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Old timer told me to stop using wire nuts on solid aluminum
Guy who trained me 20 years ago swore by the old purple twisters for aluminum. Finally had a house fire call last spring where one of those melted right off. Switched to the Al/Cu rated connectors and haven't had a callback since. Anyone else ditch the old methods after seeing one go up?
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brookerobinson29d ago
Wait, so the "expert" who trained you thought purple wire nuts were the hot ticket? What's next, using twist ties for 220 volt jobs? I've seen those purple failures too, all melted and crispy like a bad breakfast. It's almost like the old timers had a death wish for their customers' drywall. Good thing you finally saw the light before your next call was for re-wiring a whole development.
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Oh man, I gotta jump in here real quick because I see a little mix-up. The purple twisters you mentioned, those are the old purple wire nuts specifically for aluminum, but they were kinda infamous for failing. The newer Al/Cu rated connectors you switched to are absolutely the right call, but just so folks know, it's not just any "Al/Cu" rating. You gotta look for the ones that say "AL" and "CU" together on the package, and they should be the ones with the little anti-oxidant compound inside. I've seen guys grab a regular tan wire nut thinking it'll work on aluminum, and that's a no-go. Aluminum's soft, expands and contracts differently from copper, so the old purple nuts just didn't hold up under load. Good on you for making the switch after seeing that fire call, that's the kind of lesson you never forget.
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