Nonmetallic-sheathed cable
NM-B cable and Romex buyers in New York
Romex is the cable everyone recognises and the one that pays least per pound. It is still worth reviewing, but only when the coils are long enough to be cable rather than copper.
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Send the construction, size and footage. Photographs can follow.
Prefer to talk? 614-715-3047 · saleselectricalbuyers@gmail.com
NM-B is copper conductors in a PVC jacket with a paper separator, 14/2 through 6/3, rated 600 V with ampacity limited to the 60 C column. Its jacket and filler make up a large share of the weight, and most lots are short offcuts, so it is the least valuable family per pound. Unopened 250 and 1,000 ft coils from a cancelled job are the exception worth pursuing.
The construction, and why the 60 C limit matters
NM-B is a simple assembly: two or three copper conductors, a bare ground, a paper separator and an extruded PVC jacket. The conductors themselves are rated 90 C, but NEC 334.80 limits the ampacity of the finished cable to the 60 C column, because the jacket and the paper separator are what actually limit how hot the assembly can run in a wall full of insulation. That is why 12/2 NM-B is a 20 A cable and not the 25 A that the conductor alone would suggest.
The construction also explains the economics. The jacket, the paper and the air space between the conductors are all weight that carries no copper, so a pound of NM-B contains materially less metal than a pound of THHN of the same gauge. A 12/2 coil weighing 90 lb might hold around 50 lb of copper. That ratio is the whole reason NM-B sits at the bottom of the value table.
Where NM-B is allowed, and what that does to demand
NM-B is a dry-location cable for wood-frame construction. It cannot go into damp or wet areas, into masonry or concrete, into hazardous locations, or anywhere it would be exposed to physical damage. In practice that means one- and two-family houses, wood-frame apartments, and light commercial buildings of similar construction. New York City's electrical code restricts nonmetallic-sheathed cable to a narrow set of residential occupancies, which is why the city's commercial work is conduit and MC instead.
The demand side of the market follows the same geography. Upstate and suburban New York build houses in wood frame, so NM-B is the default there. A contractor's surplus is a few part coils; a builder's surplus is a pallet of unopened 250 ft coils; a renovation produces a pile of 8 to 20 ft offcuts that nobody can reuse. The first two are worth a review. The third is copper with a jacket on it.
| Size | Ampacity at 60 C | Typical use | Copper per 1,000 ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14/2 | 15 A | Lighting and general circuits | About 16 lb per conductor |
| 12/2 | 20 A | Receptacles, general-purpose circuits | About 25 lb per conductor |
| 10/2 | 30 A | Water heaters, small equipment | About 40 lb per conductor |
| 10/3 | 30 A | Dryers, multi-wire circuits | About 40 lb per conductor |
| 8/2 | 40 A | Ranges, subpanel feeds | About 63 lb per conductor |
| 6/2 | 55 A | Ranges, larger equipment | About 80 lb per conductor |
Where reviewing NM-B still makes sense
There are three situations where NM-B is worth a proper look. The first is unopened coils: a 250 ft or 1,000 ft coil still banded with its label can go back into a builder's stock, and the copper content is only part of what it is worth. The second is a cancelled or completed tract job, where a builder is left with several full coils of 14/2 and 12/2 in the colors a house actually uses. The third is a mixed load, where a few part coils of NM-B ride along with a larger quantity of THHN or MC and are priced as part of the whole.
What does not work is a pickup truck full of renovation offcuts. Those lengths were cut at boxes, the jacket is stapled and torn, and there is no run long enough to install. They are still bought, but as recovery material at a copper price rather than a cable price, and freight usually eats the difference unless the load is large.
