Copper Clad Wire

Three words: Don't use it. Aluminum wire corrodes at a rapid rate compared to copper, and this corrosion raises the resistance of the wire to the point that it is a fire hazard. Especially in high current circuits. Copper cladding reduces the corrosion problem but adds the variable of surface conduction due to the fact that copper is a better conductor than aluminum. This effectively reduces the gauge of the wire since very little current is flowing through the center of each strand, i.e. a 12 gauge wire now acts like an 18 gauge copper wire. Have my doubts about the integrity of a solder joint with copper clad aluminum as well. Spring for the copper wire. There's a reason that mobile homes are now wired with copper after years of being wired with aluminum...