Power distribution · Georgia
We buy copper and aluminum feeder cable in Georgia
Large-conductor power cable from panel and switchgear replacements, equipment changeouts and services that were never landed. A feeder set is reviewed on size, metal, insulation and footage — the same four facts that decided what it was bought for.
- 1/0 AWG to 1,000 kcmil
- Copper and aluminum
- Sets or single conductor
01Overview
What this page covers
Feeder cable is the large conductor between service equipment and the panels, switchboards and distribution gear downstream of it. In practice that means 1/0 AWG and upward, copper or aluminum, insulated in XHHW-2, RHW-2, THHN/THWN-2 or USE-2, commonly in three- or four-conductor sets and often run in parallel.
Feeder reaches a buying desk for ordinary reasons. New gear arrives with a different lug arrangement and the old feeders will not land on it. A chiller, air handler or process unit is replaced and the set was cut to a length nothing else needs. A service is upgraded and a reel bought for the original ampacity is left over. A project is cancelled and the material is still wrapped.
This is one of the few cable types where the metal carries as much of the review as the footage. A 500 kcmil copper set holds a great deal of copper; the same set in aluminum holds a third of the weight and is judged on different things.
02Specification
What identifies a feeder lot
- Sizes
- 1/0 AWG through 1,000 kcmil; parallel sets above 500 kcmil
- Metals
- Soft-drawn copper and 1350 series aluminum
- Insulation
- XHHW-2, RHW-2, THHN/THWN-2, USE-2 and RHH/RHW
- Voltage
- 600 V and 1 kV classes
- Conductors
- Single-conductor reels and 3- or 4-conductor assemblies
- Stranding
- Class B concentric, compact and compressed stranded
- Reels
- 500 ft and 1,000 ft wood reels; coils for short cut lengths
- Condition
- New surplus, pulled and re-reeled, cut from a longer run, weathered
The reel tag carries size, insulation and footage in one place. Where the tag is gone, the surface print repeats most of it and a caliper on one strand settles the size.
03Feeder we buy
Feeder we buy
Copper feeder, 1/0 through 750 kcmil
Soft-drawn copper with Class B stranding, the default where terminations are tight or the run is short. Reviewed on size, insulation type and footage — the conductor itself suffers little from a dry storehouse.
Aluminum feeder in XHHW-2
1350 series aluminum, usually compact stranded, chosen for weight and cost on long runs. Aluminum forgives less handling than copper, so the cut ends and the jacket get a closer look than the metal does.
Three- and four-wire sets
Phase conductors with a neutral, full size or reduced. Record the neutral size separately on the list. A set separated from its neutral is no longer a set and is reviewed as single conductor.
Cut lengths and tails
What is left after a pull. Short feeder tails have little reuse on their own and are reviewed as a group by size and metal. Do not discard them before the review.
04Evaluation
How a Georgia feeder lot is reviewed
The first question is whether the cable can go back into service. That needs an undamaged jacket, a size the trade still specifies, and footage that suits a real run. Feeder pulled through conduit and re-reeled is usually sound. Feeder dragged across a slab, kinked at a sheave or bent past its radius is not.
The second is paperwork. Feeder bought as part of a switchgear package often still has the submittal, the cut sheet and a factory test report with it, which puts the reel in a different class from an unlabelled one in a yard. Where the cable came out of service, note who removed it.
The third is handling. Large conductor is dense: a full reel of 500 kcmil copper is beyond a pickup truck and has to be lifted rather than rolled up a ramp. Say whether a forklift can reach the reel where it sits.
Feeder that has been in service is treated as energized until the equipment it lands on is locked out and proved dead. Long runs hold a capacitive charge after disconnection, so cut ends are grounded before anyone handles them.
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
Feeder cable questions
Do you buy feeder that is still connected?
No. Feeder is bought only after it has been disconnected and released. De-terminating, lockout and proving dead are electrical work and stay with the owner's electrician.
Is copper feeder worth more than aluminum?
Per pound of conductor, yes, because copper holds far more value in the same volume. The two are reviewed on separate terms, so list them separately.
Can you review a set that has lost its neutral?
Yes, as individual single conductors. A set is worth more intact, so it is worth looking for the missing conductor in the same trailer or rack before the review starts.
How short is too short to bother with?
There is no fixed number. Feeder shorter than a working run has little reuse and is reviewed on metal content, but it still counts in the lot.
List the size, the metal and the footage
Conductor size, insulation, metal, number of conductors and remaining footage are enough to open a review. Photographs of the tag and the cut end answer most of the rest.