Wire Types · USE-2 / RHW-2
We buy USE-2 cable.
Cable that spent years in the ground still holds most of its copper, and USE-2 pulled out of a direct-burial run deserves a close look before anybody calls it scrap.
Call or text the buying desk954-740-1983
RatingBuried, sunlight resistant
Voltage class600 V, 1 kV on PV use
Sizes14 AWG to 4/0
Common lotCoil ends and short reels
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 · USE-2
Reviewed by a buyerTell us what you have and where it sits. Nothing is moved until written lot terms are agreed.
USE-2 is single-conductor underground service entrance cable, rated for direct burial and, in the dual-marked RHW-2/USE-2 form, for wet locations at 90 °C. Solar crews use the same product for DC strings, because the jacket is sunlight resistant and the voltage rating covers the array.
What sellers have is usually short: coil ends from a well service, lengths cut out when a trench was re-routed, and reels bought for a string count that changed. It is a family where footage is modest and condition is often better than expected.
01
Where USE-2 turns up locally
It is the cable of anything that leaves a building and goes into dirt. A well house in Kendall County, a shop building on five acres outside Floresville, a ground-mounted array in Medina County. Being rated for direct burial, it is also the cable that gets bought in a hurry and left over in a coil.
- Well service and pump panel drops
- Solar DC strings and homeruns
- Buried feeders to shops and outbuildings
- Generator and yard equipment feeds
- Repairs where a trench was re-cut
02
The dual rating, printed twice
A dual-rated reel is printed RHW-2 and USE-2 on the same jacket, which is what makes it acceptable in wet locations and in conduit as well as in dirt. A reel printed USE-2 alone has a narrower set of uses, and a buyer prices that difference. Read the print rather than the label on the reel, because labels get swapped between drums.
03
What a solar or well job leaves over
Both trades buy for the worst case. A well driller does not know the final depth when the cable goes on the truck, and a solar crew does not know how many strings will land on the roof until the racking is up. The surplus is real, usually clean, and often still in the factory wrap.
- Part reels from a deeper well than planned
- String cable left from a revised array
- Short tails with connectors cut off
- Coils from a service that was re-routed
- Older cable pulled during a repair
04
Ground contact, sunlight and jacket damage
Direct burial is hard on a jacket, and cable that sat in wet clay will show it at the ends first. Look for a swollen jacket, white oxide on aluminum or a green crust on copper. Sun damage above grade shows as a chalky surface that cracks when the cable bends, and that is the one defect a buyer cannot work around.
| Product | Range | Condition we take |
|---|---|---|
| USE-2 single conductor | 600 V, 14 AWG to 4/0 | Coil, part reel |
| RHW-2 / USE-2 dual rated | 600 V, 8 AWG to 500 kcmil | Reel with tag |
| PV rated USE-2 | 1 kV, 10 and 12 AWG | Coil in factory wrap |
| Pulled burial cable | Above 30 ft | Cut back, inspected |
| Sun-damaged jacket | Any size | Priced on metal |
Questions
Answers before you send anything.
If your question is not here, call the desk. A buyer answers, not a call centre.
Is cable that has been buried still worth buying?
Often yes. The jacket protects the conductor and the metal does not disappear. What changes the value is water ingress at the ends and damage from the dig. We cut back a few feet and look before quoting.
How do I tell USE-2 from ordinary underground cable?
Read the print. USE-2, or RHW-2/USE-2, will be spelled out with the voltage and the size. If the jacket only says URD, or says nothing, treat it as another product and send a photo of the exposed end.
Do you take short coils of PV cable?
From about thirty feet, yes. Short coils are common because strings are short and the leftover is small. Keep them coiled, and keep the connector ends if you still have them, since a moulded connector shows the cable was a listed assembly.
What about a reel where only the outer layer is sun-damaged?
That is normal on a reel that sat outdoors. We strip the damaged layer and price the rest. Tell us roughly how many turns are chalked and the first answer will be closer to the last one.
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