DANMAS@aol.com wrote:
> I don't think the objection was to the MIXING of conductors (at least I hope
> not), but to the use of aluminum.
I think it's a bit of both. I base this on growing up in
an aluminum-wired house and having to deal with some of
the issues.
The heating/cooling cycles do cause shrinkage and loose
connectors, as mentioned. This is the main problem with
wiring in houses that got all the publicity.
However, an additional problem to homeowners was
that you can't mix it easily with copper. This is
a problem for finishing basements, house additions,
replacing outlets and so on. It's a lose/lose situation,
you have aluminum wiring and the only way to get rid
of it is to change everything in the whole house.
There are methods of connecting copper and aluminum
in house wiring. Unsure as to how it is done, but I
know they exist.
--
Trevor Boicey
Ottawa, Canada
tboicey@brit.ca
http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
|