Can you mix Al and Cu wires?
Question:I am adding a halogen light to my bathroom. The home wiring is Cu, but when I looked at the wiring for the halogen light, the wires are of a non-colored metal. Two questions:
1) Does this mean it is Al?
2) Can I still wire it into my existing home wiring even if the wires for the light are not Cu?
Answers:
yes to both. al is used because of cost but the small amount of al wire wont bother when connected to the cu in your house. im an electrician and hook these lights up in every house
hi
yes you could
get some connector that has a cap screw on and inside a sleeve with a screw to titen it
if you used the regular type that twist on, al is much softer and a tendency to break off
also if the connection is loose chance of spark or overheating could cause fire
There can be a problem when connecting aluminum and copper wires. Aluminum oxidizes and forms an insulating coating and it also expands more than copper. Both of these properties can contribute to bad connections. There are special connectors and coatings for the joints that can alleviate these problems. Please see:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/...
The " noncolored" or at least not copper colored wires on the fixture may be copper & just have "tinned "ends.
Just match the insulation colors as you normally would.
Very unlikely that the pigtails on the light are aluminum at least in US.
Scrape them & see.
If it really turns out to be aluminum or in doubt, best to get wirenuts that have a small amount of anti corrosion compound in them .
Usually a little longer & grey colored, they are specifically for Cu /Al connections.
Also look for the the UL or Canadian underwriters label .
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