If your home was built between 1970 and 1978 you stand a good chance of having aluminum wiring in your home and when it comes time to sell you will want to make sure that all necessary fixes are completed so the new homeowner will be able to insure it.
? You may have seen one of the many recent articles about insuring homes with electrical wiring. The state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp. on March 16, 2011 sent out the following information to insurance agents throughout Florida. .
This e-mail from Citizens was to inform agents of the details of two alternative methods that Citizens has approved as insurable and acceptable ways of repairing aluminum wiring: .
Aluminum Branch Wiring IE #008-11 – March 16, 2011.
Effective 8/1/2010 and as announced in Agent Technical Bulletin #005-10, the Uninsurable Properties section of the personal residential Rules of Practice was amended to clarify that potentially hazardous electrical conditions include properties with aluminum branch wiring circuits. .
The rule change was to address concerns related to the original installation (1965-1972) of single-strand aluminum/solid aluminum wiring connected to the lower branch circuits (receptacles, switches, lights and small appliances). Homes with aluminum main service wires and heavier 240 volt circuits that feed major appliances (e.g., dryers, ranges, air conditioners) are eligible for coverage with Citizens. .
Citizens has continued to research an acceptable remediation/repair for homes with aluminum branch wiring and currently accepts homes meeting at least one of the following conditions: .
-The home has been rewired completely with copper wiring. .
-All aluminum-to-copper connections (e.g., light fixtures, fan fixtures, outlets and switches) have been repaired via the COPALUM crimp method. -.
All aluminum-to-copper connections (e.g., light fixtures, fan fixtures, outlets and switches) have been repaired via the AlumiConn® connector method. .
Note: In all cases of aluminum branch wiring, Citizens requires that all aluminum branch circuit wire connections to the service panel must have been inspected and repaired as necessary to ensure no corrosion/oxidation is present and all connections are tight, before Citizens can insure the home. .
An application for a home that has all aluminum branch wiring circuit connections remediated using one of the methods above may be submitted unbound to Citizens Underwriting for review. To establish eligibility for coverage, documentation from a Florida-licensed electrician confirming that all aluminum-to-copper connections have been repaired via the COPALUM crimp method or the AlumiConn connector method must be submitted. In addition, the property must meet all other eligibility requirements.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
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2 comments:
I would like to weigh the pros and cons from changing to copper wire versus using the alumiconn connectors. First off, if there are any junction boxes in the attic they will be totally ignored. This is where most of the fires start from. Second you still have to remove the box to install a deeper box which is half way to rewiring. Then when you tighten the connectors its smashes the aluminum wire where if you move it back and forth a couple times it breaks off. We have also come across splices in the wall behind the sheetrock with copper to aluminum connections. Again these will never be found and could be a problem. Not to mention the open splices in the attic with out junction boxes that are not seen. Then there are some contractors not even replacing the outlets when they install the connectors. So you still have 40 year old outlets with loose connections. In my professional opinion they are a joke. It is a few hundred dollars more than half the price of rewiring. The only company that will insure you is Citizens insurance. Your premium will be about $800 to $1000 dollars more a year than if you re-wire. So in 5 years you will have paid for a toral re-wire, but yet you still have aluminum wiring. Then let one fire or other claim occur on a house that has had the retrofit. Citizens will then say that they won't accept it and all these homeowners that have spent 3 to 5 thousand to have this done will be out of that money and in the same position they started in. If you are going to live there for more than one year I would say re-wire, its the only permanent fix.
Yes, over-torquing on the wire when using the AlumiConn connector can be a problem... perhaps that's why they have clear torquing instructions.
I would recommend staying away from any 'professionals' who have a problem following instructions.
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