Underground service entrance cable
USE-2 cable buyers in New York
USE-2 is the single conductor that goes into the ground and comes up at the other end. One conductor, one jacket, and a value that depends on metal, length and how the ends were treated.
Sell this cable
Send the construction, size and footage. Photographs can follow.
Prefer to talk? 614-715-3047 · saleselectricalbuyers@gmail.com
USE-2 is a single-conductor 600 V cable with XLPE insulation, rated for direct burial and marked sunlight resistant. It runs from 4 AWG to 500 kcmil in copper and aluminum, and it is often dual-marked RHW-2/USE-2. It serves outbuildings, pedestals and solar arrays. Value is set by conductor metal and size, remaining length, and whether water reached the stranding at the ends.
One conductor, several identities
USE-2 is a single insulated conductor with no overall assembly, which is why it is so often dual-marked. The same cable may carry RHW-2, USE-2 and XHHW-2 on its print, because it meets the requirements of all three: 600 V, 90 C, wet location, sunlight resistant, direct burial. The multiple markings are not marketing, they are what allows one product to be sold into several applications and stocked as a single item.
That matters at resale. A reel printed RHW-2/USE-2 can be used in a raceway, in a duct, direct buried, or as a service lateral, which widens the pool of buyers. A reel printed USE only is narrower. Read the print and quote it, because the same copper at the same size can be worth more with the wider marking.
Where USE-2 runs in New York
The classic use is the underground service lateral: from a pole or a pad-mounted transformer to a meter pedestal, or from a meter to a detached garage, barn or workshop. It is also the standard conductor for feeding outbuildings and pumps where a trench is cheaper than a conduit run, and it appears in commercial work as a buried feeder to a sign, a gate or a parking-lot panel.
The newer use is solar. Direct-current conductors on ground-mounted and commercial rooftop arrays are commonly USE-2 or a dual-rated RHW-2/USE-2, run in conduit or tray and exposed to weather at the transition points. New York's community solar buildout upstate has put a lot of this cable into circulation, and when a project is resized or a phase is dropped, the surplus arrives as part reels of 1/0 to 500 kcmil aluminum.
| Size | Aluminum, 75 C | Copper, 75 C | Where USE-2 at this size is used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 AWG | 65 A | 85 A | Small outbuilding feed |
| 2 AWG | 90 A | 115 A | Garage or workshop subpanel |
| 1/0 AWG | 120 A | 150 A | Service lateral, small building |
| 2/0 AWG | 135 A | 175 A | Service lateral |
| 4/0 AWG | 180 A | 230 A | 200 A service lateral |
| 250 kcmil | 205 A | 255 A | Commercial lateral, solar feeder |
| 350 kcmil | 250 A | 310 A | Larger commercial and array feeders |
| 500 kcmil | 310 A | 380 A | Heavy lateral and array feeder |
Sunlight, abrasion and wet ends
XLPE is a tough insulation and sunlight resistance is usually built into a USE-2 product, but the marking is what counts. Cable that has been stored outdoors for years will chalk on the surface even when it is marked, and a reel that has been dragged across gravel will have scuffed insulation on the outer wrap. Scuffs on a single-conductor cable are more serious than on a jacketed assembly, because the insulation is the only barrier between the conductor and the soil.
The ends are the other issue. A part reel stored with the end open on a wet floor will wick water along the stranding, and aluminum will oxidise into a white powder that has to be cut back before termination. A reel with taped or heat-shrink-capped ends is worth more than the same reel left open, not because the tape costs anything but because it tells a buyer the cable was looked after.
