Wire Types ยท Submersible Pump Cable
We buy submersible pump cable.
Well cable comes out of the ground wet, muddy and coiled wrong, and that is the normal condition rather than a fault. We buy it on footage and on copper content.
Call or text the buying desk954-740-1983
Voltage class600 V
ConductorsThree-wire and four-wire
Sizes14 AWG to 2 AWG
Common lotPulled at a pump change
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- Copper and aluminium, 600 V building wire through 345 kV cable
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Reel list · Pump Cable
Reviewed by a buyerTell us what you have and where it sits. Nothing is moved until written lot terms are agreed.
Submersible pump cable is the flat or round cable that hangs down a well casing to a pump. Three-wire is two power conductors and a ground; four-wire adds the control conductor a constant-pressure system needs. From 14 AWG to 2 AWG, 600 V, rated for direct burial and for sitting in water for years.
Hill Country wells around Boerne, Bulverde and Helotes produce most of what we see, along with lift stations and irrigation pumps. A pump change leaves the old cable on the ground, usually still wet, sometimes with the splice kit still attached.
01
Where well cable comes from
Any property outside a municipal water line has a pump, and most of those pumps get changed at some point. Domestic wells on large lots, stock and irrigation pumps, and the lift stations serving small developments all use the same family of cable. Flat cable goes into tight casings; round cable goes where the run is longer.
- Domestic well pump replacements
- Irrigation and stock water pumps
- Lift station and transfer pump drops
- Constant-pressure systems with a control conductor
- Well houses rebuilt after a freeze
02
Three-wire, four-wire, flat and round
Three-wire is the ordinary domestic arrangement, with the starting components up top in the control box. Four-wire carries the control conductor down to the pump, which is what a constant-pressure or three-phase installation needs. The difference is one conductor's worth of copper and a different set of buyers, so count before you describe it.
Flat cable is moulded with the conductors in a row and slides into a casing easily. Round cable carries a jacket around the whole assembly and takes more abuse, which is why deeper sets use it.
03
What a pump change leaves in the yard
Pulling a pump means pulling the cable with it, and nobody re-uses cable that has been in a well for years. It comes up in a wet heap, gets coiled roughly, and sits by the well house until somebody hauls it off. That heap is a genuine lot, and its condition is exactly what you would expect.
- Full pull from a failed pump
- Part reel left from the replacement
- Four-wire cable with the control conductor cut
- Cable with the splice kit still fitted
- Short lengths from a casing repair
04
Mud, casing abrasion and the footage question
Wet cable is not a problem. Mud is a weight problem and casing abrasion is a jacket problem, and the two together are why pump cable is priced on copper rather than on the print. Where a jacket has worn through at a torque arrestor, the conductor is still there and still the same gauge.
Footage is the hard part, because a pulled cable has no tag and no printed length. We weigh the coil against conductor weight per thousand feet for the gauge, then sanity-check against the depth of the well. The two usually agree within a few percent.
| Product | Range | Condition we take |
|---|---|---|
| Flat three-wire | 14 to 8 AWG | Coil, part reel |
| Flat four-wire | 14 to 8 AWG | Coil, long cut |
| Round three-wire | 10 to 2 AWG | Coil, tagged reel |
| Round four-wire | 10 to 2 AWG | Reel, pulled length |
| Worn or spliced cable | Any | Priced on copper |
Questions
Answers before you send anything.
If your question is not here, call the desk. A buyer answers, not a call centre.
Does wet cable need to be dried before you look at it?
No. Pump cable is wet when it comes out and everyone involved expects that. What helps is knocking the mud off and keeping the coil off the ground so it does not take on more water and weight than it already has.
How do I know if my cable is three-wire or four-wire?
Count the conductors at a cut end. Three-wire has two insulated power conductors and a bare or green ground. Four-wire has three insulated conductors plus the ground, and the fourth is usually a lighter control conductor.
Is old well cable worth pulling out of the heap?
If there is more than a coil of it, yes. One pump pull is often a hundred feet or more of copper at a known gauge, which is a real lot. Leave it where it lies, tell us the depth and the gauge, and we will come to it.
Can pump cable be sold as reusable cable?
Usually not. Cable that has hung in a well for years has a jacket that has taken a set and often some abrasion. It is bought as conductor, at conductor value, and the gauge is what sets that value.
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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