AC and BX branch-circuit cable
Armored cable and BX buyers in New York
Armored cable is the oldest flexible wiring method still in daily use, and the least likely to arrive as a full coil. Almost every lot is part coils and cut lengths, which changes what can be reused and what is only recovery.
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Type AC, still called BX by most of the trade, is insulated conductors inside a flexible steel or aluminum armour with an internal bonding strip. It is 600 V branch-circuit cable, normally 14 to 8 AWG, used in dry concealed locations. Because it is installed in short runs, surplus arrives as part coils and cut-offs, and length plus armour condition decide whether any of it is reusable.
What makes AC different from MC
Both are armoured cables and both are used for branch circuits, but they are different products with different listings. Type AC is built to UL 4 with a flexible interlocked armour, usually galvanised steel, and a thin aluminum bonding strip running the length of the cable inside the armour. That strip is what bonds the armour at every point and lets it serve as the equipment grounding conductor. Type MC is built to UL 1569 with a heavier interlocked aluminum armour and is covered by a different Code article.
The trade name BX is older than either listing and is used loosely for any flexible armoured cable, which causes endless confusion in a surplus listing. The reliable test is the bonding strip: if it is present at a cut end, the cable is AC and the armour is a grounding means. Cable without it, sometimes genuinely old BX, cannot be used as an equipment ground and is not a compliant wiring method for new work.
Where it is used, and why the coils are always short
AC is a dry-location branch-circuit method. It runs through stud walls, above ceilings, in furring spaces and in the chases of wood-frame and masonry buildings, and it is particularly common in older New York apartment buildings and in suburban residential work. It is not permitted in damp or wet locations, not embedded in masonry or concrete, and not where it would be subject to physical damage beyond what the armour can take.
The reason a lot is almost always partial is arithmetic. A coil holds 250 ft, and a typical residential or small commercial run consumes 25 to 60 ft between boxes. An electrician finishes a job with several coils each holding 40 to 120 ft, and those coils go into the van, then into the shop, then onto a pallet. Add the cable removed during a renovation, which is cut at every box and rarely longer than 20 ft, and the pile is mostly short lengths.
| What arrives | Typical length | What it is worth as | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unopened coil | 250 ft | Cable | Full length, straight armour, label intact |
| Part coil from a job | 60 to 200 ft | Cable, discounted | Usable but handled, and may carry a set |
| Short coil | Under 50 ft | Recovery or small-job stock | Too short for most runs, still useful for a repair |
| Removed from a wall | 5 to 20 ft | Recovery | Cut at boxes, armour deformed, no continuous length |
| Mixed offcuts | Random | Recovery | No identification and no usable length |
Reuse against recovery, and what to photograph
Reuse needs three things at once: a continuous length long enough for a real run, armour that is still closed and round, and identifiable conductors inside. A 100 ft length of 12/2 with straight armour and a readable print will go back into a residential job. A 100 ft length that has been pulled out of a wall, with the armour deformed every few feet and the conductors nicked at the cut points, will not, whatever its length.
Recovery is not a failure. AC contains copper conductors and a steel or aluminum armour, and both are recovered; the armour is a meaningful fraction of the weight in the smaller sizes. What matters is that the lot is described honestly, because a buyer who arrives expecting reusable coils and finds a pile of 12 ft offcuts will price the whole load as scrap, and usually not come back.
- The coil label and the print on the armour, showing size and conductor count
- A cut end, close up, so the bonding strip and conductor color are visible
- The armour along its length, showing dents, kinks and open interlock
- The approximate length of each coil, measured with a tape rather than guessed
- Whether the cable is new surplus or was stripped out of a building
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.
| Standard | UL 4; NEC Article 320 |
|---|---|
| Voltage rating | 600 V |
| Armour | Flexible galvanised steel or aluminum; an internal aluminum bonding strip makes the armour a grounding means |
| Conductors | THHN or THWN copper, 14 to 8 AWG, in 2, 3 or 4 conductor configurations |
| Typical sizes | 14/2, 12/2, 12/3, 10/2, 10/3 and 8/3 |
| Packaging | 250 ft coils are standard; 1,000 ft reels exist for some constructions |
| Use limits | Dry locations; not for damp or wet areas, not embedded in masonry or concrete |
| Identification | Print on the armour or a tag inside the coil; the bonding strip is visible at a cut end |
Constructions
Armored cable lots we review
Nearly every lot is a mixture of these categories, and separating them before loading is what protects the value of the good coils.
