Aluminum Wiring Repair in Calgary

How You Can Keep Your Household Safe From The Dangers Of Aluminum Wiring Without Ripping Out Your Walls ... I'll also reveal you how to repair it without spending a truckload of money doing it.

If your house was built throughout the late sixties to the mid seventies, there is a likelihood that aluminum circuitry was used instead of copper for its electrical circuits. Aluminum was utilized since there was a shortage of copper due to the Vietnam War.

Nevertheless, gradually, problem emerged - particularly ... houses were burning down with the aluminum connections to gadgets - outlets and changes - as the cause. As a matter of truth, research performed by Franklin Research Institute for Consumer Product Security Commission (CPSC) exposed that homes constructed with aluminum electrical wiring are 55 times more likely to ignite than homes wired with copper. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the aluminum itself. It is an excellent conductor and less pricey than copper. The problems emerge since aluminum expands and contracts far much faster than copper when used. This can trigger a loose connection, creating gaps that can cause triggering and fire. Intensifying the problem further is the fact that aluminum almost instantly begins to oxidize the minute it is exposed to the oxygen in our air. This response forms an oxide covering on the wire much like rust forms on iron.

This oxide lowers the ability for the wire to conduct electrical energy leading to a lot more heat. Eventually, it can end up being hot adequate to melt or burn components - such as wall outlets and switches - where the exposed aluminum touches with the brass connections. So the problem is the exposed aluminum around the connections - and the connections themselves. When deemed to be unsafe in 1974, aluminum wiring was all but stopped in house applications. Unfortunately, it was too late for the homes currently set up with it.

If your house is fitted with aluminum circuitry, you can be dealing with other issues aside from the obvious risk of fire. Some insurance companies will not insure homes with aluminum wiring unless it is upgraded to present day electrical code. This can cause unforeseen and unwelcome monetary obligations if you were trying to sell your house or get your renovations passed by a federal government inspector. Furthermore, if your insurance company finds that a fire in your house was brought on by aluminum electrical wiring connections, they might decline your claim for financial payment. Now there are numerous solutions to this bad circumstance, however the first thing you have to do is identify if you have aluminum wiring to start with. You can get an electrical specialist supervised by a master electrical expert to have a look at it for you.

However the easiest method to do this is to look at the printed or embossed markings on the external jacket of the electrical circuitry, which are visible in incomplete walls or ceilings in basements, attics, or garages. Cable television with aluminum conductors will have "Al" or "Aluminum" and other info marked on one side of the cable coat every couple of feet along its length. If for whatever reason, you can not see any wiring, then there is another, albeit a bit more involved method of checking.

Here are the 3 basic actions:

Action 1 - plug a hair clothes dryer or light into any wall outlet, turn it on and leave it on.

Action 2 - go to your circuit panel and journey (turn off) the breaker corresponding to that outlet. You'll understand you have the right breaker when your hair dryer or light is off when you examine back on it.

Step 3 - unplug the gadget and remove the outlet from the wall and examine the electrical wiring connected to it. DO NOT DETACH THE ELECTRICAL WIRING. You can make the connection even worse if you do.

You ought to be able to see the bare wire beneath the screws. It is simple to recognize aluminum because of its colour. If you an orange color, this is copper. However, if the exposed wire underneath the screws is white, it is aluminum. Got it?

aluminum wire