- The coil label, including the length and the conductor configuration
- The jacket print, which gives the size and the UL listing
- Whether the coil is still banded or has been opened and rewound
- A cut end showing conductor count and the bare ground
- The full pile, so the proportion of long coils to offcuts is visible
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 719; NEC Article 334 |
|---|---|
| Voltage rating | 600 V |
| Conductors | Copper only, solid in 14 to 10 AWG and stranded in 8 and 6 AWG |
| Configurations | Two or three insulated conductors plus a bare equipment ground |
| Size range | 14/2 through 6/3 |
| Temperature | Conductors rated 90 C, but ampacity is limited to the 60 C column by NEC 334.80 |
| Jacket | PVC with a paper separator between the jacket and the conductors |
| Color code | White for 14 AWG, yellow for 12, orange for 10, black for 8 and 6 |
Constructions
NM-B lots we review
The difference between a good NM-B lot and a bad one is almost entirely about length, and length is easy to see.
Unopened builder coils
250 or 1,000 ft coils still banded, in 14/2 and 12/2, from an over-ordered or cancelled job. The only category that reliably prices as cable.
Part coils from a service van
Coils with 50 to 150 ft left, labels readable. Useful to a small contractor and worth more than scrap, but only just.
Renovation offcuts
Lengths cut at every box, jacket torn and stapled. Recovery material, and usually only economic as part of a larger load.
Mixed gauge pallets
14/2, 12/2, 12/3 and 10/3 together. Sorting by size and color is worth doing before the material is moved.
Old two-conductor without ground
Pre-1960s cable with no equipment ground. Not usable for new branch circuits; bought on copper content alone.
New York
NM-B in the New York market
NM-B is a suburban and rural material in New York. The state's housing outside the densest boroughs is overwhelmingly wood frame, and every one of those houses is wired in Romex, repaired in Romex and extended in Romex. That gives the family enormous volume and very little unit value: the material is produced in millions of feet, sold by every supply house, and left over on nearly every job.
The market for used NM-B is thin because a contractor buying cable wants a coil with a label and a known length, not a bundle of offcuts. That is not a reason to throw it away, but it is a reason to set expectations. A seller with a pallet of unopened coils has a saleable lot; a seller with a bin of 10 ft pieces has a copper load, and the honest description of which one it is saves everyone a wasted visit.
What helps a New York lot move
- Size and configuration as printed, for example 12/2 or 10/3
- Length of each coil, and whether it is still banded
- Whether the material is new surplus or stripped out of a house
- The proportion of full coils to offcuts in the load
- Storage: indoors, or outdoors where the jacket has gone brittle
Seller questions
Questions sellers ask
Why is NM-B worth less per pound than other cable?
Because a high proportion of its weight is PVC jacket, paper separator and air rather than copper. A 12/2 coil can be more than a third jacket and filler by weight. Add the fact that most surplus NM-B is short offcuts with no reuse value, and the family ends up at the bottom of the value table.
Is it worth selling a few part coils of Romex?
Usually only as part of a larger load. A single part coil of 12/2 has some value to a small contractor, but the handling and freight rarely justify a collection on their own. Several part coils together, or a mixed load with other cable, changes the arithmetic.
Can NM-B be reused in a renovation?
Rarely. Cable removed from a wall is cut at every box, stapled through the jacket and often too short to reinstall. New surplus coils are a different matter and can be reused wherever NM-B is permitted, which in New York means wood-frame residential and similar construction rather than commercial work.
Why is NM-B not used in New York City commercial buildings?
The city's electrical code restricts nonmetallic-sheathed cable to a narrow set of residential occupancies, and commercial construction there uses conduit, MC or AC. Upstate and suburban jurisdictions follow the state code more closely, so NM-B is common in houses and small wood-frame buildings outside the city.
Does the jacket color mean anything?
Yes. Manufacturers use white for 14 AWG, yellow for 12 AWG, orange for 10 AWG and black for 8 and 6 AWG, so the color tells you the gauge before you read the print. It is a convenience rather than a rule, and the print on the jacket is still the authority.
Keep reading
Related pages
- Armored cable buyersThe armoured branch-circuit alternative for older housing
- SER and SEU cable buyersService cable from the same residential work
- THHN and THWN wire buyersConduit wire, and a better value per pound
- Copper wire buyersWhat offcuts are actually worth
- Contractor leftover buyersJob-end coils of every family
- Partial reel buyersPart coils and how they are priced
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