Aluminum wiring pigtailing or AL/CU outlets and switches?

11/12/2014 at 4:53:47 PM

This sometimes can be a lengthy process and should be done by a trained electrician who knows how to work with AL and who will use proper materials and care to ensure the aluminum is not damaged causing hot spots and fire risk.

Some people think this work can be done by any DIY guy, truth is, it is not as easy as people think, even for trained people, and must avoid causing stress on the AL. Strippers, pliers and marrettes will all damage the aluminum conductors.

Here are 2 picture examples of what I mean, The first is a standard marrette twisted on AL/CU joint, that blue marrette melted from the inside outwards. The black mess on the bottom of the box was the marrette used on the white wires, totally disintegrated. The next of the switch is a result of using AL wires directly on a light switch not approved for AL wire!

11/12/2014 at 5:18:42 PM

Oh, and cost could be from $15-$30 per unit, dimmers extra.

11/12/2014 at 6:07:11 PM

Thanks - So $15-30 per outlet or switch, and then labour on top of that? What would the time be to get each one done? I'm assuming that if there is already pigtailing done, the cost per unit goes down but the amount of labour increases.

11/12/2014 at 7:01:36 PM

If each one only needs to be checked and does not require work, 2-3 minutes per unit. Other than that, that price quoted is labor and materials total. 7-12 minutes per unit.

11/12/2014 at 8:17:09 PM

Hi Brad,

In your situation where the copper tailing was already done, I would charge you by the hour.

We would check all the existing work and corrected all the mistakes as we go.

You looking at $67.00/hour per electrician and $42.00/hour per apprentice plus materials.

I imagine 5 to 7 hours would do it.

Mirek

11/12/2014 at 9:29:10 PM

Thanks for the input.

11/12/2014 at 11:55:18 PM

I usually charge per hour for this type of job, plus any material used.my hour charge is $75. from my experience this will take 3-4 hours.

Also I would like to command Robert for his professional advise.

11/13/2014 at 8:09:40 AM

Hi Brad

Robert has provided some good advice (he always does), but there are a couple of things that he did not mentioned that I often run into when doing this type of work.

When doing the "pigtailing" there is a couple of different methods that are used for this; regardless of the method you have situations where you get into a box fill situation where the existing device box is too small and has to be changed out.

The second is a formal written report that you need for your insurance company or real estate agent to verify the work was done correctly by a certified electrical contractor.

Insurance companies tend to put unnecessary fear out there about AL wire and they should not be doing that; AL wire is perfectly safe if it is properly installed and maintained.

Here is a link to an article I wrote for Trusted Pros on the topic....

https://trustedpros.ca/articles/electrical/aluminum-wire---whats-all-the-hype

Cheers

John Kuehnl-Cadwell

Master Electrician

Datawise Solutions Inc

11/13/2014 at 10:42:37 AM

Thanks for that, the link is not working for me however. Good info so far.

11/13/2014 at 4:34:55 PM

John is a great electrician, his web link skills are sometimes challenged though (lol), try this:

https://trustedpros.ca/articles/electrical/aluminum-wire---whats-all-the-hype

11/13/2014 at 4:38:02 PM

Seems the link is dead, but search the trusted pros data articles - electrical - https :// trustedpros.ca / articles / electrical / aluminum wire whats all the hype.

4/22/2015 at 11:19:37 AM

Hi Brad,

I have helped 2 customers with the same issue: AL wiring in their older home. I changed out all of the receptacles, switches and inspected/repaired lighting fixture terminations.

I reviewed the work with both Customers and we agreed to my quote of $40.00 per outlet, labour and material included. I was asked to write a report on the AL/CU joint wiring on the new AL/CU rated devices, for the Customer's Home Insurance Policy to be amended.

These Customers were in Edmonton and Sherwood Park. I had also checked with the Electrical Authorities in both cities, to ensure my work was in Compliance with the Alberta Safety Codes Act. I had met compliance.

Thank you,

Randy

Master Electrician

RGP Consulting and Electric Ltd.

Ardrossan, AB.

10/26/2019 at 11:07:33 PM

Hi,

Pig tailing coper to aluminum wiring using an anti-oxidant will not solve your problem. We repair these types of repairs that often fail at the 5-10 year method. These repairs actually are not much better than the original installs and unfortunately are an approved repair method as of today's date.

The problem with pig-tailing aluminum wire to copper wire is that the to different metals expand and contact and different rates. When they heat up from the current passing through them and then cool when the current is reduced to a lesser load demand, small gaps emerge in the newly created spaces causing arcing. Over time the situation gets even worse as galvanic corrosion further breaks down the wire. Pig-tailing for aluminum wiring repair consists of splicing existing aluminum wiring with copper and then installing a purple Marrett filled with an anti-oxidant compound. The problem is that it does absolutely nothing to address of the issue of the dissimilar metals expanding or contracting at different rates, the galvanic action mentioned earlier or the arcing that occurs because the above two issues are not able to be resolved with the pig-tailing method. Furthermore the Marrett with the anti-oxidant compound is installed after the wires are twisted tightly together, so there is no compound actually between the dissimilar metals. The only thing this method address is the oxidation of the aluminum wiring.

We use a combination of Arc Fault Breakers (breakers that interrupt the flow of current when arcing is detecting and Alumiconns. This is a permanent fix. It costs around $50.00 per fixture, switch, light or outlet. We charge $95.00 per Arc Fault breaker and the panel work to run copper wire from the breakers to the first outlet is quoted per job. We are aware the breakers are rated for aluminum or copper wire and would like you the consumer to be aware we have 100's of pictures and invoices from paying customers with breakers that have caught fire from an aluminum wire to copper connection. Both with an anti-oxidant compound installed and without.

If your going to spend the money to repair a dangerous wiring situation, pay to have it properly and perminanty corrected. Anyone trying to sell you on copper pig-tailing is just trying to make a quick buck. The Electrical Inspectors hands are currently tied until the CSA can update the method of pig-tailing as no longer approved. A process that unfortunately takes time.

We issue certificates of aluminum wiring repair which are warrantied for the life of the install. These certificates are excepted by all major home insurance companies and are a valid certificate of repair for the re-sale of your home.

William Simpson

Certified Electric Ltd