Aluminum Wiring Repair in Calgary
How You Can Keep Your Family Safe From The Dangers Of Aluminum Wiring Without Ripping Out Your Walls ... I'll also reveal you how to fix it without spending a truckload of cash doing it.
If your home was built throughout the late sixties to the mid seventies, there is a good chance that aluminum wiring was used rather of copper for its electrical circuits. Aluminum was used because there was a lack of copper due to the Vietnam War.
However, with time, difficulty emerged - specifically ... homes were burning down with the aluminum connections to gadgets - outlets and switches - as the cause. As a matter of fact, research study carried out by Franklin Research Institute for Customer Product Security Commission (CPSC) revealed that houses built with aluminum electrical wiring are 55 times more likely to ignite than homes wired with copper. There is absolutely nothing incorrect with the aluminum itself. It is an outstanding conductor and less pricey than copper. The issues occur since aluminum expands and agreements far much faster than copper when utilized. This can trigger a loose connection, developing gaps that can cause triggering and fire. Intensifying the issue even more is the reality that aluminum practically right away begins to oxidize the minute it is exposed to the oxygen in our air. This reaction forms an oxide finishing on the wire just like rust types on iron.
This oxide reduces the ability for the wire to carry out electrical power leading to much more heat. Eventually, it can end up being hot sufficient to melt or burn fixtures - such as wall outlets and changes - where the exposed aluminum touches with the brass connections. So the issue is the exposed aluminum around the connections - and the connections themselves. When deemed to be hazardous in 1974, aluminum circuitry was all but terminated in home applications. Unfortunately, it was too late for the homes currently set up with it.
If your house is fitted with aluminum circuitry, you can be dealing with other problems aside from the obvious danger of fire. Some insurance companies will not insure homes with aluminum circuitry unless it is updated to present day electrical code. This can cause untimely and unwanted financial responsibilities if you were trying to sell your house or get your restorations passed by a government inspector. Furthermore, if your insurance company discovers that a fire in your home was brought on by aluminum electrical wiring connections, they might decline your claim for financial payment. Now there are numerous options to this bad scenario, but the first thing you have to do is identify if you have aluminum circuitry to start with. You can get an electrical professional managed by a master electrical contractor to have a look at it for you.
However the easiest method to do this is to take a look at the printed or embossed markings on the external jacket of the electric wiring, which are visible in incomplete walls or ceilings in basements, attics, or garages. Cable with aluminum conductors will have "Al" or "Aluminum" and other info marked on one side of the cable television jacket every couple of feet along its length. If for whatever factor, you can not see any electrical wiring, then there is another, albeit a bit more involved method of monitoring.
Here are the 3 easy steps:
Action 1 - plug a hair clothes dryer or light into any wall outlet, turn it on and leave it on.
Step 2 - go to your circuit panel and journey (shut off) the breaker corresponding to that outlet. You'll know you have the best breaker when your hair dryer or light is off when you inspect back on it.
Step 3 - disconnect the gadget and get rid of the outlet from the wall and examine the circuitry attached to it. DO NOT DETACH THE ELECTRICAL WIRING. You can make the connection even worse if you do.
You need to be able to see the bare wire underneath the screws. It is simple to recognize aluminum because of its colour. If you an orange color, this is copper. However, if the exposed wire beneath the screws is white, it is aluminum. Got it?
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