Overhead conductor · the whole bare conductor category
Overhead conductor buyers in New York
Six families of bare conductor hang on New York poles and towers. They look alike after a winter in the yard, and the differences between them decide almost everything about what a drum is worth.
- New York State
- Documented lots
- Reels and cut lengths
- Buyer review
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Bare overhead conductor is any uninsulated conductor strung in air: all-aluminum, aluminum alloy, steel-reinforced, steel-supported, alloy-reinforced or copper. In a yard the decisive tests are whether a magnet finds a steel core, what the cut end shows, and how heavy the reel is for its diameter. After that it is code name and footage, not appearance.
Six families under one heading
All-aluminum conductor, AAC, is stranded 1350-H19 aluminum with no core. It is light for its size and cheap to make, and it is used where spans are short and strength is not the governing case: distribution feeders, short subtransmission runs, and older lines that were built when aluminum was still replacing copper.
All-aluminum alloy conductor, AAAC, replaces the pure aluminum with 6201-T81 alloy strands throughout and needs no steel core to reach useful strength. Aluminum conductor steel reinforced, ACSR, puts hard-drawn aluminum around a galvanised or aluminum-clad steel core. Aluminum conductor steel supported, ACSS, uses fully annealed aluminum around the same kind of core so the line can run much hotter. Aluminum conductor alloy reinforced, ACAR, uses 6201-T81 outer strands over 1350-H19 core strands, giving strength without steel. Bare copper, solid or stranded, is the oldest family and still appears on legacy lines, grounding and jumper work.
The differences that matter commercially are conductivity, strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion behavior and whether a steel core is present. Those four properties decide which family a utility will accept, and therefore which surplus drums can return to service.
Telling them apart in a yard
Start with a magnet. It finds the steel core in ACSR and ACSS instantly and finds nothing in AAC, AAAC, ACAR or copper. That single test splits the category in two and is the one check nobody should skip, because a steel-cored conductor and an all-aluminum conductor of similar diameter are worth different amounts and behave differently in service.
Next, look at a cut end. ACSR and ACSS show a core of a different color and usually a different strand size at the center. ACAR also shows a core, but the core strands are aluminum alloy rather than steel, so a magnet stays silent. AAC shows uniform strands throughout. Compact and trapezoidal constructions show wedge-shaped strands rather than round ones, which tells you the conductor was made to a tighter diameter.
Weight and diameter together are the third check. Aluminum weighs roughly a third of what steel does for the same volume, so an all-aluminum conductor of a given diameter is far lighter than a steel-cored one of the same diameter, and an all-aluminum conductor of a given weight is fatter than its steel-cored equivalent. Two people lifting a reel can tell the difference before anyone finds a tag.
Color is the least reliable signal in the yard. 1350 and 6201 both weather to the same dull gray, and both take on the same white oxide bloom near the coast. Alloy cannot be identified by eye, only from the tag, the printed legend or a mill certificate. Anyone who tells you they can see the difference is guessing.
| Family | What is in it | Yard test | Typical New York use |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAC | 1350-H19 aluminum strands only | No magnet response; uniform strands at a cut end | Distribution feeders and older short-span lines |
| AAAC | 6201-T81 alloy strands, no core | No magnet response; uniform strands, stiffer than AAC | Coastal distribution and subtransmission |
| ACSR | Hard-drawn aluminum over galvanised or aluminum-clad steel | Core found; different strand size at the center | The default from 69 kV to 345 kV |
| ACSS | Annealed 1350-O aluminum over steel | Core found; aluminum feels soft and marks easily | Reconductoring and thermal uprating |
| ACAR | 6201-T81 strands over 1350-H19 strands | No magnet response; a visibly different core strand | Corrosive routes needing more strength than AAC |
| Bare copper | Hard-drawn copper, solid or stranded | No magnet response; heavy for its diameter, red-brown | Legacy lines, jumpers and grounding |
How the category is priced
Overhead conductor is not priced per pound with a single multiplier. It sits in tiers. ACSR is the volume material and the easiest to place, because almost every utility and contractor in the state can use a tagged drum of a common code name. AAAC sits just behind it, in demand wherever corrosion or coastal exposure makes a steel core unwelcome. ACSS is a narrower market but a strong one, because it is the material that lets an existing line carry more current without new structures.
AAC and ACAR are thinner markets. AAC has largely been superseded on new work, so its buyers are usually matching an existing line or filling a small distribution order. ACAR is a specialty conductor: excellent where a steel core is unwanted but more strength is needed than AAC provides, and rarely available in quantity. Bare copper is priced against copper, with a premium only when the construction and footage suit a specific reuse.
Across all six families the same three facts carry the value: the code name, the footage and the condition of the outer layers. A drum of 477 kcmil Hawk with a tag and 9,000 ft is a different asset from a coil of the same conductor with no identification, and no amount of weighing will close that gap. One rule holds across all six families: nothing is cut, spooled or loaded until the owner's qualified crew has de-energised the circuit and released the material.
Specification
What a buyer needs to know about this cable
Every row below changes what a lot is worth. If the reel tag is gone, the jacket print and a cut end usually answer most of it.
