Copper and aluminum cable: what changes the offer
Two reels of the same diameter can be worth very different amounts, and the reason starts with conductivity and ends with how each metal is recovered.
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 954-740-1983Copper and aluminum do the same job at different sizes. Aluminum conducts less well per unit of area, so a run that needs one size in copper needs roughly two steps up in aluminum. That single fact drives everything else about a mixed lot, from drum count to how it travels.
We buy both around Greater Austin and we review them differently. The metal decides the route as much as the jacket does, and mixing the two in one pile makes the review worse for both. Separate pallets take nothing but a morning, a marker and two clear bays.
Same ampacity, different conductor size
Aluminum carries roughly sixty percent of the current copper does at the same cross section, which is why a feeder specified in aluminum is built larger. On a surplus lot that means fewer feet of cable for the same ampacity, and a reel that looks identical holds less capacity than it appears to.
Read the tag for both metal and size. A reel marked 350 kcmil aluminum is not interchangeable with 350 kcmil copper, and the mistake shows up at terminations rather than in the drum. Say which metal is on the reel in the first line of your list.
Conductor weight and the truck
Aluminum weighs about a third of what copper weighs for the same volume, which changes how a reel is handled, how many reels fit a trailer and whether a drum can be moved by hand. A copper reel of the same diameter can be three times the load.
That matters on the way out. A lot described as thirty reels may be one truck or three depending on the metal and the drum size. Tell us both, along with the yard access, and the logistics stop being a guess made at the gate on the morning of the pickup.
Terminations, corrosion and recovery
Aluminum oxidizes immediately in air, and the oxide resists current. Cable that sat with open ends in a damp yard has oxidized conductor under the jacket end, and a reuse buyer will cut back until the strands come up bright. Copper does not suffer the same way to the same degree.
That is why aluminum lots land on recovery more often. Keep the two metals apart, on separate pallets and separate lines, and never weigh them together. A mixed pile is sorted at the yard, and the sorting is work that has to be accounted for.
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.
| What we review | Metal, size, stranding, jacket, cut ends |
|---|---|
| Typical lots | Mixed job surplus, separated by metal |
| Voltage classes | 600 V through 35 kV, both metals |
| Condition accepted | Bright conductor, oxidized ends, recovery |
| Documentation | Tag photos, metal noted per reel |
| Handling | Weighed by metal, never combined |
Which metal turns up where in Central Texas
Service and feeder work in the region runs both ways. Aluminum dominates large feeders, overhead and URD, and most utility conductor. Copper holds on in branch circuits, grounding, control and the smaller feeders, plus most of the temporary power on a construction site.
That mix means a single Austin job can produce both, often on the same pallet. Sorting by metal before the lot is listed is the simplest improvement a seller can make, and it takes nothing but a morning with a marker and two clear bays.
Sellers ask
Can I put copper and aluminum on the same pallet?
Better not to. They are reviewed on different routes and weighed separately, and a mixed pallet has to be sorted before either part can be judged. Separate pallets and separate lines on the list.
Is aluminum cable worth collecting at all?
Yes. Large aluminum feeders and utility conductor are the bulk of many lots. It is usually reviewed as recovery rather than reuse, and the volume still counts for a great deal.
How do I tell the two apart quickly?
Weight and color at a cut end, and the tag. Aluminum is light and silver, copper is heavy and red. On a sealed reel the tag or the jacket print settles it, so read those before cutting anything.
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