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Nowadays, many electrical appliances use aluminum core wires instead of copper core wires. In particular, it is more common for electrical equipment such as motors and transformers to use aluminum core wires instead of copper cores.
How to tell whether a motor has a copper core or an aluminum core?
1.Price. For products of the same model, aluminum core motors or transformers are much cheaper than copper core ones, making it economical for users to purchase.
2. Volume. Aluminum core motors or transformers are significantly larger than motors or transformers of the same model. Because the use of aluminum cores requires an increase in the cross-sectional area of the conductors, the volume also increases.
For example, a YR160M-4 7.5KW motor has a total of 36 slots. Each slot requires 34 turns of 1.50 diameter copper wire. If aluminum wire is used, the wire diameter must be increased to achieve the current carrying capacity of the 1.50 diameter copper wire. Take washing machine motors as an example. Generally, motors wound with aluminum wire are about 20% to 30% larger than motors wound with copper wire, and silicon steel sheets are also thicker than motors wound with copper wire.
3. Weight. For motors with the same power, the aluminum core is lighter than the copper core because the density of aluminum is lower than copper.
4. Temperature rise. When motors of the same power are powered on, the temperature of aluminum is slightly higher than that of copper. The longer the time, the more obvious it becomes. So in terms of load, copper performs better than aluminum.
5. Nameplate. Regular motor manufacturers will indicate on the motor: This motor is wound with aluminum wire and complies with the national LSO900# standard. The original motor will be stated on the nameplate. The aluminum wire winding will be marked with L or m, but the copper wire will not be marked.
