranty .. but since it was over a year old .. had to pay labor..

Long story to these questions...

- What is a 'bundie' ?
- Is it safe?
- How in the heck does aluminum wiring even pass code? Unit was built in 1994.
- Would it be a good idea to rewire in copper

Wanting to make everything safe.

Aluminum wire is used for larger lines, service connections, the connection to my electric range outlet was aluminum. My house was built 1998/99. It hasn't been used for 15 and 20 amp branch circuits since the late 1970's or early 1980's.

There are also very specific methods of terminating aluminum conductors, both in general wiring as well as high current applications.

If they are not followed, it will fail again.

"What is a 'bundie' ?"

What he was referring to is a "Burndy" which is a manufacturer. Most likely a "splitbolt", which are often called burndys. They're rated for copper/alu.

http://ecat.burndy.com/Comergent/en...8/603179/603186/**&filterDispName=Uninsulated

Is Noalox not used for the larger gauge wires?

In my practice it is.

However, the is no mention of a disconnect within 6', just a connector.

Sounds like a jack-leg-laborer.

havasu said:

Is Noalox not used for the larger gauge wires?

Click to expand...

It should be used on all aluminum connections because it's an anti-oxidizing agent and helps to prevent seizing at the termination. Alu has different expansion and contraction characteristics from heating and cooling than copper which is more stable.

My previous home was built smack dab in the Vietnam era (1968) and had all aluminum wiring. I had two bottles of Noalox in my tool box and used it often, until I finally ripped out that junk and replaced it with copper.

What size aluminum wire was run and what is the size of the breaker for the unit? Aluminum doesn't carry as much current as copper, and may need to be oversized to safely carry the load. Copper is a far better conductor, but aluminum is much cheaper. Aluminum is code compliant as long as the terminations are rated for aluminum and an anti oxidant compound is used.

Thanks for the information guys! Now that I know what I should look for I can make a better decision. The connection at the air conditioner unit is at issue. There is a breaker box 2' away where I can tie in with real copper and rewire without the aluminum. Did not see any anti-oxidant used. Looks like just a Burndy and tape.

Will be a few weeks before I can get down there again.

You guys are great.

havasu said:

My previous home was built smack dab in the Vietnam era (1968) and had all aluminum wiring. I had two bottles of Noalox in my tool box and used it often, until I finally ripped out that junk and replaced it with copper.

Click to expand...

We see aluminum in Vietnam War era homes during remodel all the time. Properly treated aluminum branch wiring can be dealt with.

Here is a product line that helps

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSznODzU_Sc[/ame]