Service entrance cable, round and oval
SER and SEU service entrance cable buyers in New York
Service entrance cable is the cable between the utility and the panel, and between one panel and the next. Two shapes, one family, and a value that depends almost entirely on whether the conductor is aluminum or copper.
Sell this cable
Send the construction, size and footage. Photographs can follow.
Prefer to talk? 614-715-3047 · saleselectricalbuyers@gmail.com
Type SE is covered by UL 854 and NEC Article 338 and rated 600 V. SEU is the oval style with two insulated conductors and a concentric neutral wrapped around them; SER is the round style with two to four conductors and a bare ground. Aluminum from 6 AWG to 4/0 and beyond dominates residential work. Value turns on metal, conductor count, length and the condition of the jacket and bare neutral.
Two shapes, one family
SEU is the oval cable that most people picture when they think of a service entrance: two insulated conductors side by side with a bare neutral spiralled around the outside, the whole assembly jacketed into a flattened oval. It runs from the weatherhead or the meter to the panel, and the concentric neutral is both the grounded conductor and, in the sizes used residentially, the grounding path back to the utility transformer.
SER is the round version, with two, three or four insulated conductors and a bare ground laid up in a circular assembly under a round jacket. It is the cable that feeds a subpanel, a range, a dryer or a garage, and it is the one that turns up most often as surplus because it is bought by the coil for jobs that rarely use a whole coil. Both are 600 V and both are listed to UL 854 under NEC Article 338, but they are not interchangeable in physical terms: SEU will not bend into a tight panel the way SER will, and SER needs a connector sized for its round jacket.
Why aluminum SER is everywhere, and how to tell it apart
Aluminum won the residential service because it is lighter and cheaper than copper at the sizes involved. A 4/0 copper service conductor is heavy enough to need two people on a pull and expensive enough to change the job economics; the aluminum equivalent is neither. Under NEC 310.15(B)(7) a dwelling service conductor may be sized at 83 per cent of the service rating, which is why 4/0 aluminum, rated 180 A at 75 C, is the standard conductor for a 200 A residential service.
Identification is straightforward once you know what to look for. Aluminum is silvery at a cut end and much lighter in the hand than its diameter suggests. The jacket print usually says AL or ALUMINUM and names the alloy series, which for building wire must be AA-8000. The conductor is also larger in diameter for the same ampacity, so a 4/0 aluminum cable is visibly fatter than a 4/0 copper one. Copper is reddish at the cut, heavier, and prints CU or COPPER.
| Conductor | Aluminum at 75 C | Copper at 75 C | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AWG | 50 A | 65 A | Small subpanel, garage feed |
| 4 AWG | 65 A | 85 A | Subpanel, large equipment |
| 2 AWG | 90 A | 115 A | 100 A service or large subpanel |
| 1/0 AWG | 120 A | 150 A | 125 A service |
| 2/0 AWG | 135 A | 175 A | 150 A service |
| 3/0 AWG | 155 A | 200 A | 175 A service |
| 4/0 AWG | 180 A | 230 A | 200 A dwelling service |
Sun, water and the bare neutral
The jacket on service entrance cable is doing real work. Where the cable runs outdoors, even for a few feet between the meter and the weatherhead, the jacket must be marked sunlight resistant, and a cable that has stood in the sun for years will chalk and crack along the top surface. That is the first thing a buyer looks at, because a cracked jacket on a service cable means water has a route into the assembly.
The bare neutral is the second weak point. It is stranded aluminum or copper wrapped around the insulated conductors, and it sits in whatever water collects in the jacket. Aluminum neutral strands oxidise to a white powder that hides the metal loss underneath, and a neutral that has corroded thin is a safety issue rather than a value issue. Copper neutrals survive better but turn green. In both cases the end of the cable is where the story is readable, which is why a photograph of a cut end matters more than a description.
