600 V – 1 kV power feeder · copper and aluminum
Feeder cable buyers in New York
Feeder cable is where a building's electrical size becomes visible. A 500 kcmil four-conductor reel is a serious piece of material, and the difference between reusing it and weighing it in is usually documentation and jacket condition.
Sell this cable
Send the construction, size and footage. Photographs can follow.
Prefer to talk? 614-715-3047 · saleselectricalbuyers@gmail.com
Feeder cable is reviewed on conductor size, conductor count, metal, insulation type and whether the jacket is rated for the install method. A 4/0 four-conductor copper feeder with a direct-burial jacket and 400 ft remaining is a reusable asset. The same conductors cut into 30 ft riser lengths are largely copper value.
What separates feeder cable from building wire
A feeder is the conductor between the service equipment and the final branch-circuit protection: the run from a switchboard to a panel, from a transformer to a distribution board, from a main distribution frame to a tenant service. Feeder cable is that run built as a factory assembly — several large conductors, a ground, insulation, fillers and one overall jacket — rather than as individual conductors pulled into a raceway.
That distinction is the whole page. Individual XHHW-2 or THHN conductors pulled into conduit are covered elsewhere; this family is the multiconductor assembly, usually three or four power conductors plus a ground, from 1/0 through 1,000 kcmil, rated 600 V or 1,000 V. Above 1,000 kcmil the industry stops making bigger cable and starts running parallel sets, which is why 1,000 kcmil is the practical ceiling of the family.
The 600 V and 1 kV ratings split the market. A 480 V system is served by 600 V cable. A 600 V system, or a specification that calls for extra insulation margin, uses 1 kV. The two look identical on a reel and are distinguished only by the print, which is why a photograph of the jacket legend is the single most useful thing a seller can send.
Copper or aluminum, and how the run is sized
Feeder cable is bought in both metals, and the choice is economic rather than technical. Aluminum costs less per amp of capacity and weighs roughly a third as much for the same volume, which matters when a 500 kcmil reel has to be moved into a basement or lifted to a tray. Copper is chosen where space is tight, where terminations are constrained, or where the owner's standard says copper.
Ampacity drives the size. At 75°C, before any adjustment for ambient temperature or conduit fill, a 1/0 copper conductor carries about 150 A, 4/0 about 230 A and 500 kcmil about 380 A. Aluminum equivalents are lower — roughly one size class behind — so a 500 kcmil aluminum feeder carries about what a 350 kcmil copper feeder carries. Those figures are the reason a mixed lot of copper and aluminum feeders cannot be valued as one pile.
Conductor count matters as much as size. Three-conductor cable serves three-phase loads without a neutral; four-conductor serves 277/480 V systems with a neutral and is the standard for distribution in large buildings. A four-conductor 4/0 reel contains a third more copper than a three-conductor reel of the same size and length, and the difference is invisible unless the count is stated.
Conduit, tray or direct burial — the jacket decides
Feeder cable is installed three ways, and the jacket has to be rated for the one that applies. In conduit, the cable is pulled through a raceway and protected from sunlight, abrasion and water; almost any 600 V assembly will do. In tray, the cable must carry a tray listing — Type TC to UL 1277, or TC-ER where it runs exposed from the tray to the equipment — and it should be sunlight resistant if the tray is outdoors.
Direct burial is the most restrictive. Cable installed in the ground must be rated for it, typically as USE-2 or a dual-rated RHW-2/USE-2 construction, and it must be listed for wet locations because groundwater is a permanent condition. A feeder with a conduit-only jacket that gets buried will fail inspection, and more importantly it will take on water and fail in service.
For a seller this is a documentation question with real money attached. A direct-burial rated reel can serve an outdoor or underground feeder; the same copper without that rating can only serve an indoor raceway or tray. Read the print, photograph it, and describe the jacket rather than guessing from the color.
Where large feeders come from in New York
Large buildings generate large feeders, and New York has more of them per square mile than most states. Commercial office towers, hospitals, universities, data centers, hotels and multifamily buildings all run 277/480 V distribution from house service or transformer to floor panels, and every major electrical upgrade replaces some of it. Service entrances are rebuilt when a building adds load; risers are replaced when a landlord upgrades a tenant space; transformers are swapped when a building electrifies its heating plant.
Industrial work adds another pattern. A plant that replaces a substation or a large motor control center releases feeder cable in long, well-documented runs, often with the original reel tags still attached because the plant kept records for its own maintenance. Those lots are the best in the family, and they are the ones where a full set of documentation converts copper weight into reusable cable.
