Same here. Ran aluminum for my 220v garage line five years ago and it's still solid. Used the right torque and anti-ox compound like you said. People just repeat what they heard from some hack who didn't bother to follow the instructions.

Read an electrician forum post a few months back where a guy tested them with a thermal camera. Lever connectors showed more heat spots under heavy load than a good wire nut twist. Not a huge difference but enough to make me picky about where I use them. For lighting circuits I still twist and nut. Safer for stuff that rattles like ceiling fans.

Honestly, Elizabeth's 30,000 figure just proves the point even more. That's like what, 150 standard 2x4 studs or a whole bunch of plywood sheets that nobody will ever see again once the drywall goes up? Tbh, my dad's old boss bragged about hitting 40,000 one year, but half of it was just framing for a subdivision that got torn down ten years later. Ngl, if you're just cranking out utility lumber for houses that'll be remodeled in 20 years, what's the real point of tracking it? It's not like anyone's going to be proud of a pile of stud grade pine in 50 years.