12 Jul
2005
12 Jul
'05
11:23 p.m.
On Tue, 12 Jul 2005, Dwight K. Elvey wrote:
The other is that is oxidizes quickly when exposed to
air.
Getting loose and oxidizing make for a hot connection when
current of any kind goes through it. Add some flammable
material and you have a nice bond fire.
All the above is true, and a huge problem with Al wiring is
electrochemical corrosion, eg. dissimilar metals. There's a good
to apply to mechanical connections to minimize the effects, but
really, that's a hint it's a bad idea in the first place.
What were they thinking?
I, too, wonder at what was going on with this clearly terrible
idea. Cost, I assume, but even that's silly -- it's a classic
case of lifetime system cost increase >> component cost savings.
A contractor-friendly savings; they're long out of there by the
time problems manifest.