Portable cord · Georgia
We buy SOOW and SJOOW portable cord in Georgia
Flexible portable cord with oil-resistant insulation and jacket, rated for hard service at 600 V. Leftover reels and cut lengths are reviewed on the letter code, the conductor count and the jacket.
- 18 AWG to 2 AWG
- 2 to 5 conductors
- 600 V hard service
01Overview
Reading the letter code
Portable cord is identified entirely by its letters, and every letter is a claim about the jacket or the insulation. S means hard service at 600 V; SJ means junior service at 300 V with a thinner jacket; the first O is oil-resistant insulation, the second O is an oil-resistant jacket, and W means the whole assembly is rated for water and weather.
That makes SOOW a 600 V cord with oil-resistant insulation and jacket, rated for wet locations. SJOOW is the same idea in a lighter 300 V cord. Neither is building wire and neither is tray cable, which is the confusion that most often turns up when a plant clears out a shelf of portable cord.
02Specification
What a portable cord reel carries
- Types
- SOOW, SJOOW, SOO, SJT and ST depending on jacket compound
- Voltage
- 600 V for S and SO family; 300 V for SJ and SJO family
- Sizes
- 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2 AWG
- Conductors
- 2, 3, 4 and 5 conductor constructions
- Insulation
- Ethylene propylene rubber or equivalent, oil resistant
- Jacket
- Neoprene or CPE, oil and weather resistant on the W types
- Reels
- 250, 500 and 1,000 ft reels; 100 ft coils on small sizes
- Marking
- Letter code, AWG, conductor count and voltage on the jacket
The letter code is printed along the jacket and does not fade the way a paper tag does. Read it at two points on the reel, because a cord that has been re-jacketed or re-marked is not unknown in plant stock.
03Cord we review
Cord we review
SOOW three and four conductor
The standard 600 V drop cord for tools, temporary distribution and small equipment. Three-conductor 12 AWG and 10 AWG are the sizes that survive a plant clear-out in usable lengths, and they are reviewed on jacket and length.
SJOOW in the smaller gauges
16 and 18 AWG junior cord for lamps, small tools and control pendants. Light, cheap and rarely worth a dedicated trip, but worth grouping with other cord so the review covers one load rather than several.
Two-conductor and five-conductor runs
Two-conductor cord for grounded-free equipment and five-conductor for multi-function pendants and hoists. Less common, and reviewed by count because a five-conductor remnant is a specific product rather than a general one.
Cut lengths and damaged cord
Cord from a jobsite with abrasion, missing outer jacket at the ends and taped repairs. Reviewed as cut stock, and the damaged sections are excluded before anything is measured.
04Evaluation
How portable cord is reviewed
Letter code first. SOOW, SJOOW, SOO and SJT are four different products with four different uses, and the code is the only reliable way to tell them apart, since the jacket compound looks the same. Voltage class follows from the code: S is 600 V, SJ is 300 V, and mixing them in a single description causes a review to stall.
Then jacket condition along the full length, not just the visible end. Portable cord fails at the point where it was repeatedly flexed, usually a foot or two back from a connector, and that is where the jacket thins and the conductors work-harden. A reel that has never been cut is judged almost entirely on the outer wrap; a used coil is judged on its history.
Finally length and count. Cord is sold by the reel and used by the foot, so part reels are the normal case. Give a measured length for each and a count of how many there are; a single photograph of twelve coils tells a buyer almost nothing without that list.
Portable cord is the most abused cable in any plant, and a jacket worn through to the conductor at a flex point is a shock waiting for a wet floor. Cord with exposed conductors is not surplus — it is waste, and it should be cut and discarded rather than coiled for sale.
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
SOOW cord questions
What does the W in SOOW mean?
Weather and water resistance for the whole assembly. Cord marked SOO without the W is oil resistant but not rated for wet locations, and the two are reviewed separately.
Is SJ cord worth buying?
Yes, as a lighter product. SJ is 300 V with a thinner jacket, used for lamps and small tools. It is grouped separately from 600 V S cord rather than mixed with it.
Do you take cord with taped repairs?
Only as cut stock, and the repaired section is excluded. Tape over a jacket breach hides the conductor, so the length either side of a repair is what gets reviewed.
How is a part reel measured?
By the reel tag, by the length marking printed on the jacket, or by weighing the reel and deducting the empty reel weight. A stated length with no basis is not treated as a measurement.
Tell us the code and the count
Letter code, gauge, conductor count, number of coils and a measured length for each. That is the whole review for a shelf of portable cord.