Copper conductor · Georgia
We buy copper building wire, feeder and bus bar
Insulated copper building wire, feeder, tinned conductor and bus bar from plant stockrooms and finished jobs. Copper is the one material where the metal sets the floor and condition decides how far above it a lot lands.
- THHN, XHHW-2 and THW
- Tinned and bare copper
- Reels, coils and bus
01Overview
What this page covers
Copper building wire is the simplest material on a surplus list and the one most often mishandled at the point of sale. It is copper, it is heavy, and it will always be worth something — which is exactly why lots get consolidated carelessly and reviewed below what they should be. The differences that matter are insulation type, size, stranding, whether the copper is bright or tinned, and whether the reel has footage left on it.
The usual sources are a plant storehouse clearing obsolete sizes, an electrical contractor closing out a job with part reels in the trailer, a panel or switchgear replacement that orphaned feeder, and demolition where the copper came out in lengths rather than in one piece.
Copper also turns up as bus bar, ground bar, DLO locomotive cable and welding lead. Those are not building wire and do not belong in the same count, but they are copper and they are bought. Sorting them out before the review is the single most useful thing a seller can do.
02Specification
What identifies a copper lot
- Metals
- Soft-drawn electrolytic copper; tinned copper on corrosive-duty cable
- Sizes
- 14 AWG solid through 1,000 kcmil stranded
- Types
- THHN/THWN-2, XHHW-2, THW, MTW, DLO and welding cable
- Stranding
- Solid through 10 AWG; Class B concentric and compact above
- Forms
- Reels, coils, cut lengths, bus bar and ground bar
- Insulation
- PVC/nylon, XLPE, rubber and thermoplastic
- Condition
- New surplus, part reel, stripped, weathered, burnt
Insulated copper is reviewed as cable, not as scrap, for as long as the insulation is sound and the footage is usable. Stripping a reel to prove the metal destroys the value it was holding.
03Copper we buy
Copper we buy
THHN/THWN-2 building wire
The general-purpose branch and feeder conductor, nylon jacketed over PVC, rated for dry and wet locations. Usually arrives as part reels in 250 ft and 500 ft coils, and is reviewed on size and remaining length.
XHHW-2 and THW feeder
Cross-linked polyethylene and thermoplastic heat-resistant constructions in the larger sizes. Often orphaned by a gear replacement, and worth more as reusable cable than as metal while the jacket is intact.
Tinned copper conductor
Tin-coated strands for marine, corrosive and high-temperature service. Reviewed as its own material. Tinning is a small fraction of the weight but it changes the recovery route, so do not blend it into bright copper.
Bus bar, ground bar and DLO
Flat bar, drilled bus, ground bar and diesel locomotive cable out of switchgear and plant work. Heavy, compact and easy to handle, and reviewed on thickness, width and alloy rather than on footage.
04Evaluation
How a copper lot is reviewed
Copper is the one material where a buyer can start from a known floor. The conductor content of a given size and length is published, so the metal value of a reel can be established before anyone looks at the jacket. Everything after that is about how far above the floor the lot sits.
Reusability is the first lift. An intact reel of a common size with a legible tag and clean jacket is worth more as cable to the next contractor than as metal. A reel that has been sitting in sun for years with a chalky jacket and green verdigris at the cut end has lost that option and is reviewed on content.
Contamination is the second. Burnt cable from a fault, cable with the jacket cut through at several points, and cable full of water are all copper, but they are handled differently and should be listed separately.
Cut ends of copper cable from service are treated as live until the circuit is locked out and proved dead. Copper bus bar and ground bar removed from switchgear are checked for stored charge and for contact with any remaining live part before handling.
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
Copper wire questions
Should I strip copper cable before selling it?
No. Insulated copper in usable footage is reviewed as cable, and stripping it throws away that option. Leave the jacket on and let the review decide.
Do you buy copper wire with damaged insulation?
Yes, listed separately from sound cable. Damage at one point on a long reel may leave most of the length usable, so say where the damage is and how much of the reel it affects.
Is tinned copper handled differently?
Yes. Tinning is reviewed as a coating rather than as copper, so a tinned lot is reviewed on its own basis.
Do you take small quantities?
Yes, though a handful of part coils is best combined into one list with the footage noted. Small lots are reviewed as a group rather than one at a time.
Tell us the size, the insulation and the footage
Size, insulation type, whether the copper is bright or tinned, and remaining footage on each reel. Bus bar is listed by thickness and width instead of footage.