- The jacket print showing type, size, conductor metal and sunlight resistance
- A cut end, square, showing the conductor color and the bare neutral strands
- The outside of the coil where UV cracking and chalking show
- The coil tag or label with footage, and whether the coil is banded
- Any kink or crush point, since service cable is stiff and does not recover
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 854; NEC Article 338 |
|---|---|
| Voltage rating | 600 V |
| Styles | SEU is Style U, oval, two insulated conductors with a concentric neutral; SER is Style R, round, with a bare ground |
| Size range | 6 AWG through 4/0 and larger; SER is also made to 750 kcmil |
| Conductors | Copper or AA-8000 series aluminum; aluminum dominates the larger residential sizes |
| Insulation | XLPE or moisture-resistant thermoplastic depending on the product |
| Jacket | Sunlight-resistant PVC where marked for outdoor use |
| Typical New York sizes | 4/0 aluminum for a 200 A dwelling service; 2/0 and 1/0 for smaller services; 6 to 2 copper for subpanels |
Constructions
Service entrance lots we review
The family is small and consistent, and the categories below cover almost every lot that arrives.
4/0 aluminum SER
The standard 200 A residential service conductor, usually left over from a panel upgrade. Full coils are genuinely reusable; part coils are the normal case.
Copper SER part coils
6 to 2 AWG copper in 2, 3 or 4 conductor constructions, left from subpanel and appliance work. High copper value per foot and easy to resell in short lengths.
SEU overhead drops
Oval service cable removed when a service is relocated or a mast is replaced. Often short, weathered and stiff; reviewed on copper or aluminum content.
Removed service cable
Cable pulled out during a service upgrade. Jacket usually cracked at the bends and the neutral partly oxidised; recovery material in most cases.
Mixed panel-feeder coils
Several part coils of 6/3, 2/3 and 1/0 SER from a multi-unit job. Worth sorting by size, because the larger sizes carry the value.
New York
SER and SEU in the New York market
Most of the state's housing stock is served by cable rather than busway or conduit, and service upgrades are constant: a 100 A service replaced with 200 A, a panel moved out of a basement, a meter relocated for a renovation. Each of those jobs leaves part coils of SER, and each of them produces a length of removed SEU that goes to recovery. The pattern is steady rather than dramatic, which is why service cable is one of the most reliably available families in the state.
Geography changes the mix. New York City's conduit culture means far less SER is installed in the five boroughs than in the suburbs and upstate, where overhead services and cable-fed panels are normal. Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Capital Region and the Southern Tier produce the bulk of it, and the aluminum 4/0 coil is the single most common item in that stream.
What helps a New York lot move
- Whether the conductor is aluminum or copper, confirmed from the print
- Style and conductor count: SEU, or SER 2, 3 or 4 conductor
- Size in AWG, and the remaining footage on each coil
- Jacket condition, especially any cracking on the sun-facing side
- Whether the cable is new surplus or was removed from a service
Seller questions
Questions sellers ask
What is the difference between SER and SEU cable?
SEU is the oval style with two insulated conductors and a concentric neutral wrapped around them, used mainly for overhead service drops. SER is the round style with two to four insulated conductors and a bare ground, used for panel feeders and subpanels. Both are Type SE cable under NEC Article 338 and both are rated 600 V, but they are different shapes with different connectors.
How can I tell if my SER cable is aluminum?
Look at a cut end and at the jacket print. Aluminum is silvery and much lighter than its diameter suggests, and the print normally says AL or ALUMINUM along with the alloy series. Copper is reddish and heavier for the same ampacity. A 4/0 aluminum cable is also noticeably larger in diameter than a 4/0 copper cable.
Is used service entrance cable worth anything?
Removed service cable is usually recovery material, because the jacket is cracked at the bends and the bare neutral is oxidised. New surplus and part coils are a different matter and are priced as cable. The distinction is visible at the cut end, which is why that photograph matters.
Why is 4/0 aluminum used for a 200 A service?
Because NEC 310.15(B)(7) permits a dwelling service conductor to be sized at 83 per cent of the service rating, and 4/0 aluminum carries 180 A at 75 C, which covers that reduced figure for a 200 A service. It is the standard residential configuration across most of New York.
Can SER cable be buried?
Only where the product itself carries a direct-burial marking, and most SER does not. Underground service laterals are normally run in USE or USE-2 single conductors, or in conduit. Treating an unmarked SER coil as burial cable is a common and expensive mistake.
Keep reading
Related pages
- USE-2 cable buyersThe single-conductor cable used for underground services
- NM-B cable buyersThe interior branch-circuit cousin
- URD cable buyersUtility-side underground distribution
- Feeder cable buyersLarger feeder assemblies and subpanel feeds
- Aluminum wire buyersThe metal side of an aluminum service lot
- Copper wire buyersCopper SER and stripped conductor
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