Aluminum wiring? - Posted by Carmine - Vegas

Posted by Ted (ND) on March 13, 2002 at 09:13:16:

Thanks ED,

I appreciate you taking your time to share your experience with me. I am not an electrician but I am very handy and I have a friend who is an electrician who will certify the work for me.

Aluminum wiring? - Posted by Carmine - Vegas

Posted by Carmine - Vegas on March 05, 2002 at 12:22:37:

Hello

I absolutly love this forum…and would like to thank everyone for taking their time to help us!

On to my question…I have this MH I’m going to take a look at tomorrow, and the owners said that the only thing wrong with the home is that it has aluminum wiring, and the electrical system in the entire house somehow blew out and it needs to be replaced to bring it up to code. Does anyone have an idea of how much much costs run to replace aluminum wire with copper?

Re: Aluminum wiring? - Posted by Ed C (CA)

Posted by Ed C (CA) on March 07, 2002 at 21:18:41:

Maybe this is too late but here my 2 cents worth. # 1 Yes,Aluminum wiring is a major problem! # 2 The entire MH electrical system does not just blow out! # 3 A real electrician can check out entire system circuit at a time and repair the problem’s as needed. # 4 I would use this problem to lower my offering price to owners. There are several million houses with aluminum wiring and they have been working for over 30 without problems. With over 25 years as a Electrical Contractor, I have never completely rewired a MH with
copper wiring. A good electrician can add circuits in copper wire, repair circuits using approved connections and check entire electrical system out in less than a day. Hope this helps!

Re: Aluminum wiring? - Posted by Chuck (AZ)

Posted by Chuck (AZ) on March 05, 2002 at 14:21:43:

Look in the yellow pages under mobile home repair and get a few estimates. Don’t go with the cheapest just because it’s cheap… there’s alot to be said for quality (licensed/insured) work.

Re: Aluminum wiring? - Posted by Ted ND

Posted by Ted ND on March 09, 2002 at 18:12:15:

ED,

What is your experience with fused breaker panels? I am looking at a 70’s model MH and it has a 50 amp fused panel.

Re: Aluminum wiring? - Posted by Carmine - Vegas

Posted by Carmine - Vegas on March 05, 2002 at 14:43:30:

Will do…thanks Chuck!

Re: Aluminum wiring? - Posted by Ed C (CA)

Posted by Ed C (CA) on March 10, 2002 at 21:51:51:

Ted,

I would upgrade to 100 amp service. On MH it is normally a easy job that could be done in a few hours by any experienced electrician. And for a few hundred dollars. Good luck!!!

Re: Aluminum wiring? - Posted by Ted ND

Posted by Ted ND on March 11, 2002 at 11:53:47:

Thanks for the input. Have your ever done an upgrade on an older home before? A couple of hundred dollars seems reasonable to me. Thanks again.

Re: Aluminum wiring? - Posted by Ed C (CA)

Posted by Ed C (CA) on March 12, 2002 at 19:29:20:

Ted,

Yes, I have done several MH service upgrades. And probably 1500 upgrades in SFD’s. It is a job best done by professional but I will admit I just started doing them years ago. Look in a Home Depot at materials need and you will see that $ 150.00 will buy ALL materials needed. Good Luck !!!

Aluminum is a softer metal than copper, and besides being prone to damage during installation, it also expands more when heated. The expansion and contraction of the wire can lead to wire creeping out from its place under the screw holding it in place, causing loose wires and overheating.https://www.jihua-alu.com/product