Easier to workwith: Aluminum or copper??

[Matthew Curtis]

I know cost is a big factor for using aluminum over copper for a service line, but is it eaiser to work with since you need a bigger cable than when using copper??

[Dan Friedrichs]

Al will be much more difficult to work with.

[Jim Laumann]

Matthew

Don't even bother w/ aluminum - go w/ copper wire.

Jim

[David G Baker]

Having worked with both I found aluminum easier to work with than copper for service entrance cables. I won't use aluminum for any other project except service entrance cable. Do a check on the price of copper cable and you will probably use aluminum because copper is so much higher.
If you decide to use copper and can wait for a while, the price of copper fluctuates quite a lot, then buy when the price drops. I do this with wire and copper plumbing supplies. This means that I have to store the material but I have it on hand when I need it and don't have to pay an outrageous price for it.

[Jarrett Vibert]

Anyone that has done service feeders can tell you Aluminum is much easier to work with.

The added cost/step of an anti-oxident paste (~$5.00) needed for Al, isn't even a drop in the bucket when pricing against copper. Let alone the labour saved during installation. Large gauge copper is a nightmare to bend, especially when making tight turns into terminations.

In all my time in the electrical trade, only once was I forced to use copper for a service entrance, and that day still haunts me 15+ yrs later.

[David G Baker]

I haven't done many service entrance cables but the time I used copper I used tubing bending tools to form the bends in the copper cable. I have tried it by hand a couple of times but I slipped once and got cut on the sharp edges of the panel, I had to go to emergency to get the wound closed up. I don't have nightmares but I do look at the scar on my hand on occasion. I now wear gloves when pulling wire and shaping it in panels.

[Mark Bolton]

+1 for aluminum. There is no reason not to use it on an entrance and as has been stated, once you price copper it will be obvious.

The only reason to run copper is if its required for some reason like a 320a entrance or something like that.

Mark

[Jim Laumann]

Not to hijack Matthew's thread - but would you aluminum fans explain why? You need the goop put put on the wire, your fixtures need to be rated for it, it doesn't transmit power as well, etc.

My house orginally had al wire in it for the entry cable (200a). When I had dual fuel service brought in, the electricans tore out all the al wire, and installed copper to the existing panel and the dual fuel panel. They indicated the al wire was junk.

Thanks

Jim

[Thomas Bank]

The only reason to run copper is if its required for some reason like a 320a entrance or something like that.

I have a C320 service done in aluminum. Copper is unwieldy (heavy and stiff) and exorbitant in price for service entrance use.

[Logan William]

Copper is generally thought to be the "high end" option for both panels and service entrances. The higher end distribution panels commonly have copper buss's vs the aluminum of the entry levels. Aluminum is substantially cheaper and generally easier to work with but does require a larger gauge wire for the same amp's when compared to copper so if space is a limiting factor it might dictate what will be used. Far as fixtures being rated, generally aluminum is only used for service entrances and most main lugs are rated for both Al/Cu

[John M. Smith]

I ran aluminum for my 200 amp service 7 years ago. Have had no problems with it since . At the time the price was 3 times as much for copper. I see no reason to pay that much. All you need to do is upsize the wire and use the proper connectors. Doesn't matter about connectors to me, you have to buy one or the other anyways.

[Rollie Meyers]

Copper is the conductor of choice, but properly installed aluminum is just fine & it's ignorant to paint AL as unsafe/bad, poor workmanship installing copper is just as bad as it is w/ aluminum. BTW even 10 & 12 AWG aluminum is permitted by the NEC, but good luck finding any manufacturers producing it. Good riddance though w/ smaller AL conductors...


To answer the OP's question, AL is lighter & easier to bend then copper.

[Jarrett Vibert]

Not to hijack Matthew's thread - but would you aluminum fans explain why? You need the goop put put on the wire,

Not necessarily...

your fixtures need to be rated for it,

We're discussing service/panel feeders, not fixtures or recepticles.

it doesn't transmit power as well, etc.

That's why you need a larger gauge in comparison to copper. If sized appropriately, there is zero notible difference in how the two installations would perform.

My house orginally had al wire in it for the entry cable (200a). When I had dual fuel service brought in, the electricans tore out all the al wire, and installed copper to the existing panel and the dual fuel panel. They indicated the al wire was junk.

It's unfortunate they took advantage of the situation. Working with copper is more difficult, and the only true advantage is the smaller gauge in comparison. The claim that Al wire is junk for service feeders is nothing more than a scare tactic to increase margin on the job.

[Todd Pretty]

Most high current power distribution lines are typically Aluminum (atleast around here). Once the electricity leaves the power generator plants, it doesnt touch Copper lines again until it hits your house... If Aluminum sucked, I really dont think that they would send 100's of 1000's of volts through it.