Pulled conductor · Georgia
We buy reconductor salvage and removed conductor
The largest single source of used overhead conductor. A reconductor takes down sound conductor to put up something larger, and what comes down is either a re-usable asset or a coil of aluminum, depending on how it was handled on the day.
- Pulled under tension
- Coils and drums
- Strand condition
01Overview
What this page covers
A reconductor replaces the conductor on an existing line, usually to raise capacity, raise voltage or clear a condition the old conductor cannot meet. The old conductor is pulled down with a bullwheel and a tensioner, and it comes off the line in long continuous lengths, coiled or re-reeled depending on the crew and the trucks on site.
What is left is conductor that was in service and sound until the day it was removed. That is the distinction from storm salvage: the line was working, the pulls were controlled, and the damage is the damage of handling rather than of impact.
02Specification
What a reconductor lot looks like
- Source
- Reconductor, voltage upgrade, relocation, structure replacement
- Constructions
- ACSR, ACSS, AAAC and ACAR, occasionally composite core
- Sizes
- 266.8 kcmil through 2,156 kcmil
- Damage
- Birdcaging, broken strands, sheave marks, clamp bites, vibration wear
- Presentation
- Re-reeled on a drum, or coiled and banded on the ground
- Splices
- Full-tension splices mark the original reel joints
- Lengths
- 500 to 5,000 ft per coil, depending on the pull
- Condition
- Sound, partly damaged, scrap, wet from lying in the open
Count the splices. Full-tension splices tell you where the original reels ended, which is how footage and reel sequence are reconstructed when the tags are gone.
03Conductor we buy
Conductor we buy
Re-reeled conductor
Conductor wound back onto a drum after the pull, with the outer layer even and the lagging intact. The best form of a removed lot, because the footage can be counted and the conductor can be paid out again.
Ground coils
Conductor coiled and banded where it came down. Serviceable if it was coiled on a coiler, and a handling problem if it was coiled by hand. Reviewed on the coil shape and on whether the bands are still holding.
Conductor with splices
Long pulls that include full-tension splices. The splices are cut out before re-use, so the length that matters is the distance between them rather than the total.
Damaged and short sections
Conductor with birdcaged sections, broken outer strands or a flattened length from a come-along. Reviewed on recovery, and worth separating at the site rather than in the yard.
04Evaluation
How a removed conductor lot is reviewed
The first question is how it came off the line. A controlled pull onto a coiler leaves conductor that can go back up; a hurried pull with a truck and a chain leaves kinks that cannot be taken out. Look at the coil shape and the outer layer, and ask who pulled it.
Then the strand condition along the outer layer and at the points where hardware was attached. Clamp bites, armor rod marks and the polished spots where a spacer sat are where fatigue starts, and a run of broken outer strands over a length is a section that has to be cut out.
Footage and presentation finish the review. Re-reeled conductor on a sound drum is worth more than the same footage in a ground coil, because the next user has to handle it. And conductor that has been lying in Georgia red clay through a wet season is reviewed on aluminum content, since the core and the surface have both suffered.
A banded coil holds tension, and a coil whose bands have been cut will open and throw conductor. Broken strands are sharp and carry the same risk as wire rope. And the line itself is not safe because the pull is finished: an adjacent circuit induces voltage on conductor that is isolated at both ends, so grounding is the utility's job and is never assumed.
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
- ACSR conductorAluminium conductor steel reinforced, distribution to transmission
- Transmission conductorBare overhead conductor from 69 kV through 500 kV lines
- Storm-damage conductorSalvaged conductor, downed line and storm stock
- Distribution conductorPrimary and secondary overhead distribution conductor
07Questions
Reconductor salvage questions
Is removed conductor ever re-strung at the same voltage?
Uncommon. Sound conductor usually goes onto a line built to a lighter loading, or into storm stock, where the strand condition matters more than the original rating.
Why does re-reeling matter so much?
Because a drum can be paid out by a line crew and a ground coil has to be handled first. The cost of re-reeling is real, and it is reflected in what a coil is worth.
How do you establish footage without a tag?
From the coil weight and the published weight per 1,000 ft for the size, or from the wrap count and the coil diameter. Splices give an independent check.
Do you buy conductor that is still on the line?
No. The material starts at the point the utility or its contractor has pulled it and released it.
Say how it came down and how it is stored
Re-reeled or coiled, banded or loose, and where it has been sitting. Those three answers decide how a removed lot is reviewed.