Wire for 50A 220V Service - 110' run
I have on hand about 30' of #2 aluminum wire and about 100' of #6 aluminum wire. The run from the breaker to the outlet will be about 120'. Can I run about 30' or so of #2, then continue with #6 to ...
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Don't forget that your birdhouse needs to be UL or CSA approved (or equiv.) if you are connection anything electrical to it....
EE here. Nearly 3 decades experience as a consulting engineer in all types of construction.
Some "interesting" advice in this thread. I don't want to have to go back and study everything that has been posted in detail and I don't want to be dumped on, but two things struck me. One is that aluminum has been used for underground and above ground feeder cables for decades. It's a lot cheaper. Whether it is copper or alum., you need to have the correct insulation designation for underground/wet use, such as TWU for example, and it has to be as permitted by the NEC unless it's use has been amended by your local ESA. Absolutely nothing wrong with aluminum as long as it is installed as per code requirements. You must be careful not to nick the wire, you need to wire brush the exposed strands and then apply anti-oxidant like Noalox before terminating it. In a panel lug, as you tighten the lug onto the wire, you wiggle the wire a bit, then re-tighten and repeat this process a couple of times. Second thing is that whatever you connect the wire to, whether it's a receptacle, panelboard lugs or a split-bolt connector, it MUST be approved for use with aluminum. No exceptions. You will see "Cu/Al" on receptacles and panels are okay nowadays with alum. If in doubt on anything, check with the manufacturer or the vendor.
If you check with the NEC, it may state a minimum size for aluminum for different applications. It's been a while since I've read the NEC.
If your house has aluminum wiring, the wire itself is okay but if you have old wiring devices that don't say "Cu/Al" on them, if you pigtail them and/or install new devices and approved wire nuts, then you are fine. Some insurance companies have now caught onto this and are making homeowners hire an electrician to upgrade an entire house and then certify that it's okay. But this conflicts with the regulations because a homeowner (not a neighbor or buddy) is permitted to change their own receptacles and switches. If you don't disclose the fact that their is alum. wiring in your house upon a sale and it subsequently burns down, you could be in trouble. A proper home inspection should pick it up though.
A 50 amp service in an RV is no different than a 100 or 200 amp service in a house. They both have two hot conductors and one neutral and they're both "120/240" volts.
A neutral is only there to carry the unbalanced current. In some cases, a neutral conductor can be a smaller size. But this would be another discussion for another day....
Lastly, don't forget to make sure you have taken care of grounding and bonding properly as per NEC. Very, very important.
EE here. Nearly 3 decades experience as a consulting engineer in all types of construction.
Some "interesting" advice in this thread. I don't want to have to go back and study everything that has been posted in detail and I don't want to be dumped on, but two things struck me. One is that aluminum has been used for underground and above ground feeder cables for decades. It's a lot cheaper. Whether it is copper or alum., you need to have the correct insulation designation for underground/wet use, such as TWU for example, and it has to be as permitted by the NEC unless it's use has been amended by your local ESA. Absolutely nothing wrong with aluminum as long as it is installed as per code requirements. You must be careful not to nick the wire, you need to wire brush the exposed strands and then apply anti-oxidant like Noalox before terminating it. In a panel lug, as you tighten the lug onto the wire, you wiggle the wire a bit, then re-tighten and repeat this process a couple of times. Second thing is that whatever you connect the wire to, whether it's a receptacle, panelboard lugs or a split-bolt connector, it MUST be approved for use with aluminum. No exceptions. You will see "Cu/Al" on receptacles and panels are okay nowadays with alum. If in doubt on anything, check with the manufacturer or the vendor.
If you check with the NEC, it may state a minimum size for aluminum for different applications. It's been a while since I've read the NEC.
If your house has aluminum wiring, the wire itself is okay but if you have old wiring devices that don't say "Cu/Al" on them, if you pigtail them and/or install new devices and approved wire nuts, then you are fine. Some insurance companies have now caught onto this and are making homeowners hire an electrician to upgrade an entire house and then certify that it's okay. But this conflicts with the regulations because a homeowner (not a neighbor or buddy) is permitted to change their own receptacles and switches. If you don't disclose the fact that their is alum. wiring in your house upon a sale and it subsequently burns down, you could be in trouble. A proper home inspection should pick it up though.
A 50 amp service in an RV is no different than a 100 or 200 amp service in a house. They both have two hot conductors and one neutral and they're both "120/240" volts.
A neutral is only there to carry the unbalanced current. In some cases, a neutral conductor can be a smaller size. But this would be another discussion for another day....
Lastly, don't forget to make sure you have taken care of grounding and bonding properly as per NEC. Very, very important.
