ACSR conductor buyers in Tennessee
Code names, aluminum-to-steel ratios and the ACSR sizes that turn up in Tennessee stores, written for the stores supervisor holding the reel tag in the yard.
Send us your reel list
Six details are enough for a first review: what the cable is, the metal, the size, the footage or reel count, the condition and where it sits. Photographs can follow by text or email. There is no fee and no obligation, and nothing moves until written terms are agreed.
ACSR is the default overhead conductor in North America and has been for a century. Stranded 1350-H19 aluminum wires are laid over a central core of galvanized steel, and the pairing gives a conductor that is light for its strength and stiff enough to be strung over long spans. It is not one product. It is a family of several hundred standard constructions.
For a seller, the practical question is which one is on the drum. The code name answers it, assuming the tag survived and the reel was not relabelled in the yard. We buy ACSR as identified material rather than as generic aluminum conductor, because a Drake reel and a Partridge reel find different buyers and move for different reasons.
The code name is a specification compressed into one word.
Lot basics
- Aluminum
- 1350-H19 strands
- Core
- Galvanized steel
- Code names
- Partridge to Bittern
- Size range
- 266.8 to 1,272 kcmil
How the code name identifies the conductor
Every standard ACSR construction carries a bird name. Partridge is 266.8 kcmil. Hawk is 477 kcmil. Drake is 795 kcmil. Cardinal is 954 kcmil, with 54 aluminum strands over a seven-strand steel core. Bittern is 1,272 kcmil. Say the name and an engineer knows the stranding, the diameter, the weight per thousand feet and roughly the ampacity without opening a table.
That is why a tag reading DRAKE 795 26/7 is worth more to us than a tag reading ACSR. When the tag is missing we count strands at a cut end, measure diameter and match the result against the standard tables. A magnet on the end tells us whether a core is present, which separates ACSR from the all-aluminum constructions.
- Partridge, 266.8 kcmil, small distribution and tie work
- Hawk, 477 kcmil, subtransmission and distribution primaries
- Drake, 795 kcmil, transmission and heavy subtransmission
- Cardinal, 954 kcmil, and Bittern, 1,272 kcmil, on large lines
What the aluminum-to-steel ratio changes
The strand pattern sets the character of the conductor. A construction with many aluminum strands over a compact steel core carries most of its current in aluminum and takes tension in the steel, so it sags less under ice and wind than an all-aluminum conductor of similar weight. A construction with fewer, larger aluminum strands is lighter and cheaper but stretches further between structures.
For the buying desk the ratio is mostly a sorting tool. It tells us how much of the reel is aluminum by weight, which sets the recovery value, and it tells us whether the conductor was built for long spans or short ones, which sets the resale interest. Both numbers appear on the sheet we send back with an offer.
Where ACSR is used and where it is not
ACSR covers the range from rural distribution primaries to bundled 500 kV phases. In Tennessee it appears on 69 kV and 161 kV transmission, on the 500 kV backbone in bundle configurations, and on local power company distribution where long spans or heavy ice loading govern the design. It is uncommon indoors, in cable, and anywhere the core would sit in wet, corrosive soil.
The core is the weak point in coastal and industrial air, where galvanized wire can corrode beneath the aluminum. That is why ACAR and AAAC exist, and why ACSR stored outdoors for years needs its outer layer examined before anyone quotes it as reusable conductor rather than recovery material. The check is visual and takes minutes per reel, but it changes the number we write down.
Related pages
- Transmission conductorBare overhead conductor for 69 kV to 500 kV
- ACAR conductorAluminum alloy core instead of steel
- AAAC conductorAll-aluminum alloy conductor for distribution
- 500 kV conductorVery large ACSR in bundled phases
- Aluminum wireBare and insulated aluminum conductors
- ACSR versus AAACChoosing between the two constructions
Questions sellers ask
Is an ACSR reel worth more as conductor or as scrap?
It depends on identification and condition. A tagged, dry reel of a common size such as Hawk or Drake with real footage on it is worth more as conductor, because a utility or contractor can use it. A short tail, a corroded outer layer or an unknown size usually goes for recovery of the aluminum and steel.
Can you identify ACSR from a photograph alone?
Sometimes, and never with confidence. A clear picture of the tag settles it. A close frame of a cut end, with the strand count visible, narrows it to a few constructions. Without either we treat the reel as unidentified until someone counts strands, measures diameter and confirms the core with a magnet.
Do you buy ACSR with a damaged outer layer?
Yes, at a reduced figure. Broken or flattened outer strands near the drum mean the conductor cannot be strung under tension again, but the inner layers may still be sound and the metal is still there. We note the damage on the inventory and price the reel as recovery or as short-length material.
What does the 26/7 in a conductor description mean?
It is the stranding: 26 aluminum strands wrapped over a core of seven steel wires. The pattern appears on tags and in mill certificates. It tells you the conductor's diameter and weight per foot once you know the strand sizes, and it distinguishes constructions that share a code name but differ in core.
Send us your reel list
Six details are enough for a first review: what the cable is, the metal, the size, the footage or reel count, the condition and where it sits. Photographs can follow by text or email. There is no fee and no obligation, and nothing moves until written terms are agreed.
ACSR reels to clear?
Send the code names, strand counts and one photograph of each tag, and we will sort the lot.
Tennessee only · statewide pickup planning