We buy surplus XHHW and XHHW-2 wire

Where THHN is a branch-circuit material, XHHW is what feeds a panel, a switchboard or a piece of equipment. It comes in larger sizes, it is bought on full reels more often than on spools, and it holds up better in damp locations, which is exactly why it is specified so widely here.

Surplus tends to be concentrated. A switchboard replacement leaves a reel of four aught that was never cut. A panel change leaves a reel of two aught. Those reels are the highest-value routine items on an industrial job, and they are worth listing individually rather than as a pile.

Sizes, metals and the two voltage ratings

The range runs from fourteen gauge to seven hundred and fifty kcmil in both copper and aluminum, and the two metals are reviewed on different terms. Aluminum is used where weight and length make copper impractical, and it needs to be listed separately for that reason alone.

Voltage rating is the other split. Six hundred volt is the common building wire. Two kilovolt constructions appear on industrial distribution and are a different item entirely, reviewed on their own. Read the print and note the rating rather than assuming from the reel size.

Feeder reels from switchboard and panel replacements

A switchboard change is planned with an allowance, and the allowance often comes back on the reel. Those reels are cut at one end, sometimes at both, and the remaining length is still substantial. Measure what is left rather than quoting the delivered length, and note whether the end was sealed.

Panel replacements produce smaller quantities: a partial reel of two aught, a coil of one aught, a few pieces cut for a run. Those are worth gathering up rather than leaving in the electrical room, where they are usually found by the demolition crew months later.

Wet-location rating, outdoor storage and respooled reels

The minus two suffix is the wet-location rating, and it matters when a reel has spent a summer outdoors. A reel that sat in the rain with an open end will have water inside the strands of a stranded conductor, and that shows when the end is cut back. Say how it was stored before the reel is inspected.

The other question is provenance. A factory reel has a label, a band and a consistent wrap. A respooled reel has a hand-wound look, a different drum and often no label at all. Respooled wire is reviewed on the wraps and the print, not on a tag that no longer describes it.

Plants along SH-71 east of the airport and the industrial parks south of the river run XHHW in the large sizes, and their maintenance stores hold partial reels from years of panel changes. A store cleanout there can produce a substantial lot in one visit.

Data hall work along SH-130 uses the same wire in volume, often in copper at four aught and above, and a completed phase leaves reels that were bought for a specific switchboard. Both kinds of site are reviewed the same way, with the reel list sent ahead.