We buy surplus control cable
Conductor count decides more about control cable than footage does. A reel of 19-conductor is a different asset from a reel of 4-conductor, whatever the lengths say.
Send the lot
Six details are enough to start: what the cable is, how much there is, where it is and what condition it is in. Photos can follow by text or email.
Prefer to talk 954-740-1983Control cable for plants runs at 600 V, in 14 AWG and 12 AWG, from 2 conductor up to 37, shielded and unshielded, with and without a drain wire. Most of it comes out of motor control centers, panel replacements and plant upgrades where the wiring was cut to a drawing that has since changed.
Sizes run from 18 AWG through 10 AWG across the lots we see, and the small conductor counts move fastest. A reel of 7-conductor or 12-conductor with a few hundred feet on it is the sort of thing another integrator will take, which is why the count is read before the length.
Conductor count is the first thing we read
A control cable is described by its count before anything else: 2-conductor for a simple start-stop, 7 and 12 for a skid, 19 and 37 for a marshalling panel. Two reels of identical gauge and footage can sit far apart in usefulness because of that number alone.
So the reel list should lead with the count. Write 14 AWG 12-conductor, not just 14 AWG, and note whether a ground conductor is included in the count. That one detail causes more confusion in a surplus list than any other.
Shields, drain wires and cable cut from a panel
Shielded control cable carries a foil or braid over the conductors, with a drain wire to terminate it. The shield is what keeps a drive or a radio out of a signal, and its condition matters. A torn foil or a drain wire pulled back at the end is noted.
Cable cut out of a live panel usually arrives in short lengths with one end dressed and the other cut. Those are still useful, but they are read as removed material rather than as new surplus. Say which is which, since a mixed pallet otherwise gets the lower read across the whole lot.
Partial reels after a plant upgrade
A plant upgrade rarely leaves full reels. It leaves the reel the electrician was working from, with a hundred or three hundred feet still on it, and a stack of short cut-offs beside it. That is the normal shape of a control cable lot and it is fine.
We take the reels and the cut lengths together and sort by count and gauge. If the tags are gone, the print on the jacket identifies the cable. Where a pallet holds a dozen different counts, a written list is worth more than photographs, so start there.
What this page covers
The rows a buyer would fill in when reviewing this kind of lot. If your cable matches most of them, the submission is ready.
| Voltage rating | 600 V |
|---|---|
| Configurations | 2 to 37 conductor, shielded and unshielded |
| Sizes reviewed | 18 AWG to 10 AWG |
| Condition accepted | New surplus, partial reel, removed |
| Site type | Plants, water treatment, material handling |
Water treatment and plant work along the Colorado
The water and wastewater plants that serve Austin, Round Rock, Pflugerville and Georgetown are steady sources of control cable, because a plant upgrade touches every panel in the building. A single filter or clarifier project can leave a dozen partial reels.
Add the manufacturing plants along I-35 and the material handling builds near the airport, and the category fills out. Integrators and panel builders in the area also clear out cut-offs when a cabinet job ends, and those lots tend to be well labeled.
Sellers ask
Do you need the conductor count on every reel?
It is the most useful thing you can give us. Where the tag is missing, the print on the jacket carries the count, and we read it from there. A written list with count, gauge and footage per reel speeds up the review more than anything else.
Is cable cut out of a panel acceptable?
Yes. Removed control cable is common and is bought as its own category. Short lengths with one dressed end are read as removed material, so keep them apart from unused reels. The two together get a mixed read that does neither justice.
What about cable with a damaged shield?
It is still bought, but it is read as recovery or as short-length material rather than as reusable. Note the damage on the reel list. A shield that has been torn back at the end can often be dressed again, and that is checked before the lot is valued.
Send the reel list
Six details are enough to start: what the cable is, how much there is, where it is and what condition it is in. Photos can follow by text or email.
Prefer to talk 954-740-1983