Shop part coils
Several coils with 50 to 150 ft left, labels intact, stored dry. The best realistic category, and the one worth keeping separate from the offcuts.
Unopened 250 ft coils
Rare but not unknown, usually from a cancelled job or an over-order. Full length and straight armour; sold as cable.
Renovation removals
Cable pulled out of a wall or ceiling during a gut renovation. Cut at every box, armour deformed, almost always recovery material.
Mixed gauge offcuts
14/2, 12/2 and 12/3 in a single pile. Worth sorting by size, because 12/2 has a use and a mixed pile does not.
Old BX without a bonding strip
Pre-war cable with no internal strip. Not a compliant grounding means for new work; reviewed on copper content alone.
New York
Armored cable in the New York market
New York has an unusually deep stock of AC because so much of its housing is old. Pre-war apartment buildings in the boroughs, older suburban housing on Long Island and in Westchester, and the wood-frame stock of upstate cities and towns were all wired in armoured cable, and renovations release it continuously. That is a different supply pattern from MC, which comes from new commercial work and arrives in tidy part coils.
The material also has a second life that MC does not. A small contractor or a handyman will buy a 100 ft coil of 12/2 AC for a repair, because the alternative is buying a new 250 ft coil. That demand is what makes a straight, labelled part coil worth more than its copper, and it is why the sorting conversation matters more here than in almost any other family.
What helps a New York lot move
- Size and conductor count as printed, not as estimated from the outside diameter
- Approximate length of each coil, and whether it is continuous
- Whether the armour is straight or deformed, with a photograph of the worst section
- New surplus or removed from a building, stated plainly
- Whether the cable has a bonding strip, if it is old stock
Seller questions
Questions sellers ask
Is BX the same as armored cable?
BX is a trade name that became a generic term for flexible armoured cable. Modern Type AC is listed to UL 4 and has an internal aluminum bonding strip that lets the armour serve as an equipment grounding conductor. Older cable sold as BX may lack that strip and cannot be used as a ground, which matters for anyone intending to reuse it.
Can armored cable be reused after removal?
Only when a length comes out continuous and the armour is still round and closed. Cable removed during a renovation is normally cut at every box, so the lengths are short and the armour is deformed at each cut. Those pieces are recovery material; a clean part coil never installed is a different thing entirely.
Why is a 250 ft coil so rarely full?
Because the cable is consumed in short runs. A branch circuit between boxes might use 25 to 60 ft, so a coil is drawn down gradually across a job and the remainder is what survives. Full coils appear mainly from cancelled projects and over-orders, which is why they are worth identifying.
Does the armour metal affect the price?
Yes, at the margin. Steel armour is the common construction and is recovered as steel; aluminum armour weighs less and is recovered with the aluminum stream. In the smaller branch sizes the copper conductors dominate the value, but in a large recovery lot the armour weight is not trivial.
What is the smallest quantity worth reviewing?
A single part coil with a readable label and 100 ft of continuous cable can be worth a review, particularly in 12/2 and 10/3. A pallet of unlabelled offcuts is also reviewed, but as recovery material, and freight usually decides whether it is practical.
Keep reading
Related pages
- MC cable buyersThe heavier interlocked-armour alternative
- NM-B cable buyersThe other branch-circuit family, and its limits
- THHN and THWN wire buyersThe conductors inside the armour
- Copper wire buyersWhere removed armoured cable ends up
- Partial reel buyersPart coils are the normal unit here
- Demolition cable buyersRenovation removals in quantity
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