Aluminum Cable, good or bad?

[Gambia river lodge]

Hi, i am currently building a number of solar arrays in Gambia, i have the correct cable for connecting the panels and batteries however, the size of my project is approx 4,000 square metres, i have to power perimitor lighting along with small workshop, cafe and a number of small round houses, my inverters are 240vac,
It appears that the only cable available locally is 12mm, 7 strand Aluminum which i have never used before. Will it be suitable?
Thanks Mike.

[Sunking]

Hard to say as it will depend on the length of the runs, how much current is delivered, and at what voltage. The only real downside to Aluminum is its higher resistance and requires larger gauge for a given amount of current. You also have to be aware and trained how to terminate it correctly.

[Gambia river lodge]

Thanks SK, unfortunatley no schools in Africa to get that sort of training!! Are we talking os special tools or just extra grease on the terminals?

[Naptown]

It is a product called No alox basically a grease and zinc to prevent oxidation on the aluminum wire. Correct torque on the lugs is important also

[Mike90250]

Just reading about HOW to terminate aluminun cables, and using the right grade of parts will be good. But you HAVE to follow the book. In the USA, there were many house fires caused by poor install of aluminun wire.

You need to use 2 sizes larger, to compensate for the reduced conductivity. If you are rated to use 12g copper, you need 10g aluminum.

I've pulled several thousand feet of #4 & #6 aluminun, and used very expensive terminal blocks, and expensive screwdrivers to torque them properly. Cheap screwdrivers will twist and bend before they can apply enough torque to make a safe connection.

But is is less expensive than copper.

[Sunking]

It is not just the technique or using the proper type of No-LOX, it also involves using the right harware rated for aluminum, brass, and copper terminals. Generally speaking they use the same tool set, just larger. It is not rocket science either anyone can teach themselves by practice and following instructions.

[numberonebikeslove]

I have also been into using aluminum wire (laminated) for making transformers as copper is really expensive and aluminum worked for me. My UPS system has a huge transformer using a 10 gauge wire in the secondary. It delivers a maximum of 25 to 30 amps @24 volt into my two batteries. but to be on the safe side I have reduced the amps to not increase than 15 amps.

According to my experience slightly bigger gauge wire is required if aluminum wire is used instead of copper.