We buy feeder cable.

Between switchgear, MCC and panel

A feeder is defined by what it connects rather than by its construction. On the drawing it sits downstream of the service and upstream of the final branch circuit, and it is protected by a breaker sized for the load it serves rather than for the equipment at the far end.

Constructions run from 8 AWG up to 750 MCM in three and four conductor assemblies with a ground, in copper or aluminium. The insulation is usually XHHW-2 or a similar cross-linked product, with a PVC jacket on the multi-conductor versions. Some of it is tray rated, some is built for conduit and some is direct burial rated.

The larger sizes dominate the surplus. A 4/0 or 500 MCM feeder ordered for a chiller or a switchboard is bought on a reel with a fixed length, and if the run shortens during construction the balance is a heavy item nobody wants to store. A 750 MCM reel is not something a contractor keeps on the off chance.

• 8 AWG to 750 MCM, three and four conductor with ground
• Copper and aluminium, stranded throughout
• 600 V and 1 kV ratings
• XHHW-2 or XLPE insulation with a PVC jacket
• Tray rated, conduit and direct burial constructions

Length, terminations and the end of a run

Feeder is bought for a measured run, which means the leftover is almost always short. A reel that shipped with 1,000 ft and has 240 ft on it is the normal shape of this lot, and the 240 ft is worth reviewing only if someone can use it as a single length.

That is why continuous length matters more here than total footage. Three pieces of 80 ft are not the same as one piece of 240 ft, because every splice in a feeder is a point of failure and an inspection item. The wrap count on the reel, or the tag figure minus what the job used, establishes the remainder well enough to start.

Terminations tell the second half of the story. Cable cut out of service with compression lugs still fitted shows the conductor size and how it was worked. Cable with the ends sealed and the factory wrap intact was never installed. Both are bought, and the difference is graded rather than argued.

If the ends are sealed and the factory wrap is still on the reel, say so. It is the strongest single fact about a feeder lot.

Copper and aluminium in the same lot

A plant store room rarely holds one metal only. Copper feeder and aluminium feeder sit on the same rack, often in the same size, and the difference is printed on the conductor or visible at the cut end. Aluminium is bright silver when freshly cut and dulls to a pale grey; copper is unmistakable.

The two are graded on separate bases. Aluminium carries less metal content per foot for the same ampacity and is judged more strictly on how the ends have been treated. Copper is more forgiving of storage and easier to place in a second application. Neither is better in the abstract; the drawings decide.

Mixed lots are fine, and they are common from a single shutdown. Keeping the two metals on separate pallets and listing them separately saves a step that otherwise happens during inspection, and it produces a cleaner answer for both halves. It also makes loading simpler, since equal sizes do not weigh the same.

• Copper feeder, listed separately by size and length
• Aluminium feeder, with the alloy and construction if known
• Single lengths versus multiple cut pieces
• New surplus or removed from service

Preparing a feeder lot for pickup

Send the size, conductor material, conductor count, voltage rating and the length on each reel. Add the condition, and where the reel has been stored. Photographs of the tag, the jacket print and a cut end will usually finish the description without anyone needing to visit first. A message with those facts gets a real answer.

Handling is the practical constraint. A full reel of 500 MCM is a crane or a large forklift job, and a yard with a gravel apron and no equipment is a different plan from a loading dock with a ramp. Say what is on site and whether the truck can reach the reel where it stands.

If the cable is still connected at one end, it has to be disconnected and made safe by the owner before it moves. That work is not part of a collection, and a lot that is free and clear at the first message moves much faster than one that needs a crew to release it.