- Size, conductor count and metal for each reel
- Insulation type — XHHW-2, RHW-2, USE-2 — from the print
- Jacket rating: tray, direct burial, sunlight resistance
- Footage remaining, and whether the reel has been cut into
- For removed cable, the length of each cut section and the condition of the ends
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.
| Voltage rating | 600 V for 480 V systems, 1,000 V for 600 V systems and specification-driven work |
|---|---|
| Size range | 1/0 through 1,000 kcmil; parallel runs above that rather than larger single conductors |
| Conductor count | 3- and 4-conductor with ground; 4-conductor is the default for 277/480 V distribution |
| Insulation | XHHW-2, RHW-2 or XLPE, 90°C dry and wet rated |
| Jacket | PVC, CPE or a direct-burial rated compound; tray-rated prints are common on TC and TC-ER |
| Install methods | In conduit, in cable tray, direct buried, or in a wireway; the jacket rating has to match |
| Copper ampacity | 1/0 about 150 A, 4/0 about 230 A, 500 kcmil about 380 A at 75°C before adjustment |
| Condition signals | Jacket splits, sun cracking, water in the core, crushed wraps, ring cuts at the ends |
Constructions
Feeder constructions we review
Size gets a feeder looked at; the jacket rating and the footage decide what it is worth.
Four-conductor 277/480 V feeder
The standard large-building distribution assembly, 1/0 to 500 kcmil, copper or aluminum. Whole reels with footage are the most reusable category in the family.
Three-conductor with ground
Three-phase loads without a neutral, common on motor and transformer feeds. Reviewed on size, ground size and jacket rating.
Direct-burial USE-2 and RHW-2
Rated for wet and underground service. The burial rating widens the market considerably, so the print has to be legible.
Tray-rated TC and TC-ER
Feeder sizes in a tray-listed assembly, often run exposed from a tray to a switchboard. The ER rating is worth confirming separately.
Service entrance and riser cable
Heavy assemblies run vertically through a building, frequently cut into floor-length sections on removal. Reviewed on usable lengths and end condition.
Parallel feeder sets
Two or more smaller conductors per phase instead of one large cable, common above 1,000 kcmil equivalent. Valued as matched sets, because mismatched lengths cannot be paralleled.
New York
Feeder cable in the New York market
New York's feeder supply is driven by building turnover. A commercial tower renovation replaces risers and house feeders; a hospital plant upgrade replaces the feeders to new chillers and switchgear; a data hall fit-out replaces distribution to the hall. Downstate, that work is continuous and produces a steady flow of part reels; upstate, it arrives in larger, less frequent events when a plant or campus is rebuilt.
The buyers are electrical contractors and plant maintenance groups who need a specific size and count for a job already designed. That is why footage matters so much: a 4/0 four-conductor reel with 400 ft left can serve a real installation, while 80 ft off the same reel serves almost nothing except a short tap. Cut length is not a defect, but it changes the buyer from a contractor to a scrap processor.
What helps a New York lot move
- Size, count and metal on each reel, stated separately
- Insulation and jacket type from the surface print
- Direct-burial and tray ratings where present
- Footage remaining, or the length of each cut section
- Storage: indoors, covered, or standing in a yard
Seller questions
Questions sellers ask
What size feeder cable do you need to see to make a trip worthwhile?
It is driven by footage and access more than by a fixed size. A 4/0 or 500 kcmil four-conductor reel with several hundred feet remaining justifies a run on its own; smaller sizes usually need several reels or a full truckload. Send the size, count and footage and the answer becomes obvious.
Can copper and aluminum feeders be sold in one lot?
They can be in one collection, but they must be listed and valued separately. The metals behave differently at terminations, they carry different ampacity for the same size, and their metal values differ by a wide margin. Mixing them in a single description makes the lot impossible to price accurately.
Does the voltage rating matter if the cable is going to scrap?
Not for scrap, but it matters enormously for reuse. A 1 kV feeder can serve a 600 V system; a 600 V feeder cannot. The rating appears in the surface print, and a legible print is what allows a buyer to offer a cable price instead of a metal price.
Do you buy feeder cable that has been pulled out of a riser?
Yes, once the owner's crew has de-energised and released it. Riser cable comes out in floor-length sections, typically 12 to 20 ft, and is reviewed on usable length, jacket damage from the pull and whether the ends are sealed. Long continuous sections are worth considerably more than short ones.
What is the difference between feeder cable and service entrance cable?
Service entrance cable is the feeder that runs from the utility connection to the service equipment; feeder cable is everything downstream of that, up to the final branch protection. Physically they are the same family of multiconductor assemblies, and the same review applies. The distinction matters for the installation and for inspection, not for the material.
Keep reading
Related pages
- Aluminum wire buyersAA-8000 feeder and building wire
- Copper wire buyersCopper conductor as a category
- THHN / THWN wire buyersSingle conductors pulled in conduit
- XHHW wire buyersXHHW-2 feeders and branch circuits
- Tray cable buyersTray-listed power and control assemblies
- Data center cable buyersMission-critical distribution cable
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