bchase:
Welcome to ECN.I didn't notice the aluminum ground wire at first...the burn marks were what caught my eye.
I'm no electrician, but c'mon! Even the DIY books warn about mixing Al and Cu without proper terminations. You have the right to be much more than bitter, my friend. If this EC wants a
Darwin award , that's his own folly--but not at the expense of others! Did he run out of cable staples in the attic or something?
Was that cable in the attic aluminum as well?
Is aluminum wire still sold (smaller than service entrance)? I realize that there are existing installations from years back, but new construction 4 years ago!?
Scroll down to the Al/Cu connectors--second photo --I don't know when these entered the market. Does anybody on the board use them?
(I just realized--the conductors, in this case, are too large for these connectors anyhow.)Also, you mentioned that the breaker did not trip. What brand panel and breakers?
Are your circuit breakers rated for Cu/Al? (Is that something that is standard?)
We've discussed here before--many fire departments have thermal imaging cameras. There sure was reason enough to call 911 for an emergency response by the FD. That j-box must have been hot! I'm glad that nobody was injured.
Hopefully you won't find any other problems. (I would want to have the entire electrical system inspected by a "qualified person" after seeing something like this!) Make sure you have your camera ready to go so you have good documentation, and of course, so you can share the photos.
[This message has been edited by ThinkGood (edited 02-19-2003).]
