Question We live in phoenix az and fell in love with a 1974 house and then when my friend who was a handyman for 30 years told us it was aluminum wired, we cannot decide to buy or not. I have read alot of info online about pulling all switches and receptacles out and replacing with the new aluminum rated devices and applying the paste, and supposedly that along with not overloading circuits and periodic inspections to check that connections stay tight, can make the home safe. However, my friend the handyman, who even had aluminum house burn down he rented when he was younder and 2 people died in it, and he lives in old alum house now, has said that as long as all outlets and switches work and there are no funny electrical noises or problems in the house, to just leave everything alone because disturbing them could cause problems in itself. We are 90% convinced to purchase the house and just not sure how to care for the aluminum wiring. We also have not had the official home inspection done either, which might turn up other issues. Any suggestions? Is aluminum wire corrosion a problem in Arizona where it is dry air mostly?
Answer Hi James,
Aluminum wiring for lights and receptacles is bad, the problem with it isn't just corrosion, the connections have a tendency to loosen up from usage. The wire heats up and expands under load, then cools and contracts when no longer under load, the constant expansion-contraction causes the connections to go bad. I would talk to a local electrician about the cost of rewiring the house and bring it up to the seller when you make a offer.
Dale
