"Calif Bill" wrote in message
k.net...
"Steven Shelikoff" wrote in message
...
On 19 Feb 2004 20:23:18 GMT, (JAXAshby) wrote:
To start with, aluminum
is not that great of a conductor.
aluminum is in fact a pretty good conductor. Not as good as copper
or
gold,
but still pretty good. Cheap car jumper cables are often aluminum.
Yeah, they used to use it in house wiring also until the CPSC
reported
that houses with aluminum wiring were 55 times more likely to have
an
electrical fire than copper wired houses.
Bye bye aluminum wiring (in most home applications). It has only a
little more than half the conductivity of copper and really is not
that
great of a conductor. It's ok, but I wouldn't use it for anything
important.
Steve
Was cheap, was lightweight and caused fires as the aluminum flattens
out
under presure from the connection screws. Then a loose connection and
fire.
Is still used in high voltage power lines e.g. 500KV, as you can go
longer
distances between towers. Still sucks as a conductor, but those
bigger
wires can still carry the current and span a longer distance.
Bill
It is still widely used, now that the proper connectors have been
developed. The newly installed line from the transformer on the pole to
my house for my upgraded service is Aluminum, as was the old one.
Aluminum has far better conductivity per pound than does copper. It is
also stronger per pound. And it is cheaper.
The problem with Aluminum house wiring was that it oxidizes, and it was
being used with devices designed for copper. It is fine when used with
properly designed devices.
del cecchi