Armored cable · Georgia
We buy AC cable for Georgia electrical contractors
Armored cable with a bare aluminum bonding strip laid against the inside of the armor. The strip is the ground path, and whether it is intact decides what a leftover coil is worth reviewing as.
- 14, 12 and 10 AWG
- Bonded ground strip
- 250 and 1,000 ft coils
01Overview
What this page covers
AC cable — still called BX on most Georgia jobs — is a metal-clad assembly with one difference that matters: a bare aluminum strip laid the length of the cable in contact with the armor, bonding the armor into a continuous ground path. Without the strip the armor is a raceway, not a ground, and the cable is not AC.
It is a residential and light commercial product, most often 14/2, 12/2 and 12/3 with a green insulated ground added on modern stock, supplied in 250 and 1,000 ft coils. What turns up as surplus is usually the tail of a rewire or the remainder of a multi-unit job, and it is worth reviewing because the assembly is easy to identify and hard to confuse with anything else once the end is exposed.
02Specification
What the cut end shows
- Construction
- Interlocked steel or aluminum armor over insulated conductors
- Bond strip
- Bare aluminum strip in contact with the armor, forming the ground path
- Conductors
- 14, 12 and 10 AWG; two, three and four conductor with ground
- Voltage
- 600 V branch circuit and feeder assemblies
- Insulation
- Thermoplastic conductors, historically wrapped in paper inside the armor
- Types
- AC, AC-90 and ACL; HCF variants with a redundant ground
- Coils
- 250 and 1,000 ft coils; 100 ft coils on the small residential sizes
- Standards
- UL 4; anti-short bushing required at each termination
Peel back six inches of armor and photograph it. The bond strip, the conductor colours and the paper wrap are all visible, and that single frame separates AC from MC more reliably than the outside of the coil does.
03Cable we review in this family
Cable we review in this family
Two-conductor AC with ground
14/2 and 12/2, the standard branch circuit assembly for switches, receptacles and lighting in wood-frame and masonry buildings. The most common leftover coil in the family and the easiest to place back into service.
Three and four conductor AC
12/3 and 10/3 for multiwire branch circuits and small equipment feeds, plus four-conductor assemblies for two-pole loads. Reviewed on conductor count and on whether the ground is insulated or bare.
AC-90 and higher-temperature assemblies
Rated for 90°C conductors where the termination and the environment allow it. The rating is printed on the inner conductors rather than the armor, so it is only visible once the end is opened.
HCF and redundant-ground AC
Assemblies built for health care work with an additional ground path. Worth separating from ordinary AC in a mixed lot, because the extra conductor changes what the coil can be used for.
04Evaluation
How an AC coil is assessed
The bond strip is the first thing to check and the first thing to be damaged. It sits against the armor and is easily torn when a coil is cut with a hacksaw rather than with the proper tool. A coil whose strip is severed a few inches back from the end is still usable after a fresh cut; one with the strip missing along a whole section is reviewed as damaged cable.
Paper wrap is the second marker. Older AC carries a paper separator inside the armor that takes up moisture and hardens with age; a coil stored in a shed for years will show it. That does not make the cable unusable, but it is part of an honest description, and it explains why an old coil is reviewed differently from a new one.
Finally, the coil itself. AC is stiff and holds a set. A coil that has been unrolled and re-coiled by hand will not pay out cleanly and is usually measured rather than trusted. Give the coil count, the size, and whether the coils are still banded and tagged.
The armor of AC cable is a conductor, not a sheath. Cutting into a live AC run can put the armor at line potential, so a coil is only handled after the circuit has been opened and proved dead, and the anti-short bushing is never left out at a termination.
05Seller terms
Before you sell: how it works
Four things a seller should be able to pin down before a truck is booked.
Verification
Footage is checked against the reel tag, the sequential marks on the jacket, the wrap count against the barrel, or a published weight per 1,000 ft — whichever the reel actually supports.
Payment
Payment method and timing are agreed in writing for the specific lot before anything is loaded or moved. No verbal number is treated as an agreement.
Paperwork
A bill of sale for the lot, and for utility material the owning utility’s release reference. Neither is optional and neither is created after the fact.
Freight
Collection is arranged as part of the terms. Say what can lift the reels and whether a 53-foot trailer can reach them, and the pickup is planned around that.
Sending a reel list and photographs costs nothing. A review is not a purchase, and nothing is bought, moved or scheduled until written lot terms are agreed for that material. Request a pickup when the lot is ready.
07Questions
AC cable questions
What is the difference between AC and MC cable?
AC carries a bare aluminum bonding strip in contact with the armor and a paper separator; MC uses a full-sized insulated or bare ground conductor, or a listed armor, without the strip. The cut end shows which one you have.
Is old BX cable worth buying?
Yes, when the bond strip is continuous and the conductors are sound. Older cable with no ground conductor is reviewed as legacy stock and is not treated the same as modern AC with ground.
Do you take coils with the armor opened at one end?
Yes. An opened end is normal on a used coil. What matters is that the strip is intact and the conductors are not nicked where the armor was cut.
How is remaining length established?
From the coil tag if it survived, otherwise by measuring or by weight against the published weight per thousand feet. A hand-written length on the coil is not treated as a measurement.
Show the strip, not the coil
Open six inches at one end and photograph the strip and conductors. Size, coil count and approximate length complete the picture well enough to arrange a review.