We buy surplus submersible pump cable
Well pump cable arrives in short lengths more often than long ones, and a box of them can still add up to a real lot. List the sizes and the footage.
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 954-740-1983Submersible pump cable comes off well service trucks, ranch jobs and the shelves of pump installers from Marble Falls to Bastrop. We take flat and round constructions, 2, 3 and 4 conductor, from 14 AWG through 2 AWG, with 12/3 and 10/3 the pair we see most.
The lengths are usually modest, because a well drop is cut to the depth of the well and the remainder comes back. That is not a drawback. A service truck clearing out at the end of a season can hand over a dozen coils in three sizes, and the total is worth reviewing.
Flat jacket, round jacket and the sizes that come in
Flat cable is molded so the conductors sit side by side in one jacket, which is why it fits down a well casing without chafing. Round cable carries the same conductors in a conventional circular jacket and appears on larger pumps and on jobs where the drop is deeper.
Three-conductor with a ground is the common configuration, with 12/3 and 10/3 doing most of the work and 2/3 turning up on big agricultural pumps. Two-conductor cable appears on smaller installations, and four-conductor on three-phase pumps with a separate ground.
Why short lengths are normal and how they are added up
A well is a fixed depth, so the cable for it is cut to that depth plus the run to the control box. Whatever is left on the coil goes back on the truck. Over a season that produces a lot of forty and sixty foot lengths in the same two or three sizes.
We sort by size and conductor count, then total the footage in each group. A single forty-foot length of 12/3 is not much on its own. Thirty of them, banded and labeled, is a straightforward lot with a clear use for the next well.
Jacket damage from a wet well and a truck clear-out
Cable that has been down a well comes back with a story on the jacket: scuffs from the casing, a splice that was taped and later cut out, and water inside the jacket at an open end. We look at the ends first, since water travels and the copper tells you what happened.
New surplus from a truck clear-out is the cleanest material in this category. Coils still banded with the length printed on the wrapper need almost no review. If a pump installer is closing a truck box or retiring, that is the lot to send in whole.
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, 3 and 4 conductor, flat and round |
| Sizes reviewed | 14 AWG to 2 AWG |
| Condition accepted | New surplus, partial coil, removed |
| Site type | Well service, ranch and rural properties |
Wells and ranches across the Hill Country counties
West and north of Austin the ground is limestone and the water comes from wells. Hays, Burnet and Blanco county properties run submersible pumps as a matter of course, and every one of those installations leaves leftover cable on a service truck or in a barn.
East toward Bastrop and Caldwell the wells are fewer but the ranches are larger, and the pumps are bigger. We cover the whole arc from Johnson City across to Elgin, and a lot that sits in a barn on a county road is normal rather than unusual.
Sellers ask
Do you take cable that came out of a well?
Yes, including cable that has been in service. It is reviewed on the jacket and the ends rather than on length alone. Cut the end square and photograph it, since water that travelled up the strands will show at the copper.
Are short pump cable lengths worth collecting?
They are, if they are kept apart by size. A single short length is not much, but a season of leftovers in 12/3 and 10/3 adds up quickly. Band them by size and write the footage on a tag and the lot becomes easy to review.
Can you pick up from a ranch outside town?
Yes. Tell us the gate, the road surface and whether a trailer can turn around. The truck is booked once terms are agreed, and the vehicle is chosen for the access. A coil of pump cable does not need much, but a pallet does.
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