"John G" wrote in message


There are several hundred condos and townhomes in my area built in the
1980's. All of the ranges were hardwired with either #6 or #8 aluminum
service entrance cable. Some with 3 wire and some with 4 wire. I get a few
calls a year to change them to plug and receptacle when the range gets
replaced.

I am sure they're not the only ones, either. Whether the installation was
codeworthy requires access to 40 year old codes but it's moot since you've
actually seen and serviced such installations. The dangers of AL wiring
took a while to expose and many of them related to faulty installation
techniques. Still, others took a while to ferret out. IIRC, there's old
and new tech AL wire that reduced the problem of AL wiring loosening under
the steel screws in device connections because of the different coefficients
of expansion.

Would I rip out AL branch wiring if I found it in my house? Maybe. But if
I didn't I'd certify and inspect each and every connection and still
wouldn't feel comfortable. I'd still worry that the AL wiring had more
failure points than copper.

--
Bobby G.