Ed - I cringe when I think of aluminum wiring. I know it's currently about half the price of copper, but a townhouse I lived in from 1979-1982 in Chicago caught fire because of aluminum wiring and copper outlets. In fact, statistics show that 50% of home fires are due to aluminum wiring.
Aluminum does not meet any current (pun by chance ...) building codes around here. It's all copper. Has been for at least 40 years. If you're stuck with aluminum (and it's legal??), be sure to liberally apply antioxidant where needed. 73 Lyn, WØLEN -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ed Cole Sent: Monday, November 14, 2022 3:43 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA500 Voltage? On the general subject of house wiring, loads, and resulting voltage: I am wiring my new hamshack with 240vac mains extension from the house. I selected three No. 2 awg aluminum lines (copper not commonly used these days). These are approx 1/4-inch diameter. That is rated for 90A (in general). Resistance is 0.318 ohms/1000-feet so my 120-foot run has 0.0382 ohms. At 50A this results in a voltage drop of 1.9v. My service voltage is 243VAC. Estimation of max load at the new hamshack/workshop calculates as 36.5A. Maximum will likely never exist as not everything will be activated simultaneously, but good design is for max load. Largest load is electric baseboard heat (4000w); 50v PS is next (3000w). All my QRO amps are LDMOS and run about 2500w dc-input. I use three of these switching PS, but only one at a time. Info on my website: www.kl7uw.com 73, Ed - KL7UW ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to l...@lnainc.com ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
