There are quite a few different types of metal electrical conduits – why choose aluminum? At American Conduit, we’re biased, of course. Aluminum conduit is what we sell. But we have a multitude of reasons why aluminum is simply the better choice. After reading this article, we hope you’ll feel the same way. If you ever have any questions about our company, our products, or what size of conduit will be best for your specific application, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll be very happy to answer any questions you may have.
Making the Case for Aluminum
When looking at aluminum, is cost your first concern, or do you think of strength and quality first? Regardless of what your focus might be, aluminum is the clear choice over steel in both categories.
Let’s look at cost first. Aluminum conduit costs between 40-60 percent less per foot than steel. We’ve been in business for more than four decades, and during that time we’ve helped our clients save an incredible amount of money. Depending on the size of your installation, you could save tens of thousands of dollars – or possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you’d like more specifics regarding the money we’ve helped our clients save, we invite you to take a look at our case studies page. You’ll be amazed with the results we deliver.
While the money you save on materials will be significant, that’s not the only way aluminum conduit can benefit your bottom line. Your labor costs will be lower as well. How is this possible? Aluminum only weighs about a third of steel. The typical conduit installation involves the use of 10-foot sections. That length of steel weighs about 100 pounds, while that length of aluminum is only about 34 pounds.
If you’ve been using steel conduit, you’ve probably had to devote at least two workers – if not three – to an installation. If you used aluminum instead, you’d very likely only need one. You could devote those other workers to other installations, maximizing efficiency as a result in ways you might not have thought possible.
No Sacrifices
You might think that aluminum conduit is simply too good to be true – surely you’ll have to sacrifice something in order to save that much money. That’s not the case at all.
We treat our aluminum with special 6000 series alloys. This is possible because we’re part of the largest extruder of aluminum in the world, Hydro. These alloys make our aluminum conduit incredibly strong – just as strong as steel, in fact.
Not only will you not be losing anything strength-wise, you’ll actually gain when it comes to durability. Unless steel is coated with expensive materials, it will eventually develop rust or corrosion – and ultimately fail as a result.
Aluminum doesn’t have that issue, thanks to a natural coating of a substance that’s aptly named – aluminum oxide. As a result, you can use aluminum in any sort of wet, corrosive environment.
You’ll also gain when it comes to safety. Steel emits sparks, as well as noxious fumes when exposed to extreme heat. Aluminum does neither, so you can use it with total confidence regardless of how volatile your operating environment may be.
There are many metal electrical conduits – why choose aluminum? Hopefully, we’ve done a good job of answering that question. Learn more by contacting American Conduit online or calling 1-800-334-6825.