Aluminum wires work?

[Alden]

Hello I wrote an email to the help folks at the company but figured I’d ask here too:

I have two outbuildings. The wiring (220v) that goes to the 2nd building is 6 gauge aluminum. It’s so thick that the expansion sensors don’t fit around them. So I improvised: I put smaller sensors on the mains, which fit fine, and put the big sensors on the aluminum wires going out to the last outbuilding’s sub panel.

I get a reading from the mains, and from a couple of circuits I hooked up with the expansion module. But the aluminum wires with the big sensors, which are hooked up to the expansion module, are giving me almost nothing. They light up green, so they’re ‘active’ but even when there was a lot of current running through them they read almost nothing. I have the “L” side facing toward the load, so it’s not that.

Any ideas?

[Alden]

Update: I used channel lock pliers and was able to squeeze the smaller expansion sensors onto the 6 ga. wire and now the unit is reading OK. So I guess the answer is that the larger sensors DO NOT work on the expansion unit, but that aluminum wire IS ok is picked up fine by the sensors.

[Marty @Emporia]

Hi @Alden, thanks for the update.   And as you have found, the sensors are not interchangeable.   We do have larger diameter 50A sensors should you need them for your larger diameter wires in your panel.

Thanks!

[Author]

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