Power and the RA82

[Curt at Atari Museum]

I shudder when I picture aluminum core wiring...   I just have visions 
of it evaporating under load! :-)

Good solid copper 12 guage is the only way to go!


Curt


Doc Shipley wrote:

> Paul Koning wrote:
>
>>>>>>> "William" == William Donzelli <aw288 at osfn.org> writes:
>>>>>>
>>
>>
>>  >> NO! NO! NO!  BAD ADVICE!
>>  >>  >> One should never replace a breaker with a higher rated one 
>> unless
>>  >> they are sure the wiring can accomodate the increased amperage.  A
>>  >> 15A breaker requires 14 guage wire.  A 20A breaker requires 12
>>  >> guage wire.  Putting a 20A breaker on 14 guage wire is flirting
>>  >> with disaster.
>>
>>  William> I would not call it "flirting with disaster", but it is not
>>  William> a good idea. The chances of a fire breaking out under this
>>  William> circumstance is damn small, but it is there.
>>
>>  William> On the flip side, many homes are wired with 12 anyway, so
>>  William> the replacement breakers are OK.
>>
>> So I've heard.  I've seen it rarely if ever.
>>
>> Note that 20 amp requires 12 gauge copper.  In homes of the right
>> (wrong?) age, you may find 12 gauge aluminum -- that's legal only for
>> 15 amps.  If you want aluminum and 20 amps, you'll need 10 gauge --
>> plus components rated for aluminum wire, which are generally somewhere
>> between rare and nonexistent, and often very expensive.
>
>
>   And this is a huge problem, potentially much more dangerous than 
> undergauge wire (as in more likely to cause problems; maybe not likely 
> to cause more problems).
>
>   I lived in a duplex with clad aluminum wiring and copper-rated 
> breakers, fixtures, and wire nuts.  I discovered this when replacing 
> my porch light fixture.  I touched the earth ground lead, and got the 
> poopie shocked out of me.  I thought I must have brushed a "hot" wire, 
> and got more poopie shocked out of me.  The house was carrying 55V on 
> the earth ground.
>
>
>     Doc
>
>


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