Its been reported on a San Felipe web site that all the electric and telephone wire was stolen out of Pete's camp leaving them without power,
telephone and internet. Is this true and how could it happen? meme - 5-15-2015 at 08:28 AM
Yes, It is true. It happened last week end. Obviously it can happen & did. I also heard they stole wire from Palos Verdes North in Eldorado Ranch
also.durrelllrobert - 5-15-2015 at 08:45 AM
Got to switch from copper to aluminum wire. Zero value chuckie - 5-15-2015 at 08:51 AM
Can you still buy aluminum wire? durrelllrobert - 5-15-2015 at 09:32 AM
Not for houshold/ mobile home use but CFE has been replacing copper with aluminum wire in Ensenada (and other places?) to prevent theft.Udo - 5-15-2015 at 10:12 AM
The problem with aluminum wire is that it is incapable of transmitting the full amperage that is transmitted from the power pole, and household then
get intermittent power brown-outs.PaulW - 5-15-2015 at 10:46 AM
For the Eldorado wire loss last time it came from the underground vaults. Hard to believe, but somehow they hook on to live cables and pull them until
they break then load the cable in to a pickup. The loss at Petes had to be a new method because the wires are above ground.? Maybe the took the wires
out by the highway where some are underground.
Pretty bold guys that understand the CFE workings. Last time at ElDorado it was an inside job and they caught the guys.treuboff - 5-15-2015 at 09:23 PM
Too much salt in the air is bad for aluminum, They stole all the common neutral off the poles from N of Eldrado to the subd. N o Percebu as soon as
it was installed years ago. The system they use does not require it but it is used to prevent stray voltages and could be necessary if they changed
types of transformers. How could you not know if someone stole the the hot conductors when the power had to go off and in plain sight?durrelllrobert - 5-16-2015 at 09:00 AM
The problem with aluminum wire is that it is incapable of transmitting the full amperage that is transmitted from the power pole, and household then
get intermittent power brown-outs.
Ampacity: It is the ability of wire to carry maximum current without any physical damage to a wire or its insulation. As current flows through, it
heats up because of power dissipation which appear in form of I*I*R lose. The temperature of wire should not reach the limit of 80C to avoid
oxidation.
So the common AWG wire size that CFE uses between poles is 2-0 for copper and 4-0 for aluminum and both have the same Ampacity.
The intermittent brownout problems are caused the the difference in thermal expansion between copper and aluminum. Aluminum expands much more and when
it gets hot and contracts much more when it gets cold so if you are connecting aluminum wire to a switch or outlet with copper terminals the junction
will be come loose over time and result in arching/ brownout conditions.
Aluminum wire is used exclusively on aircraft for the weight savings.PaulW - 5-16-2015 at 12:20 PM
I thot the copper clad Al wire was the first choice for race cars and planes?BajaBlanca - 5-16-2015 at 04:33 PM
