Aluminum cables, counterfeit copper wiring and other electrical thinnesses
Have you ever thought about what's going on behind your wall? Not at the neighbors', but in your apartment? "Wiring, well, what could be interesting there?" — and it turns out – it can. And not only interesting, but also important, dangerous, and sometimes even dramatic. We tell and show.
Forgive these "harsh" metaphors, but there is no other way to say it. This is how, for example, the "basis" of our electric cable is born – the actual wire itself, the core.
Then it is "packed" into an insulation shell. Most of us think that insulation is ordinary silicone or rubber. As if not so! Isolation is almost a jewelry art. Did you know that in addition to plastic insulation, there is paper insulation? After applying which, the insulated wiring is placed in special containers with an impregnating composition. Like this:
We are on a virtual tour of the Moskabel Plant (we thank the plant itself for the opportunity, and feelek.livejournal.com – for the photos). This oldest industrial enterprise (founded by decree of Emperor Nicholas II on June 16, 1895) produces more than 50,000 types of products.
The credo of "Moskabel Plant" is only high—quality products. Alas, not all the wiring on the market corresponds to their level.
Nowadays, fake wires have become the norm of life. During the years of monopolism of copper wiring, a rather dangerous situation has arisen in the market. And now a quarter of the copper wires on the market are counterfeit. Very often, tight—fisted developers like to save on this business - they say no one will notice the difference. But at the factory they say: "You can't wash the counterfeit cable white!". If suddenly there is a fake cable in your wall, sooner or later it will end in a fire.
The know-how of the plant, which is especially proud of here, is aluminum cable made of alloys of grades 8030 and 8176. Durable and economical, it is almost impossible to fake it – firstly it is difficult, and secondly it is economically impractical.
At the dawn of the development of the Russian electrical industry, aluminum cables were abandoned for a while – despite their cost-effectiveness, they had a lot of disadvantages. It took a quarter of a century for the technology to grow to a level where aluminum wiring is ready to take a leading position in the market again.
Good advice to everyone – before buying an apartment in a new building, ask the developer – what kind of wiring did he use? If you have a new generation aluminum cable in your house, you can be calm. Well, what if the copper wiring? Be sure to specify the availability of accompanying documents confirming the quality of the finished cable, as well as the name of the manufacturer's company, so that your peaceful life in a new apartment does not turn into a fire.
Keywords: Safety | Fire | Fire safety | Wire | Electricity