pats23•28d ago

Unpopular opinion: copper prices are way too high right now but nobody wants to talk about it

Walked into a Rexel supply house in Calgary last Friday to price out a 200A panel swap. The same roll of 4/0 I paid $2.80 a foot for 6 months ago is now $4.15 a foot. Guy at the counter said they just had another price hike from the mill. I see everyone on here pushing copper for everything but at these rates aluminum with proper anti-ox paste makes way more sense for feeders. Am I the only one who thinks we're getting gouged on wire right now?

2 comments

2 Comments

blair_gibson7828d ago

Switched my last three service entrances to aluminum and saved a TON without any issues.

jasons6328d ago

Yeah but my buddy had a different experience... he did one service entrance a few years back with aluminum and said it was fine at first. Then after like 5 years he started noticing some flickering lights and had a loose connection at the main lug. The electrician who fixed it told him it was from the aluminum expanding and contracting more than copper. He ended up having to redo the whole thing with copper anyway... cost him more in the long run.