Tray cable buyers in Tennessee
For plant engineers and stores supervisors with tray cable left from a completed project, this page covers the family and how a reel is valued.
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.
Tray cable is what runs in the open steel trays that cross a plant: power circuits, control circuits and lighting in one family of constructions, all rated 600 V. It is ordered by conductor count and gauge, so a single project will buy several different types and leave part of each behind.
When the project closes out, those reels go on a shelf and stay there. One may be a full reel of a size nobody will specify again; another may carry two hundred feet of a cable the plant still uses. Tray cable is the family we are most often called about after a plant project ends, and the lots are usually mixed.
Lot basics
- Types
- TC and TC-ER
- Voltage
- 600 V
- Conductors
- Multi-conductor, 18 to 2 AWG
- Insulation
- PVC/nylon, tray rated
What the ER suffix on tray cable changes
TC is tray cable: it may be installed in a cable tray, supported at intervals, and it is not intended to run unsupported through open space. TC-ER adds an exposed run rating, which allows the cable to leave the tray and travel to equipment without conduit for a limited distance under the code. The print on the jacket states which one you have.
Both are 600 V constructions with PVC/nylon insulated conductors, a binder tape and an outer jacket, made from 18 AWG up to 2 AWG with conductor counts from a couple to several dozen. Shielding, when present, is a foil with a drain wire or a braid, and some constructions add a ground conductor and a sunlight-resistant jacket.
- TC for tray installation, TC-ER for exposed runs
- 600 V, 18 AWG through 2 AWG
- Foil or braid shields on signal versions
- Sunlight-resistant and direct-burial variants exist
Why tray cable outlives the project
A plant orders cable in the lengths the project drawing calls for, plus an allowance. Minimum order quantities push that allowance upward, and a change in the field can make part of an order unnecessary. By the time the job is closed, the storehouse holds reels that were never opened next to reels with a few hundred feet gone.
The cable then stays because it might be needed. Maintenance keeps it for the next machine move, and stores keeps it because nobody has the authority to scrap it. Years later a clear-out produces a dozen reels of different counts, most of them still usable, and no record of what footage each one holds. That record is the first thing we try to rebuild.
Copper, pair count and footage
Conductor count and gauge set the copper content, and that sets a floor on the value. A 12 AWG 4-conductor cable holds far more copper per foot than an 18 AWG 2-pair, and the difference in handling cost is the same for both. That is why a lot of small-count signal cable is priced on the reel rather than on the metal.
The type matters next. TC-ER and shielded constructions serve more applications and are easier to place than a plain unshielded TC. A reel with a legible print showing the count, gauge, voltage and any shield is worth more than the same cable with the print worn away, because a buyer can specify it without cutting it open.
Footage is the final variable. Full reels are straightforward; part reels are weighed and checked against the weight per foot for that construction. With a dozen reels in a lot we usually quote the full ones individually and the part reels as a group, which is simpler for the seller and more honest about what is known.
Questions sellers ask
Can tray cable be run outside a tray?
Only where the construction permits it. TC-ER carries an exposed run rating that allows a limited length from the tray to the equipment without conduit. Plain TC does not, and using it that way is a code question for the inspector. The jacket print states the type, so the answer is usually on the cable itself.
Do you buy shielded tray cable?
Yes, and shielded lots are often worth more than unshielded ones of the same count because they serve signal and drive circuits. Send a photograph of the jacket print and of a cut end showing the foil or braid and the drain wire. Shielded cable that has been cut back badly still sells, though the damaged end is trimmed.
How is a part reel of 16 AWG tray cable priced?
On the remaining footage and the conductor count, with a floor set by the copper content. Small-gauge multi-conductor cable holds little metal for its length, so a part reel is priced on its usefulness rather than its weight. Reels of a common count and gauge are the easiest to place.
Is tray cable sunlight resistant?
Some constructions are and some are not. A sunlight-resistant marking on the jacket means the cable can be installed where daylight reaches it, which matters for tray runs outdoors and on rooftops. Where the marking is absent we treat the cable as indoor stock, and the price reflects the narrower market.
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.
Tray cable left from a project?
Send the jacket print for each type, the footage where it is tagged and one photograph of the reels together.
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