J
John
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
About 4 years ago I had a subpanel put in my house to accommodate some new
circuits. They ran #2 aluminum from the panel to the subpanel.
The electrician was careless and the stiff wires torqued the larger
knockouts out at the cable clamp, so there were large gaps. I got tired
of looking at it, and decided to fix it. I pulled the wires out, removed
all the knockouts, reinstalled the cable clamp with an adapter to fit the
full hole, cleaned the aluminum wires, put anti-oxidant on, and reinstalled
the wires. All went well, though working with #2 in a crowded panel was not
much fun.
But... although the aluminum wires were still bright and shiny, there was
no sign of antioxidant on them. The stuff I put on was purple; but I don't
know if it is all purple (a visual check to be sure it was done properly?)
So, my question; if there was no sign of anti-oxidant on 4 year old wires
does that mean the electrician didn't bother to put any on, or does the fact
that they were still shiny mean they are okay? I am concerned about his
connections at the subpanel; if it was simple I would just redo them there
also to be sure, but it would require ripping the wall open and I would
prefer to avoid that. Thanks.
The wires are only about 6' long; why on earth couldn't he have used
copper?!?!
circuits. They ran #2 aluminum from the panel to the subpanel.
The electrician was careless and the stiff wires torqued the larger
knockouts out at the cable clamp, so there were large gaps. I got tired
of looking at it, and decided to fix it. I pulled the wires out, removed
all the knockouts, reinstalled the cable clamp with an adapter to fit the
full hole, cleaned the aluminum wires, put anti-oxidant on, and reinstalled
the wires. All went well, though working with #2 in a crowded panel was not
much fun.
But... although the aluminum wires were still bright and shiny, there was
no sign of antioxidant on them. The stuff I put on was purple; but I don't
know if it is all purple (a visual check to be sure it was done properly?)
So, my question; if there was no sign of anti-oxidant on 4 year old wires
does that mean the electrician didn't bother to put any on, or does the fact
that they were still shiny mean they are okay? I am concerned about his
connections at the subpanel; if it was simple I would just redo them there
also to be sure, but it would require ripping the wall open and I would
prefer to avoid that. Thanks.
The wires are only about 6' long; why on earth couldn't he have used
copper?!?!