Missing detail is not a problem — say what is missing and the review works from photographs.
| Category | Bare, uninsulated conductor for overhead lines, supplied on reels |
|---|---|
| Families | AAC, AAAC, ACSR, ACSS, ACAR and bare copper |
| Size range | No. 6 AWG on distribution through 2,156 kcmil on bulk transmission |
| Common strandings | 7, 19, 37, 61 for all-aluminum types; 6/1, 12/7, 26/7, 54/7 for steel-cored |
| Identification | Reel tag code name, printed legend, measured diameter, strand count |
| Conductor standards | ASTM B231, B232, B399, B524 and B400 for compact and trapezoidal forms |
| Reel lengths | Distribution sizes often 5,000 to 10,000 ft; transmission drums shorter and heavier |
| Condition signals | Core rust, birdcaging, kinks, clamp marks, splice hardware, reel damage |
Constructions
What each family is worth to whom
The same tonnage sits in very different markets depending on which family it belongs to.
ACSR — the volume market
Broad demand at every voltage in the state, and the family most likely to be reusable if the tag survived. Common code names move quickly; odd sizes move on footage.
AAAC — the coastal answer
No steel core to rust, so it holds value in salt exposure and is specified near the coast. Buyers are utilities and contractors working distribution and subtransmission.
ACSS — the uprating material
A narrower but better-informed market. It is bought by projects that need more current on existing structures, and it is priced on the annealed construction rather than on age.
AAC — the thin market
Cheap conductor with limited new-build demand. Usually bought to match an existing line, or as recovery when the footage is short and the reel is failing.
ACAR — the specialty
All-aluminum strength without steel, and rarely seen in quantity. Value depends on finding the project that specified it, which usually means a utility rather than a scrap buyer.
Bare copper — priced as copper
Legacy line conductor, grounding and jumper material. Heavy, stable in price and easy to sell, but only worth a conductor premium when the size and length suit reuse.
New York
Bare conductor in the New York market
New York uses all six families, and where each one appears is fairly predictable. Transmission at 230 kV and 345 kV is dominated by ACSR and, on lines that need more capacity, ACSS. The 69 kV to 138 kV layers mix ACSR and AAAC. Distribution is mostly ACSR and AAAC in smaller sizes, with AAC surviving on older circuits and copper on the oldest.
Geography does the rest. Long Island and the Westchester shore put conductor into salt air, which pushes specifications toward alloy and aluminum-clad constructions and away from plain galvanised steel cores. Upstate, ice and wind loading govern, which keeps steel-cored conductor in favor on longer spans. A seller who says where the material was installed is giving away useful information.
What helps a New York lot move
- Family and code name, even if it is only 'Hawk, I think'
- Footage on the tag, or the wrap diameter if the tag is gone
- Whether the conductor was in service, and for roughly how long
- Storage: under cover, open yard, or standing in water
- Photographs of a cut end and of any damage along the outer layer
Seller questions
Questions sellers ask
How can I tell ACSR from AAAC without a tag?
Use a magnet. ACSR has a steel core that the magnet will find at a cut end; AAAC is alloy throughout and the magnet finds nothing. Then check the strands: AAAC is uniform, while ACSR shows a core of different color and usually a different strand size. If the printed legend is still legible it names the construction outright.
Is all-aluminum conductor worth buying?
Yes, but it is a narrower market than steel-cored conductor. AAC is usually bought to match an existing line or to fill a distribution order, so the code name and footage matter more than the tonnage. Where those are unknown, it is reviewed as recovery material rather than as reusable conductor.
Why does the same size weigh differently between families?
Because of the core. Steel is roughly three times as dense as aluminum, so a steel-cored conductor of a given diameter is heavier than an all-aluminum one, and an all-aluminum conductor of a given weight is larger in diameter. That is why lifting a reel tells an experienced hand something before any tag is read.
Do you buy mixed families on one pallet?
Yes, and they are separated before pricing. A pallet holding AAC, ACSR and bare copper has three different values and three different buyers, so the first job is to identify each item and the second is to price it. A seller who has already separated by family gets a cleaner and usually better answer.
What condition makes overhead conductor unsaleable as conductor?
Birdcaging, hard kinks, crushed or flattened sections, and deep corrosion pitting along the strands. Those defects cannot be straightened out in the field, so the affected length is cut out and the remainder is valued on what is left. A drum with one damaged layer can still be good material if the damage is measured and the good footage is stated.
Keep reading
Related pages
- ACSR conductor buyersThe steel-cored workhorse in detail
- AAAC conductor buyers6201-T81 alloy conductor
- ACSS conductor buyersAnnealed aluminum for hotter lines
- Covered conductor buyersBare conductor with a polymer cover
- Transmission line cable buyersThe whole line bill of materials
- Utility surplus conductor buyersStore stock and cancelled orders
Next step
Send the lot details
Include the storage city, how it is stored and what can reach it. If you have photographs of reel tags or jacket print, send them with the enquiry.
Send the lot
One desk reviews every lot that arrives.
Prefer to talk? 614-715-3047 · saleselectricalbuyers@gmail.com