- The full print, including the dual markings and the sunlight-resistant wording
- The reel tag with footage, size and conductor material
- A cut end showing the conductor and whether the strands are bright
- The outer wrap, where abrasion and UV chalking show
- How the ends are finished, capped or left open
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.
| Type | Underground service entrance cable, single conductor |
|---|---|
| Voltage rating | 600 V |
| Insulation | XLPE, sunlight resistant and rated for wet locations |
| Size range | 4 AWG through 500 kcmil |
| Conductors | Copper or AA-8000 series aluminum |
| Temperature | 90 C in wet and dry locations for the -2 rating |
| Common dual markings | RHW-2/USE-2 and XHHW-2/USE-2, which widen where the cable can be used |
| Installation | Direct burial, in conduit underground, or in cable tray outdoors where marked |
Constructions
USE-2 lots we review
Single-conductor jobs leave single-conductor surplus, and the categories are unusually clean.
Solar project part reels
1/0 to 500 kcmil aluminum left when an array was resized. Usually well documented, often dual-marked, and the best category in this family.
Service lateral surplus
4/0 aluminum and 2 AWG copper left from a service installation. Long lengths, clean ends, straightforward reuse.
Outbuilding feeds
Single reels of 2 to 1/0 bought for a barn, garage or workshop and partly used. Small quantities, good condition.
Pulled lateral cable
Cable dug up during a service change. Insulation usually scuffed and the ends wet; recovery material in most cases.
Mixed single-conductor reels
Several sizes on separate reels from one job. Worth keeping separate, because a 500 kcmil reel and a 4 AWG reel are not the same handling problem.
New York
USE-2 in the New York market
Rural and exurban New York runs on buried single conductor. Farms, camps, workshops, wells and outbuildings are all fed by direct-buried cable because trenching is cheaper than stringing overhead and far cheaper than conduit. The Adirondack and Catskill edges, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier counties produce a steady trickle of part reels from that work.
The solar side is newer and larger. Utility-scale and community solar projects upstate buy USE-2 and dual-rated RHW-2/USE-2 by the reel, and a redesign, a deferred phase or a change in the DC string layout leaves whole or part reels behind. Those reels are usually tagged, usually aluminum, and often in the 1/0 to 500 kcmil range, which makes them one of the more straightforward lots to price from a photograph.
What helps a New York lot move
- Conductor material and size, with the print quoted rather than paraphrased
- The full type marking, including any RHW-2 or XHHW-2 dual rating
- Footage on the reel and whether the reel is still banded
- How the cut ends were finished, and whether the reel sat under cover
- Whether the cable came from a solar project, a service or a pull-out
Seller questions
Questions sellers ask
What is USE-2 cable used for?
Underground service laterals, feeders to outbuildings, and direct-current solar circuits. It is a single conductor rated 600 V, suitable for direct burial and wet locations, and often dual-marked RHW-2 or XHHW-2 so it can also be run in conduit or tray.
What is the difference between USE and USE-2?
The temperature and wet-location rating. USE-2 carries a 90 C rating in wet and dry locations, while the older USE designation is more limited. Most cable made today is USE-2 or dual-marked, and the print on the jacket states which rating applies.
Can USE-2 be used indoors?
Only where the marking permits it. A dual-marked RHW-2/USE-2 conductor can generally be used in a raceway indoors, but USE-only cable is intended for underground and outdoor service. The print on the jacket decides, which is why the full marking should be quoted in a listing.
Is aluminum USE-2 worth selling?
Yes, particularly at 1/0 and above. Aluminum is the common material for solar and service laterals, and a part reel of 4/0 or 500 kcmil aluminum is a straightforward resale item. It has to be identified by size and footage, and the ends should be bright rather than heavily oxidised.
How much does sunlight damage matter on USE-2?
More than on jacketed assemblies, because the insulation is the only barrier. Cable marked sunlight resistant survives outdoor storage well, but years of exposure still chalk the surface and can craze it. A bend test on a sample shows whether the insulation is still flexible.
Keep reading
Related pages
- URD cable buyersMedium voltage distribution cable for the same trenches
- SER and SEU cable buyersThe above-ground service cable
- Solar PV cable buyersThe array wiring that often accompanies it
- Aluminum wire buyersMost USE-2 surplus is aluminum
- Copper wire buyersCopper USE-2 and stripped conductor
- Medium voltage cable buyersWhere the voltage class goes above 600 V
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