splicing aluminum to copper elec wire
I just bought a new oven and it came with aluminum wire and I have to splice it to copper. Do I need to do something different for this connection? I know aluminum and copper doesn't play well toge...
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That is an expensive tin clad AL/CU butt junction with a divider running down the middle to keep the two metals apart. They can dunk the two cable ends in preservative, stickem into the butt splice then squeezem. Outside the tin cladding is unimportant as it can oxidize to a dull gray without hurting conductivity.
Around salt air, especially when it's thick, very warm and moving it's a different story. The salt can allow a corona path to form and electrolysis can eat metal for breakfast. Twice a year CFE pumpers wash down our 12.5 KV insulators and demand owners of private transformers (three-phase)do the same to eliminate line bleed off. Here you will find sealant heat shrink or amalgamating rubber wrap on high voltage connections.
Working around RV breaker boxes I will TIN bare copper stubs, then dunk them in electrolytic grease before sliding them into a buss or breaker. My favorite for this is pure lead not solder.
My school of hard knocks came when I was building trawlers (draggers) Outside lighting was 24 volts. I replaced them with larger wattage 32 volt bulbs. I never heard of any bulb burnouts.
Mast head and NAV lights were also critical, a ride to the top of a mast in a bosun's chair is not fun. For externally exposed use I chose cross-link polyolefin insulated wiring. They use this insulation on fusible link wire for automotive. Hundred feet rolls were not cheap.
For a good example of why high quality matters, look no further than Bosch style relays for automotive. Underhood cheap relays turn to green powder in a year or so. Pry the shell apart and look. Only Bosch TYCO makes truly hermetically sealed relays. After almost losing a three thousand dollar irreplaceable engine twice because of radiator fan failure, I now have a gallon bag filled with TYCO relays.
My 50-year-old joke term for doing premature maintenance or failure repairs is RETROFITTING.
I despise doing it. When electrical breaks prematurely I whip out my calculator and watch and start tabulating losses. Appreciative vacationers parked in places like Tuolomne Meadows campground only served to catalyze my convictions. They were looking at a 150-mile tow, a lost campsite and a destroyed vacation.
Around salt air, especially when it's thick, very warm and moving it's a different story. The salt can allow a corona path to form and electrolysis can eat metal for breakfast. Twice a year CFE pumpers wash down our 12.5 KV insulators and demand owners of private transformers (three-phase)do the same to eliminate line bleed off. Here you will find sealant heat shrink or amalgamating rubber wrap on high voltage connections.
Working around RV breaker boxes I will TIN bare copper stubs, then dunk them in electrolytic grease before sliding them into a buss or breaker. My favorite for this is pure lead not solder.
My school of hard knocks came when I was building trawlers (draggers) Outside lighting was 24 volts. I replaced them with larger wattage 32 volt bulbs. I never heard of any bulb burnouts.
Mast head and NAV lights were also critical, a ride to the top of a mast in a bosun's chair is not fun. For externally exposed use I chose cross-link polyolefin insulated wiring. They use this insulation on fusible link wire for automotive. Hundred feet rolls were not cheap.
For a good example of why high quality matters, look no further than Bosch style relays for automotive. Underhood cheap relays turn to green powder in a year or so. Pry the shell apart and look. Only Bosch TYCO makes truly hermetically sealed relays. After almost losing a three thousand dollar irreplaceable engine twice because of radiator fan failure, I now have a gallon bag filled with TYCO relays.
My 50-year-old joke term for doing premature maintenance or failure repairs is RETROFITTING.
I despise doing it. When electrical breaks prematurely I whip out my calculator and watch and start tabulating losses. Appreciative vacationers parked in places like Tuolomne Meadows campground only served to catalyze my convictions. They were looking at a 150-mile tow, a lost campsite and a destroyed vacation.
