Dallas man electrocuted trying to steal copper

Houston Chronicle ^ | 7-17-06

[N. Theknow]

The dirty copper got another one, Louie.

[meyer]

Aluminum is used with large diameter long distance wires on really high towers for really high voltages, but lower down, closer to people and homes, they revert back to the safer and more efficient copper.

Well, partially true. Virtually all newer overhead line construction is aluminum wire (with steel strands in the center for strength), up to and including the overhead drop from pole to house. Once to the house, copper is used on the entrance conductors and inside. There was a brief time frame when aluminum wire was permissable for indoor wiring, but there were many, many problems with the use of dissimilar metals and the resulting corrosion, bad connections, and the potential for fire.

Older construction of utility lines used copper, and there are several older lines out there that are copper. The change to aluminum came about due to its considerably lighter weight and price. Despite copper's superior electrical characteristics (lower resistance), much larger aluminum wire can be supported by similar-sized poles and structures without needing reinforcement.

Aluminum is safe to use in controlled environments, including those situations where utilities control all the maintenance and construction. Line workers have the proper connectors and coatings needed to prevent the problems that occur with connecting dissimilar metals. The unsafe environment for aluminum wiring occurs mostly in residential construction where there is little control over materials and methods used. There's a lot of hacks out there that know just enough about wiring to get themselves into trouble.

[Element187]

Aren't electric service wires ALUMINUM?.......

I don't think it really matters... all metals are going through the roof

[kjam22]

Hold muh beer and muh needle nosed plyers and watch this??

[AxelPaulsenJr]

What's sad about this is the idiot's family will sue and likely collect from the utility.

[xpertskir]

HOW IRONIC.

The conductivity of copper is what makes it so valuable.

[SAJ]

Well, we old guys have to stick together...

;^)

[AxelPaulsenJr]

His name wouldn't be Claude Cooper?

[Harley]

I can't remember the article I read but it referred that the increase in copper price is from the increased production of hybrid cars. If anybody has a reference to this cause I would appreciate an update. Thanks. Oh yea, R.I.P. Ready Kilowatt.

[xpertskir]

"Dont' touch me, I'm a real live wire..."

from "Psycho Killer"


FA FA FA FA FA FA FA FA FA FA BETTER RUN RUN....

[HEY4QDEMS]

They tried it for a little while back in the 80s when copper prices spiked so there are some aluminum wires around.

Now that copper is up again you may see aluminum make a comeback.

The problem is that aluminum has a higher resistance than copper and therefore the diameter must be allot bigger to handle the load without overheating, almost twice as much.

Plus Aluminum has higher oxidation rate than copper so copper price have to be pretty high, as they now are, to make the switch.

[TX Bluebonnet]

I once had something stolen from our office. The thief robbed every office in the building and had a master key. There was a lead suspect - a disgruntled ex-employee of the janitorial service. The detective called me and said he was actually trying to solve the case because he unlike most burglaries, he thought this one was solvable, but he had not been able to question the suspect because the suspect's car was in the shop and the suspect could not drive down to the station for questioning. What a surprise!!!! It was never solved.

[Red Badger]

Yeah, that's where my electric wires go..........

[taxesareforever]

I take he wasn't trained in "hot" work.

[Republicus2001]

My brother the plumber would get calls from an apartment owner in Hollywood. It seems that every now & then the assclown crackheads would actually remove copper pipes, wiring and any aluminum conduit from the walls of their own apartment. It was a nice little income stream until they finally were able to make it a knockdown.

I had a better one while working as a handyman in college. This one apartment owner would call me endlessly about kitchen drain blockages in a building he rented out to criminal aliens and phony immigrants. It seems these poor folk from the jungles of Central America had no idea of the concept of a garbage disposal and just kept rinsing the dishes down the drain until it was full. Speaking no Spanish I pointed to my finger then we all watched together in awe as I moved my finger to a switch on the wall and pushed down.

Ka-ching!

good work if you can get it

[Dumb_Ox]

Similar case in Denver a week or two back.

[LibWhacker]

Ah, yes, Mother Nature has her capital offenses. No appeals, no ACLU riding to the rescue.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

Police have blamed a rise in copper prices for increased theft of the metal. The police are repeating what liberals have been saying for a long time, that there is no personal responsibility.

[Aquinasfan]

A day job would be less work.

[ElkGroveDan]

There's a lot of hacks out there that know just enough about wiring to get themselves into trouble.

...like when I was about 15.