Aluminum conductor · Georgia
We buy aluminum building wire and feeder in Georgia
Aluminum XHHW-2, THHN/THWN-2, SEU and SER from service upgrades, panel replacements and plant maintenance stock. Reviewed on alloy, size, insulation and footage, with the cut ends read as closely as the tag.
- AA-8000 series alloy
- SEU, SER and XHHW-2
- Feeder and service sizes
01Overview
What this page covers
Aluminum building wire is the conductor most often misidentified on a surplus list. It looks like copper from a distance, weighs a third as much in the hand, and carries a different value basis entirely. The wire bought and sold today is AA-8000 series alloy, compact stranded, in sizes from 12 AWG service and branch work up through 750 kcmil feeders.
It arrives from three directions. Service upgrades leave part-used reels of SEU and SER. Panel and switchboard replacements leave XHHW-2 feeder offcuts. Plant maintenance stockrooms hold obsolete reels of a size the plant standardised away from years ago, still wrapped.
The review turns on alloy and terminations rather than on the metal alone. Old 1350 alloy branch-circuit aluminum from the 1960s and 1970s is a different material from modern AA-8000 compact stranded wire, and a buyer has to know which one is in front of them before anything else is discussed.
02Specification
What the tag and jacket tell us
- Alloy
- AA-8000 series, compact stranded; legacy 1350 EC grade on older stock
- Sizes
- 12 AWG through 750 kcmil; 1/0 to 500 kcmil most common in feeder
- Types
- XHHW-2, THHN/THWN-2, THW, SEU and SER
- Voltage
- 600 V building wire; 1 kV on some feeder constructions
- Stranding
- Compact and compressed; concentric on legacy conductor
- Reels
- 500 ft and 1,000 ft wood reels; 250 ft coils on small sizes
- Condition
- New surplus, part reel, weathered, cut from a longer run
The alloy and the stranding are usually printed on the jacket every few feet. Photograph the print where it is legible rather than cutting the cable to prove the alloy.
03Aluminum wire we buy
Aluminum wire we buy
XHHW-2 feeder, 1/0 through 750 kcmil
Cross-linked polyethylene insulation, compact stranded, the standard feeder conductor in commercial and industrial work. The largest single category on most aluminum lots.
THHN/THWN-2 in aluminum
Nylon-jacketed, dual rated for dry and wet locations, sold in the same sizes as the copper version. Often left in part reels after a panel change because the pull needed less than the reel held.
SEU and SER service cable
Service entrance cable with a concentric neutral or a full set of insulated conductors. Offcuts are common after a service upgrade and are reviewed on conductor count and length.
Legacy 1350 alloy branch wire
Older solid and stranded aluminum from mid-century branch circuits. Still bought, but reviewed as a distinct material with its own handling questions, and kept apart from modern AA-8000 stock.
04Evaluation
How an aluminum lot is reviewed
Alloy comes first. AA-8000 series conductor can be terminated with listed connectors and is what the trade specifies; legacy 1350 branch wire carries a history that limits where it can be reused. The jacket print usually settles it, and the reel tag settles it when the print has weathered away.
Condition comes second, and it is mostly about the ends. Aluminum forms an oxide layer within minutes of being cut, and that layer is an insulator — which is why terminations use an antioxidant compound and connectors listed for aluminum. Oxide on the surface is normal and does not condemn a reel. Water tracking under the jacket, white corrosion product in the strands and black pitting at a cut end do.
Then footage and handling. Aluminum is light for its size, so a full reel is easier to move than the copper equivalent and freight is rarely the deciding cost. That makes footage the number that matters most.
Aluminum conductor is never mixed with copper under one connector, and no lot is reviewed as reusable until the terminations have been inspected. Loose aluminum terminations heat, and heat at a panel is a fire risk that shows up long after the installation.
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
Aluminum wire questions
How do I tell aluminum from copper on a mixed reel?
Weight and colour of the cut end. Aluminum is roughly a third the weight of the same copper conductor and cuts bright silver, dulling quickly.
Do you buy old 1350 alloy aluminum wire?
Yes, as a separate material from modern AA-8000 stock. It is reviewed on its own terms and should be listed apart so it does not pull down the rest of the lot.
Does white powder on the strands mean the wire is scrap?
Not by itself. Surface oxide is normal. White corrosion product packed between strands and staining the insulation usually means water has been sitting in the reel, and that section is reviewed as recovery material.
Can part reels of aluminum be reviewed together?
Yes, if the sizes and insulation types are listed separately. Footage on each reel is the number that decides the outcome, so an unlisted bundle is reviewed as a mixed lot.
Send the jacket print and the reel tag
Alloy, size, insulation type and footage start the review. A photograph of the print on the jacket and one of the cut end will confirm both metal and stranding.