color of aluminum wire
#1
02-05-02, 06:40 PM
color of aluminum wire
I've been told my house has aluminum wiring. I'm doing some renos in the basement, and can tell the difference between old wiring (thicker woven black sheathing on the cable) and more recently installed cable (romex). I have assumed that the black stuff is the original aluminum, but when I started disassemling, I noticed that the actual wire is copper colored.
Can aluminum be any color other than silver?
What's up?
Can aluminum be any color other than silver?
What's up?
#2
02-05-02, 06:55 PM
Member
Scrape some exposed wire with a knife. You might have copper-clad aluminum. Such wire may be connected like copper, but it has the ampacity of aluminum.
#5
02-06-02, 12:48 PM
It is very unlikely that the older cable is aluminum. It is very likely that you hve "tinned" copper conductors. The chemicals used to make the old rubber type insulation would attack the copper conductors, so they were "tinned" before the insulation was applied when the wire was manufacturered. When you scrape the "tinning" off you should see copper. If the color remains "silver" all the way through you do have aluminum and should consult a professional.
Don(resqcapt19)
Don(resqcapt19)
#6
02-06-02, 01:16 PM
Member
Don, I was going to mention that, but in his first post he said that "the actual wire is copper colored."
