Shoutout to the house fire that taught me about aluminum wiring

I was called to a house in Portland last Tuesday where a ceiling fan had been flickering for weeks. Homeowner said it just stopped working. I opened the box and saw aluminum wiring from the 60s with no anti-oxidant paste on the connections. One of the neutrals had completely arced out and melted the wire nut. I had to cut back 4 inches of bad wire and pigtail with copper using Alumiconns. Whole house needed it. Has anyone else seen aluminum wiring fail like this without any warning signs?

2 comments

2 Comments

clairebaker3d ago

And that one time I found aluminum wiring in a light switch that looked totally fine but the ground was completely gone.

rubybarnes3d ago

Alumiconns saved my bacon on a whole-house rewire last year, no more flickering lights since.