On 2/15/2019 8:23 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Sat, 16 Feb 2019 01:06:22 +0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
wrote:

The fact that aluminum is used from the generating plant right up to your
doorstep indicates that aluminum can be used safely for high voltage, high
current circuits. However, either because the home aluminum wiring systems
weren't properly designed, or because installers didn't install them
properly, they caused a disproportionate number of house fires, which
essentially resulting in aluminum house wiring disappearing from the
market.

Ask any electrical inspector how many times he has found a coin
inserted in the old screw type fuse blocks, or oversize fuse wire in
the even older type of fuses. I have even seen a piece of bent wire
inserted in a fuse box that was intended to prevent a conventional
"breaker" from tripping.

There have always been, and will always be, totally stupid homeowner
mistakes. That's not the source of the risk with aluminum wiring, except
perhaps in the hands of an incompetent do-it-yourselfer. Especially when
it was first popularized, safe use practices were apparently just beyond
the skill set of the typical electrician.

And these days, fixing the problem is very costly. Our good friends (now
living in a distant state) were trying to sell their condo, one with
aluminum wiring. It added greatly to the complication and expense.

Or go to any housing supply store and see the "extension cords" that
allow 6 or 8 devices to be plugged into a single wall socket.

I think that's much less of a problem than it used to be. LED lights
draw far less current than incandescents. Modern TVs, stereos etc. are
also much less current-hungry.

If you don't plug two toasters and a hair dryer into the same circuit as
your vacuum cleaner, you'll probably be OK. And if you're not OK, the
breaker will trip, assuming you haven't disabled it.

--
- Frank Krygowski