AL/CU Wire Terminations
I just could not afford Duplex wire to feed eight 100-wat LED fixtures in a store. Several hundred feet of it. CU Romex was out.
So I took a chance and ordered rolls of Chinese AL/CU
It arrived. Sho 'nuff, copper clad aluminum.
Now for the "Biggee" Can it be successfully soldered?
Not globbed, not at 1,500 degrees or needing plutonium nitrate flux
With 60/40 and normal resin flux
The short answer is yes. Absolutely.
My theory is the exposed aluminum ends of the strands do not present a challenge to get sealed up. Encapsulated with solder and the whole job allows for a good looking, solid joint. Indistinguishable from CU.
Now the aluminum conductor reacts to corrosion just as CU does. This means sealing the termination to wire insulation solidly with adhesive lined heat shrink tubing.
Some will say "BIG DEAL copper and aluminum combinations are used every day"
WRONG!
NEMA and NEC regulations DEMAND CU/Al interfaces have Tin coating on the aluminum. If the tin gets damaged Danger Will Robinson. Aluminum requirements include COPPER before tin plating.
Adjusting AWG to compensate ampacity difference between aluminum and copper wire sizes is needed.
But I was relieved to find AL/CU soldering is "do-able" without doing handstands.
But now we have a new twist. China reject components that have unclad aluminum conductors with incredibly stupid sizes.
Brand new 12-volt strobe controller. Marked capacity 10 amperes per conductor. Pigtails 4-1/2" inches in length. Conductor AWG closest size 25 gauge. Thick wire insulation to camouflage honorable fraud.
Applied 1.75 amperes of current at 12.13 volts.
Honorable scrap garbage wires CAUGHT FIRE after around 4-seconds.
Suggestion: Before ordering a meter or controller or buck/booster off eBay take a moment and first ask the vendor if the pigtails are COPPER or ALUMINUM. If the vendor so much as hiccups I would move on down the line. Chinese eBay fraud unfortunately has rapidly accelerated out of control. Advertised 14 gauge wire is 17 gauge with super thick insulation. Supposed Bridgelux chips heatsinked with Arctic Silver failed after 2-seconds running at 70% rated milliamps.
But soldering at least for now copper clad aluminum is possible. Just don't nick the insulation
So I took a chance and ordered rolls of Chinese AL/CU
It arrived. Sho 'nuff, copper clad aluminum.
Now for the "Biggee" Can it be successfully soldered?
Not globbed, not at 1,500 degrees or needing plutonium nitrate flux
With 60/40 and normal resin flux
The short answer is yes. Absolutely.
My theory is the exposed aluminum ends of the strands do not present a challenge to get sealed up. Encapsulated with solder and the whole job allows for a good looking, solid joint. Indistinguishable from CU.
Now the aluminum conductor reacts to corrosion just as CU does. This means sealing the termination to wire insulation solidly with adhesive lined heat shrink tubing.
Some will say "BIG DEAL copper and aluminum combinations are used every day"
WRONG!
NEMA and NEC regulations DEMAND CU/Al interfaces have Tin coating on the aluminum. If the tin gets damaged Danger Will Robinson. Aluminum requirements include COPPER before tin plating.
Adjusting AWG to compensate ampacity difference between aluminum and copper wire sizes is needed.
But I was relieved to find AL/CU soldering is "do-able" without doing handstands.
But now we have a new twist. China reject components that have unclad aluminum conductors with incredibly stupid sizes.
Brand new 12-volt strobe controller. Marked capacity 10 amperes per conductor. Pigtails 4-1/2" inches in length. Conductor AWG closest size 25 gauge. Thick wire insulation to camouflage honorable fraud.
Applied 1.75 amperes of current at 12.13 volts.
Honorable scrap garbage wires CAUGHT FIRE after around 4-seconds.
Suggestion: Before ordering a meter or controller or buck/booster off eBay take a moment and first ask the vendor if the pigtails are COPPER or ALUMINUM. If the vendor so much as hiccups I would move on down the line. Chinese eBay fraud unfortunately has rapidly accelerated out of control. Advertised 14 gauge wire is 17 gauge with super thick insulation. Supposed Bridgelux chips heatsinked with Arctic Silver failed after 2-seconds running at 70% rated milliamps.
But soldering at least for now copper clad aluminum is possible. Just don't nick the insulation
