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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Quick NoteI have confirmed with Citizens Insurance this morning that Citizens is now writing policies on houses with aluminum with a
few provisions. They are only accepting houses that have been "pig-tailed" with Alumiconn or Copalum connectors.
They also have to have a state certified, licensed electrician sign off on the house that the approved connectors were
used and the aluminum wiring in the breaker panel is corrosion free, tight, and properly connected. They have finally
made the distinction between the 240 V circuits and the 110 branch circuits. All outlets, switches and fixtures will
need to be made up with either of these two connectors. These are NOT wire nuts, rather they are a proprietary system
tested by UL and NEC approved. Most "pig-tail" jobs that I've seen will not be accepted under the latest requirements.
The good news is that there is an alternative to the prospect of totally rewiring a house with copper. These requirements
can be met at about 1/10 of the cost of a total rewire. You can search for ALUMICONN or COPALUM and get all the info that
you need. if you are dealing with an aluminum wire house, buying or selling, this will need to be dealt with if the
house is going to be insurable. As it stands right now (as I've been told) Citizens is the only insurer of houses with
aluminum wiring and they are only insuring with these requirements met. I'm also told by Citizens that they are looking
at other ways of making the connections but for now these two are the only approved ones.
9:51 am edt
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