Overhead distribution · Georgia
We buy overhead distribution conductor in Georgia
The conductor on the poles along every Georgia county road, in the sizes a line crew actually carries. Distribution lots are small, mixed and frequent, and they are reviewed reel by reel because no two reels hold the same footage.
- Primary and secondary
- Part reels
- EMC and municipal
01Overview
What this page covers
Distribution is two systems on the same pole line. Primary conductor runs at 15 kV or 25 kV class between the feeder and the transformer, usually ACSR in the 266.8 to 477 kcmil range. Secondary runs at 600 V from the transformer to the service, usually as triplex or quadruplex with insulated phase conductors twisted around a bare neutral.
The buying pattern follows the work. A crew replaces a span, a transformer or a whole section after a storm, and comes back with part reels. Over a season an EMC or a municipal system accumulates a rack of them, each holding a size and a footage that nobody wrote down. That rack is what a distribution lot usually is.
02Specification
What a distribution lot looks like
- Primary sizes
- 266.8 kcmil (Partridge), 336.4 (Linnet), 477 (Hawk) and AAAC equivalents
- Primary classes
- 15 kV and 25 kV; bare or covered for tree areas
- Secondary
- Triplex and quadruplex, 2 AWG through 4/0, 600 V
- Secondary build
- XLPE-insulated phases around a bare ACSR or AAC neutral
- Standards
- ASTM B232 and B231 for the conductor; assemblies to utility standards
- Reels
- NEMA wood reels 48 in. to 72 in.; part reels are the norm
- Lengths
- 2,500 to 10,000 ft on a new reel; part reels from a few hundred feet
- Condition
- New, part reel, removed from line, storm salvage
Wrap count and barrel diameter will get within a few percent of the footage on a part reel. That is accurate enough for a first review and it takes a few minutes per reel.
03Conductor we buy
Conductor we buy
Primary ACSR and AAAC
Bare conductor from 266.8 through 477 kcmil, the sizes that appear on almost every feeder in the state. Reviewed on stranding, on clamp marks at the insulator ties and on core condition at the cut ends.
Triplex and quadruplex secondary
Two or three insulated conductors twisted around a bare neutral. The insulation takes the damage in service — sun cracking, chafing at a mast or a weatherhead, and nick damage from a tie — and that is what a review looks at first.
Service drops and cut lengths
Short lengths from service changes, usually under a hundred feet and often already terminated. Reviewed by piece and by size, and worth moving only in quantity.
Covered primary conductor
Tree wire and covered conductor in the same sizes, with an extruded covering over the conductor. Reviewed on covering condition as much as on the conductor, and moved to its own page because the covering changes what can be re-used.
04Evaluation
How a distribution rack is reviewed
List the reels before anyone drives out. Size, stranding, approximate footage and condition, one line each. A rack of twenty part reels with a list can be reviewed in an hour; the same rack as a photograph is a site visit and a day of measuring.
Then the condition of what is on the drum. Distribution conductor spends its life on short spans with repeated small movement, so the failures are local: worn strands under a tie, a flattened section from a clamp, corrosion where water sat in a joint. Triplex is judged on insulation, and one deep gouge removes a length from re-use.
Finally, the practical question of whether the lot is worth the freight. Distribution reels are small and light, so the cost is in the number of stops rather than in the tonnage. A single pickup with a rack of reels from one yard is a different job from collecting four reels at a time from four counties.
Secondary is not harmless because it is 600 V. A service drop can be backfed from a customer's generator or a solar inverter, and a downed secondary lying in a yard can be live from the transformer even with the fuse pulled. Conductor is handled only after the utility has isolated and tagged the circuit.
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
07Questions
Distribution conductor questions
Do you buy a rack of part reels with unknown footage?
Yes, priced as a part-reel lot. Listing each reel with a size and a wrap-count estimate is the single cheapest improvement a seller can make to the review.
Is triplex bought the same way as bare primary?
No. Triplex is reviewed on insulation condition and on the neutral, and the insulated conductors are valued differently from bare aluminum.
What is the smallest lot worth moving?
It depends on distance and on what else is on the same yard. A single short reel is rarely worth a trip; the same reel as part of a rack usually is.
Can conductor be collected from several EMC yards?
Yes, if each yard releases its own material and the reels are listed separately. Mixing yards in one lot makes the paperwork harder, not the material.
Send the reel list, not a photograph of the rack
Size, stranding, approximate footage and condition per reel turn a rack into a lot that can be reviewed without a site visit.