Wire Types ยท Instrument Cable
We buy instrumentation cable.
Instrument cable is a documentation lot. Pair count, shield type and the print matter more than the copper, and a reel with its label is worth more than the same reel without.
Call or text the buying desk954-740-1983
ConductorsMulti-pair, 16 to 18 AWG
ShieldOverall, individual, drain
Common lotPart reels of 8 to 12 pair
Print that mattersPair count and shield
Get a buy quote
Send the reel list. A buyer reads it.
Six details are enough to start. Tags and photos can follow by text or email once a buyer has looked at the basics.
- A buyer reviews the lot: construction, footage and condition, not only metal weight
- Copper and aluminium, 600 V building wire through 345 kV cable
- Full reels, partial reels, cut lengths, pallets and truckloads
- No fee, no obligation, and no automatic pickup
Reel list · Instrument Cable
Reviewed by a buyerTell us what you have and where it sits. Nothing is moved until written lot terms are agreed.
Instrumentation cable carries low-level signals: 4-20 mA loops, thermocouples, RTDs. Multi-pair, 16 to 18 AWG in most plant work, with individual or overall shields and a drain wire, twisted pairs, and often a thermoset jacket for tray and wet locations.
It comes out of process plants, water and wastewater work, and the metering and service yards of the Eagle Ford belt. What a seller has is usually a part reel of eight or twelve pairs and a box of cuts from a loop package that changed after the cable was bought.
01
Where instrument cable is used here
Anything measured has instrument cable on it. A plant measures flow, level, pressure and temperature, a water plant measures the same things on a smaller scale, and a metering skid measures gas. Each loop needs a pair, and each pair needs a shield if the environment is electrically noisy, which in a plant it always is.
- Transmitter and flow meter loops
- Thermocouple and RTD temperature runs
- Valve position and feedback signals
- Analyser and water quality instruments
- Metering and custody transfer skids
02
Pairs, shields and drains
A pair count tells you how many loops a reel can serve, and it is the first number a buyer asks for. Shield construction comes second: an overall foil with a drain wire is the common plant grade, individual shields per pair suit lower-level signals, and a braided shield is a different product again.
The drain wire is small and easy to lose, and a reel where the drain has been cut back to nothing is a compromised reel. It still carries a price, but not the same one.
03
What a loop package leaves behind
Loop packages are bought per instrument, and the count changes when instruments are value-engineered out. That leaves part reels of a pair count nobody needs, which is why so much instrument cable sits in racks while the plant buys a different count for the next job.
- Part reels of 4, 8 and 12 pair
- Cuts from a re-routed loop
- Thermocouple extension on small reels
- Cable with the overall shield opened
- Older cable from an analogue upgrade
04
Why thermocouple and RTD cable price apart
Thermocouple extension cable is made of the same alloys as the thermocouple itself, so a reel of type K extension is not copper cable and cannot be valued as one. RTD cable is usually three or four copper conductors and prices closer to ordinary instrument cable.
Grade matters as much as type on thermocouple wire. Extension grade and thermocouple grade look alike and are marked differently, and the marking decides how the reel is treated.
| Product | Range | Condition we take |
|---|---|---|
| Overall shielded, tray rated | 16 to 18 AWG, 2 to 24 pair | Full reel, part reel |
| Individual pair shields | 16 to 18 AWG, 4 to 12 pair | Reel with tag |
| Unshielded multi-pair | 16 to 18 AWG | Reel, long cut |
| Thermocouple extension | Type J, K, T | Small reel, tagged |
| RTD cable | Three and four conductor | Coil, part reel |
Questions
Answers before you send anything.
If your question is not here, call the desk. A buyer answers, not a call centre.
What do you need to know about an instrument reel?
Pair count, gauge, shield type, voltage rating and footage. All five are usually printed on the jacket, and a photograph of that print plus the reel tag is enough to quote without the reel leaving the shelf.
Is a reel with the shield cut back still bought?
Yes, at a lower value. An opened shield or a missing drain wire limits the reel to non-critical work, and a buyer prices that limitation. Send a photo of the cut end so the damage is clear rather than discovered later.
Do you buy thermocouple wire separately?
We do, and it should be kept apart from copper instrument cable. Thermocouple extension is an alloy product, valued on type and grade rather than on copper weight, and mixing the two in one box loses value on both.
How is footage verified on a part reel of instrument cable?
By tag, by turn count and by weight. The pair count and gauge give us a conductor weight per thousand feet, and weighing the reel against an empty drum of the same size confirms what the tag claims.
Keep reading
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No fee · no obligation
You have the cable. We have a scale and a check.
Send the reel list, the tags or a photograph of the pallet. A buyer comes back with what the lot is worth and how pickup would work, before anything is moved.
954-740-1983 Call or text
- Reel tags, or the print on the jacket
- Reel count and footage, even roughly
- Where it sits and what can reach it
- Whether the cable is still energised