<html><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div>Bob,</div><div><br></div><div>I assume you are talking about feeders. </div><div>Although most people are against aluminum </div><div>wire it is really quite safe for feeders if installed properly.</div><div>To do this the lugs should all be retorqued after one year.</div><div>Aluminum "flows" under pressure, that is the steady pressure </div><div>at the lug slowly squeezes the soft metal into the corners of the lug</div><div>over time. This leaves the lug not quite snug enough and a candidate for heat build up and eventually arcing. When the lug is torqued after a year the flow to corners is done and it's good. Disney was originally wired this way and the contact stipulated every feeder lug in the place was to be retorqued after 1yr under supervision of Disney engineers.</div><div>I guess these days nobody wants to go back in a year so we pay for copper,<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">certainly the best conductor of the two.</span></div><div><br><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.231373); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.231373); ">Steve Johnson</span><br></div><div><div><div><div>LightWave Solar </div></div></div></div></div><div><br>On Aug 21, 2010, at 11:23 PM, "<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-request@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches-request@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>"<<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-request@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches-request@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>Send RE-wrenches mailing list submissions to</span><br><span> <a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org"><a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a></a></span><br><span></span><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><Digest Header></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><Today's Topics (5 messages)></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div>We don't often get to take picture, as the point of failure is hard to find, and the entire underground line is just abandoned and a new cable is installed.<div>Most failures I've seen (not actually seen) were on improperly installed runs, done by DIYers.<br><div>On the other hand, the majority of underground service in New Mexico is done with direct burial Aluminum, and if done correctly (buried deep enough, bedded in sand, no rocks), it's not so bad. </div><div>My regular suppliers don't even carry big copper, as the Al is so much cheaper, and comes in triplex, and 4 plex cables, but it's dry there.</div><div>In Hawaii, you see much more copper, so I think it all depends on the conditions, both above and below the ground.</div><div><br><div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><div>R. Walters</div><div><a href="mailto:ray@solarray.com"><a href="mailto:ray@solarray.com">ray@solarray.com</a></a></div><div>Solar Engineer</div><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span>
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<br><div><div>On Aug 21, 2010, at 2:48 AM, bob wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; "><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><font size="4" color="black" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: black; ">Does anyone have any photos of aluminum wire that has failed? Failures from nicked insulation and such would help.<o:p></o:p></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><font size="4" color="black" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: black; ">I have a debate going with a customer who does not believe that it could cause a failure.<o:p></o:p></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><font size="4" color="black" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: black; "><o:p> </o:p></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><font size="4" color="black" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: black; ">If you have any digital pics please send them to my address,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:reellison@gmail.com" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; "><a href="mailto:reellison@gmail.com">reellison@gmail.com</a></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>instead of to the list.<o:p></o:p></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><font size="4" color="black" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: black; ">I know there are some out there somewhere….<o:p></o:p></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><font size="4" color="black" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: black; "><o:p> </o:p></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><font size="4" color="black" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: black; ">Thanks,<o:p></o:p></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><font size="4" color="black" face="Calibri"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: black; ">Bob Ellison<o:p></o:p></span></font></div></div><br></div></span></blockquote></div></div></div></div></blockquote></body></html>