Serious question, why do so many people still use aluminum for branch circuits? I saw a melted connection in a 1970s house in Phoenix last week that could have burned the place down.

3 comments

3 Comments

Ever wonder if the old guys who installed it just got used to the feel of aluminum wire? Like it was the new hot thing they learned on, so they stuck with it even after the problems showed up.

spencer_davis761mo ago

That "new hot thing they learned on" idea... it's like when a bad process gets set in a workplace and nobody questions it because it's just how things are done. You see it with software or paperwork routines that make no sense but stick around for years. The aluminum wire feels like a physical version of that, where the habit overrode the obvious problems.

paulp452mo ago

Nah, it wasn't about getting used to it. That stuff was a known problem from the start for anyone paying attention. The feel was totally different from copper, it needed special connectors most guys didn't have, and it creeped under the screws. They pushed it because it was cheap, not because it was good. A lot of us knew it was a bad deal but had to use what the bosses bought. The fires later just proved the point everyone on the ground already saw coming.