MC and metal-clad cable buyers in Tennessee
For electrical contractors and plant maintenance groups holding metal-clad cable, this page explains how we judge a coil and what the armor tells us.
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.
What usually reaches us is not a neat reel but a stack of coils: two or three full ones from a commercial fit-out, several part coils with cable ties holding the end, and one that was dragged across a slab. Metal-clad cable does not store as tidily as conduit wire, and the handling shows.
MC is armored cable, so the armor takes the abuse that the conductors inside would otherwise take. That is also why the armor becomes the deciding fact in a sale. A clean coil of 12/2 is a known quantity. A crushed coil of the same cable is a length of copper inside a damaged tube.
Lot basics
- Type
- Metal-clad, interlocked armor
- Voltage
- 600 V
- Conductors
- Copper, 14 to 10 AWG common
- Packaging
- Coils and returnable reels
Armor, conductors and what sits inside
Metal-clad cable is built from an interlocked strip of aluminum armor wound around insulated conductors. The interlock lets the cable flex without opening gaps, and the armor serves as the equipment grounding path, so a separate ground conductor is not always present. Conductors are usually THHN or THWN in copper, with 12/2, 12/3, 10/2 and 10/3 the common branch sizes.
Larger constructions exist as feeder MC, with two to four conductors up to a few hundred kcmil and a full-size ground. Some of it carries a plastic jacket over the armor for corrosion resistance, and some is made with a redundant ground. The print on the armor and the conductor jacket identifies which one you have.
- Interlocked aluminum armor
- 600 V branch and feeder constructions
- Copper conductors, typically THHN or THWN
- Armor serves as the grounding path
Why commercial work uses so much of it
MC is the standard wiring method above a ceiling in commercial buildings. It needs no separate conduit, it can be fished through tight spaces and it accepts bends that pipework will not. Hospitals, schools, parking structures, tenant fit-outs and data halls use it by the pallet, and every one of those jobs leaves short ends behind.
MC is the standard wiring method above a ceiling in commercial buildings. It needs no separate conduit, it can be fished through tight spaces and it accepts bends that pipework will not. Hospitals, schools, parking structures, tenant fit-outs and data halls use it by the pallet, and every one of those jobs leaves short ends and part coils behind.
Armor damage and coil condition decide the lot
We look at the interlock first. A crushed or kinked section has deformed the strip, and the conductors inside may be pinched even where the jacket looks sound. Rust on steel-armored product, or white corrosion on aluminum, tells us how the coil was stored. A coil that was dragged will show flattened armor along one face.
Second is the coil itself. Cable that was unrolled and rewound carelessly will have a memory curl that makes it hard to pull, and a coil tied with electrical tape rather than a proper tie often has a loose end with the conductors exposed. Ends cut square and taped are a good sign that the last crew knew what it was doing.
Third is footage and conductor count. A part coil of 12/2 has a limited market; a full coil of 10/3 is easier to place. Where the length is unclear, we measure the coil diameter and weight it, and we ask for the print on the armor so the conductor size is confirmed rather than assumed.
Questions sellers ask
Do you buy MC cable in short cut lengths?
Yes, when they are kept together and identified. Short lengths of the same size and conductor count can be bundled and priced as one lot. Single pieces under a few feet with no marking are handled as scrap rather than as usable cable, so it helps to keep the long ends separate from the trimmings.
How much armor damage rules out a coil?
A little is tolerable, particularly on the outer end where it can be cut back. We draw the line where the interlock is crushed over a run of several feet, where the strip has opened enough to expose the conductor jacket, or where the cable has a hard kink. Those sections are cut out and the rest is measured.
Is the armor a valid ground path?
On listed metal-clad cable, yes. The interlocked armor is recognized as an equipment grounding conductor, which is why many constructions carry no separate ground wire. Some specifications still call for a redundant ground, and those cables have one. The print on the armor tells you which construction you are holding.
Can you quote from a photograph of a coil?
Usually, if the photograph shows the armor print, the conductor ends and something for scale. We can identify the size and conductor count from the print and estimate length from the coil diameter. A tape measure laid across the coil removes most of the doubt, and a tag photograph settles the rest.
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.
Coils of MC in the gang box?
Send the armor print, the conductor count, the approximate length of each coil and a photograph of the stack.
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