Repair Aluminium wiring hazards in your home

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How to repair aluminium wiring hazards in your
home?
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As per a research, homes with aluminium wiring
have 55 more chances of catching fire in certain
cases, compared to the homes that are wired with
copper wires. There is though, nothing wrong
with the metal aluminium. It is way more
economical than copper and is also a great
conductor of electricity. The only problem that
comes along with the aluminium wires is that,
comparative to copper wires, these wires expand
more when used. Due to this, loose gaps are
created that could later become the cause of
sparking and fire.
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Another major problem with aluminium wires is, it
immediately starts to oxidize the minute it is
exposed to the oxygen in our air. What an oxide
does to the aluminium wire, in a similar fashion
a rust does to an iron. Moreover, the heat
increases even more because this oxide reduces
the aluminium wires capability to conduct
electricity.
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As the heat increases, it could result into
melting or burning of the fixtures like switches
and other wall outlets. If your home is also
wired with aluminium wire, apart from the obvious
danger of sparking and fire, there might be a few
problems that you would be facing at your home.
To cater to such problems at your home or work
place, we recommend few points.
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Step 1 Plug a light bulb, or a hair dryer into
any switch or any wall outlet, and leave both,
the switch and the dryer/light on. Step 2 Now
go to your circuit panel and turn off the circuit
breaker as per the outlet you have plugged the
light/dryer to. As soon as you turn off the
circuit breaker, you'll know you have the right
breaker if your hair dryer or light also turns
off.
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Step 3 Since you know about the outlet, unplug
the device (light/dryer) and remove the outlet
from the wall. Check for the wiring attached to
it. Only check and remember do not detach the
wiring otherwise, you would end up making the
connection worse.
Step 4 Next course of action will be to take the
aluminium wire and connect it to a small piece of
copper wire which is further connected to the
fixture. This is considered the safest method and
is called pig-tailing. With this you are done
with your work.
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NOTE Do not do this process at home, unless you
are comfortable enough with wiring and have
enough knowledge about them. Otherwise, just call
an electrician or any aluminium wire supplier.
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od.html