Covered overhead · Georgia
We buy covered conductor, tree wire and spacer cable
Conductor with a covering over it, not insulation around it. That distinction decides how a lot is reviewed, because there is no semiconducting screen and no metallic shield to test, and the covering hides the conductor it is meant to protect.
- 15 kV to 35 kV
- Tree wire and spacer
- Covering damage
01Overview
What this page covers
Covered conductor is bare aluminum or ACSR with a tough extruded covering, usually high molecular weight polyethylene or XLPE, in a wall from about 0.060 in. to 0.120 in. It is used where a line runs through trees and the utility wants to cut momentary outages without widening the right-of-way. Spacer cable takes the same conductor and hangs three covered conductors on spacers from a messenger.
Because there is no screen and no shield, the covering does not grade voltage the way cable insulation does. Water sits between the covering and the conductor, tracking happens along the surface, and a pinhole lets moisture wick down the strands. Those are the failure modes a buyer is looking for.
02Specification
What the reel and the covering tell us
- Voltage classes
- 15 kV, 25 kV and 35 kV covered systems
- Covering
- HMWPE or XLPE, 0.060 in. to 0.120 in. wall, usually black
- Conductor
- ACSR, AAC or AAAC, 1/0 through 477 kcmil
- Configurations
- Single covered conductor on ties; three on spacers with a messenger
- Messenger
- AAAC or ACSR, with spacers at roughly 30 ft
- Standards
- Conductor to ASTM B232 and B231; covering to the utility specification
- Reels
- NEMA 48 in. to 72 in.; typically 2,500 to 5,000 ft
- Condition
- New surplus, removed from line, storm salvage, covering damaged
Look at the covering at the tie positions first. That is where abrasion starts, and where water gets in on a conductor that has been in service.
03Covered material we buy
Covered material we buy
Tree wire on ties
Single covered conductor on pin or suspension insulators through wooded right-of-way. The covering is abraded where the tie wire bit into it, and those points are where the aluminum underneath has been sitting wet.
Spacer cable systems
Three covered conductors held apart by spacers on a messenger, strung through tree canopy. The spacers, the messenger and the lashing or ties are part of the system and are reviewed with it, because a partial system is harder to re-use.
Covered conductor in the 35 kV class
Heavier covering on subtransmission-sized conductor, used where a line passes through a growth area. The covering is thicker and the conductor underneath is usually larger, which changes both the review and the weight.
Removed and salvaged lengths
Conductor taken down during a rebuild or after storm damage. Re-use is limited by covering damage rather than by the conductor, and the covering rarely survives a second stringing without new damage.
04Evaluation
How a covered lot is reviewed
Start with the covering and finish with the conductor, which is the reverse of bare conductor. Check for abrasion at tie points, for cracking along the top of the conductor where sun hit it, for rodent damage and for splits where the covering was gripped. A covering that is split is a place for water to enter, and the aluminum under it will already be pitted.
Then confirm what is underneath. The tag gives size and stranding; without it, cut back a few inches of covering at the end and measure a strand. This is the only material on the site where the cut-back is part of normal identification, because the covering hides everything a buyer would otherwise see.
Re-use is the hard question. Covered conductor that has been in service usually cannot go back up, because the covering that made it worth buying is the part that degraded. Expect a lot to be reviewed on conductor content, with any clean new surplus reels treated separately.
A covered conductor is not a safe conductor. The covering will hold a branch off for a moment and will track and burn through under sustained contact, and the surface can carry leakage current that is not visible. Treat every covered conductor as bare, and require the circuit to be proved dead before anything is handled.
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.
06Related
Related material
07Questions
Covered conductor questions
Is covered conductor re-usable after it has been taken down?
Sometimes, where the covering is undamaged and the conductor is dry. In practice the covering is abraded at the ties, so a removed lot is often reviewed on conductor content rather than on re-use.
How is tree wire different from 15 kV cable?
Cable has a semiconducting screen, a specified insulation wall and a metallic shield that grades the field. Covered conductor has a covering and nothing else, so it is a mechanical barrier rather than insulation.
Do you buy spacer cable with the spacers and messenger?
Yes, as a system lot. The messenger, spacers and ties are counted with the conductor, because a set is more useful than three separate lengths.
Can the covering be tested in the field?
A visual inspection at the ties and a cut-back at the end tell most of the story. Anything beyond that is a laboratory question and is not needed for a first review.
Send the covering type and a cut-back photograph
A few inches of stripped covering shows the conductor size and its condition. Reel count and footage finish the first pass.