THHN / THWN building wire
THHN and THWN are the most common leftover wire on any commercial or industrial job.
Wire we buy
We buy surplus bare and insulated copper wire
Bare copper grounding conductor, insulated copper wire and welding cable are the most consistently valuable surplus in any electrical shop. Clean, tagged, copper-only lots move quickly.
01Overview
What Bare and insulated copper surplus usually is
Bare copper is used for grounding electrodes, bonding jumpers, ground rings and lightning protection. Insulated copper covers everything from control and building wire to machine tool wire and welding cable. Both are conductor-heavy, so their value tracks the copper content far more closely than insulated aluminum does.
We buy copper wire as wire, not as scrap. That distinction matters: a tagged reel of 2/0 bare copper that can be used again is worth more than the same copper melted down, and we price it that way.
02Specifications
What we need to identify the material
| Common constructions | Bare soft or hard-drawn copper, tinned copper, THHN/THWN copper, XHHW copper, welding cable, grounding electrode conductor |
|---|---|
| Typical sizes | #14 through 4/0, plus 250 – 750 MCM bare and insulated |
| Forms | Solid and stranded, concentric and compressed strand |
| Packaging we see | Reels, spools, coils, cartons, loose coils tied and labelled |
| Condition | New surplus, unused, overstock, or clean used where declared |
Send these with the quote request
- Photos of the reel tags, spool labels or printed jacket legend so the wire type can be read exactly.
- One photo of the whole reel, spool or pallet so quantity and packaging are visible.
- Gauge or MCM, conductor metal (copper or aluminum), voltage rating and conductor count where known.
- Approximate footage, reel count or total weight, plus the condition and how it is stored.
- City and ZIP code where the material sits, plus loading access (dock, forklift, ground level).
03Details
How this material is quoted
Keep copper and aluminum separate
Mixing copper and aluminum in one unlabelled pile makes a lot harder to price and slower to move. If your surplus is already separated, say so — it is a genuine advantage. If it is mixed, tell us roughly how much of each you think there is.
Welding cable
Welding cable is a fine-strand flexible copper cable with a tough jacket, common in fabrication shops, maintenance trucks and construction sites. Sizes like #2, #1, 1/0 and 2/0 in 50 to 500 foot lengths are typical. Frayed ends and oil-soaked jackets reduce value but do not automatically disqualify a lot.
Bare copper in utility and industrial work
Substation ground grids, wind-project grounding, pipeline bonding and plant grounding upgrades all produce offcut and surplus bare copper. Offcuts under a few feet are generally not worth a quote; continuous coils and full reels are.
04Questions
Bare and insulated copper questions sellers ask
Do you buy copper wire as scrap?
We buy usable wire and cable. General scrap metal and mixed debris are outside what we do, and we will tell you when a lot is really a scrap lot rather than a wire lot.
What about tinned or plated copper?
It is quotable, but list it separately and note the plating. Tinned conductor is common in marine and some industrial cable and prices differently from bare bright copper.
05Request a quote
Quote your bare and insulated copper lot
Tell us the size, metal, voltage and footage, and attach photos of the tags. If something is unknown, leave it blank and describe it in the notes.
Selling bare and insulated copper in Wyoming?
Send the reel details and photos. We will tell you what the lot is worth and how a pickup would work.
06Keep reading
Related wire and cable
XHHW and XHHW-2
XHHW and XHHW-2 appear on feeders, service entrances, rooftop units and industrial power runs, often in sizes from #6 up to 750 MCM.
Wyoming service areas
Find the corridor your material sits in, from Cheyenne to Cody.