FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recently updated their list of approved methods for repairing aluminum wire to include the AlumiConn connector! This comes on top of recent news that Citizen’s Insurance also publicly added the AlumiConn as an approved aluminum wire repair method. The official Consumer Product Safety Commission document [...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recently updated their list of approved methods for repairing aluminum wire to include the AlumiConn connector!
This comes on top of recent news that Citizen’s Insurance also publicly added the AlumiConn as an approved aluminum wire repair method.
The official Consumer Product Safety Commission document (which you can read here), states:
“The Commission voted unanimously (5-0) to approve republication of CPSC Publication No. 516, Repairing Aluminum Wiring, with the explicit recognition that the COPALUM and AlumiConn connectors currently are the only products that meet the agency’s standards to prevent aluminum wire fire hazards.”
The CPSC also notified the public through their official Twitter account (see below). You can view the original tweet here.
Since the Alumiconn is larger than wire nuts, will the code for box fill calculations change?
Thanks.
@Jack – The AlumiConn connectors are about the same size as wire nuts in terms of overall volume. Check out the side-by-side comparison photo here. Because of this, we don’t think the code will change.
What makes the AlumiConn better than the special wire nuts? I picked a couple up at an electrical supplier to take a look. The end result is still an aluminum to copper connection, unless the lugs themselves are not aluminum. There can only be a micro-layer (at best) of the antioxidant grease left over between the dislike metals once the lug has been torqued down.
Thank you
Good question Jim. The answer is that as the metal wires heat and cool, they expand and contract. Copper and aluminum expand and contract at different rates, so when you put them together under 1 termination point (as in a wire nut), it tends to loosen that splice up over time. This is where potential problems can occur. So one of the biggest differences about the AlumiConn is in its unique patented design. Using an AlumiConn connector keeps the dissimilar wires separated, but connected through a tin-plated aluminum block inside the connector. The tin-plating of the internal aluminum block, along with a secure mechanical connection, provides a much cooler, safer splice – completely and permanently repairing the problem.
Thank you, Pete. And sorry about the poor word usage on my part – (dislike) lol