Aluminum wiring on GFCI receptacles

Question

Richard Stanley says:
Does anyone make a GFCI receptacle that can be used with aluminum wiring — Or must I use a pigtail connection and add an additional box to accommdate the larger GFCI receptacle ?

Answer 1

Hi Richard,

It’s not about finding devices that can be used with small size aluminum wiring. It’s about your safety and code requirements – in 1975, the NEC prohibited the use of single conductor aluminum wiring smaller than #8 (smaller gauges are #10, #12…).

Pigtailing and / or installation of CO/ALR switches and outlets is not considered acceptable by Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPCS). So, in order to correctly install this new GFCI outlet receptacle, the electrical wiring should be replaced with a copper one, or the existing aluminum wire circuit should be repaired with a COPALUM parallel splice connector.