I am concerned over the sudden push for aluminum wiring, in many different forums.

The aluminum industry lost its' credibility in the late 70's ... when reams of "proof" were not consistent with field experience.

This latest marketing effort, by Eaton, deliberately muddies the waters. For example, they seem to say, at the end of the piece, that UL has decided aluminum wire is just fine. UL has done no such thing; they simply evaluate aluminum wire to standards that apply to all wire. They do not make any sort of judgment as to the performance of the product.

The paper starts with the misrepresentations by stating that both aluminum and copper are subject to oxidation. Sure, copper oxidizes ... but this ignores the fact that copper oxide is a decent conductor, while aluminum oxide is a poor one. (In line with this new sales pitch, an industry rep recently spoke at our IAEI meeting. The rep claimed NO need to use noalox on connections - or no more need than for copper).

One physical property also 'overlooked' in these sales pitches is the great malleability of copper. That is, your ability to twist, bend, straighten copper multiple times without failure. Aluminum is pretty much a 'bend once' material. This is a critical matter with "wire nut" sided wire gauges.

The aluminum folks claim no plans to re-introduce wires smaller than #6. Yet, I see very little room for the business to expand without making these branch circuit conductors; there just isn't that much wire used for feeding sub-panels, ranges, and dryers.