Aluminum 110v Wiring

[Jon mackay]

Typically when aluminum wiring is present with 110v circuits, I will call it out for immediate inspection by an electrician to evaluate the circuits and give it the attention it deserves. I had a home with aluminum wiring on a large portion of the circuits and the panel was installed and inspected in 2007. No mention of aluminum wiring was noted at the panel.

What surprised me is that even though the panel had been "inspected" There were ground and neutral wires of different gauges secured under the same lug which is of coarse wrong.

What language do you use for this? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Richard Moore]

What language do you use for this? Any advice would be appreciated.

Jon, you seem to know what the issues are and are reasonably* proficient in English...so I'd stick to that as the language.

*It is "of course", not "of coarse".

[ken horak]

.....

[Bruce Ramsey]

North Carolina requires this statement be added to the report if there is single strand alumnium branch circuits.
Multi-strand aluminum and single strand aluminum dedicated circuits are not considered an issue.

Single strand aluminum wire is present on 120 volt branch circuits in this house. This single strand, branch circuit aluminum wire was used widely during the 1960s and 1970s. According to reports published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), problems due to overheating at the connections between the wire and devices such as switches, outlets, and light fixtures may have been responsible for house fires. It is recommended that the circuits using single strand aluminum wiring be evaluated and modified as may be deemed necessary by a licensed electrical contractor who is familiar with the problems inherent in this type of wiring. For more information on aluminum household wiring, refer to the National Electrical Code and the C.P.S.C. booklet "Repairing Aluminum Wiring." The toll-free hotline number for obtaining this booklet is 1-800-638-2772, or you can visit http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/516.pdf .

[Jon mackay]

Thank you Bruce, that is very helpful.

[Jim Luttrall]

North Carolina requires this statement be added to the report if there is single strand aluminum branch circuits.
Multi-strand aluminum and single strand aluminum dedicated circuits are not considered an issue.

Single strand aluminum wire is present on 120 volt branch circuits in this house. This single strand, branch circuit aluminum wire was used widely during the 1960s and 1970s. According to reports published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), problems due to overheating at the connections between the wire and devices such as switches, outlets, and light fixtures may have been responsible for house fires. It is recommended that the circuits using single strand aluminum wiring be evaluated and modified as may be deemed necessary by a licensed electrical contractor who is familiar with the problems inherent in this type of wiring. For more information on aluminum household wiring, refer to the National Electrical Code and the C.P.S.C. booklet "Repairing Aluminum Wiring." The toll-free hotline number for obtaining this booklet is 1-800-638-2772, or you can visit http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/516.pdf .

Bruce, that is good information although a little weak in the recommendation in my opinion.
Is this required verbatim in your reports?

I would personally be calling for replacement or COPALUM retermination, not further evaluation. It seems there is always a realtor lackey electrician that is willing to bless the mess to get the deal done and then the buyer is stuck with going through the same scenario when they sell it. I would much rather see single strand Aluminum be removed. Just my opinion.

[Bruce Ramsey]

Is this required verbatim in your reports?

Yes, this is the required verbatim version. We can always expound on the statement if we so choose.
Welcome to NC Office of State Fire Marshal (http://www.ncdoi.com/OSFM/Engineering/hilb/engineering_hilb_interpretations.asp)