SOOW portable cord buyers in Tennessee
For maintenance supervisors clearing a crib of portable cord, this page covers what SOOW is, how coils and cut lengths differ and what we check.
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.
Portable cord is what a maintenance crib keeps on hand for drop lights, bench tools, temporary feeds and the lead on a portable welder. SOOW is the heavy version: a thermoset rubber jacket, two to five conductors, 18 AWG up to 2 AWG, rated 600 V and built to be dragged around a plant floor.
The letters describe what the cord tolerates. The S is for service cord, the O for oil resistance in the jacket and insulation, and the W for water resistance. That combination is why it survives coolant, hydraulic oil and washdown where a thermoplastic cord would harden and crack.
On portable cord the jacket is the product; the copper is the fallback.
Lot basics
- Voltage
- 600 V
- Sizes
- 18 AWG to 2 AWG
- Conductors
- Two to five
- Jacket
- Thermoset rubber
The cord that hangs in every maintenance crib
Most cribs hold a coil of 12/3 and a coil of 10/4, a few factory lengths with molded ends, and a bin of short pieces that were cut off when a tool was replaced. The bulk cord on a shelf is bought by the foot and cut as needed, so a coil is often part used and rarely labeled with what remains.
Because it is a flexible cord rather than a wiring method, SOOW is not installed in conduit or fished through walls. It runs from a receptacle to a tool, or from a junction box to a portable panel. That limits where it can be reused, but it also means the material in a crib is usually clean and dry rather than pulled out of a ceiling.
Bulk coils and cut lengths are different lots
A sealed 250 ft coil of a common size is the cleanest thing to sell, since the length and the gauge are printed on the wrap and the jacket has never been flexed. Part coils are normal and are priced on the remaining footage, which we establish by weighing the coil and checking the wrap count.
Cut lengths are a separate market. A 25 ft piece with a molded cap on one end is a finished assembly and is worth more than the same length of bare cord, provided the cap is undamaged. Loose pieces under about ten feet are worth little on their own and are better bundled by gauge and conductor count.
- Sealed coils in 250 ft and 500 ft lengths
- Part coils priced on remaining footage
- Molded assemblies valued with the caps
- Short pieces bundled by gauge and count
What we check on a used length of portable cord
The jacket tells the story. Rubber hardens with age and heat, and a cord that has been coiled tightly against a warm surface will show fine cracks at the bends. Where the cracks reach the conductor insulation, the cord is finished as cord and becomes copper recovery material. Cracks that stop in the jacket are cut out and the rest is kept.
Taped repairs are the second question. A single neatly taped section near an end can often be cut out, leaving a usable length. A cord with several repairs, or with tape over a bulge where the conductors have been crushed, is not worth reusing. Exposed copper at either end is cut back and the remaining length measured.
The third is the conductor count and the gauge. A 12/3 cord with a good jacket will find a use; a 16/2 cord of the same length is worth less than the copper in it. We read the print on the jacket and confirm it against the cut end before quoting, since cords are often rewound onto the wrong spool.
Questions sellers ask
What do the letters in SOOW stand for?
The S marks a service cord, the two Os indicate oil resistance in the jacket and in the conductor insulation, and the W marks water resistance. A cord marked SOOW is therefore rated for wet and oily conditions, which is why plants specify it for washdown areas and machine shops rather than a lighter junior cord.
Do you buy portable cord in short cut lengths?
Yes, as a bundle rather than as individual pieces. Cord under about ten feet is priced on the copper it contains, so it helps to keep the pieces sorted by gauge and conductor count and tied together. A single short piece will not move on its own, but a box of them is a normal part of a crib clear-out.
Can cord with the molded ends cut off still be sold?
It can, as bulk cord rather than as an assembly. Cutting the caps off removes the finished ends but leaves the jacket and conductors intact, so the length is still usable with field-installed terminations. We price it against the bulk coil rate for that gauge and count rather than the assembly rate.
How do you establish the footage left on a part coil?
We weigh the coil and subtract the spool, then divide by the published weight per foot for that construction. A wrap count against the coil diameter gives a second figure. When the two agree we quote the footage as measured; when they do not, we ask for a tape measurement around the outer wrap.
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.
A crib full of cord to clear?
Send the gauges, conductor counts, whether the coils are sealed and one photograph of the shelf.
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