THHN and THWN wire buyers for surplus and cut-offs
THHN is the wire most commercial buildings in the Carolinas are wired with, which is why it reaches a buying desk in every condition from a factory-sealed reel to a loose coil in a bucket.
- 600 V building wire
- PVC insulation, nylon jacket
- Reels and cut lengths
Almost every surplus wire lot we are shown contains THHN. It is the default branch-circuit conductor in commercial and industrial work: thermoplastic insulation with a nylon jacket, 600 V, sold on 500-foot and 1,000-foot reels and pulled through conduit by the mile. Because it is ordinary, it is also the material most often left half-used when a job closes out. The question is not whether THHN is worth reviewing, but whether the reel in front of you is still inventory.
Two ratings matter and both are printed on the jacket. THHN is a 90°C dry-location conductor with a 75°C wet rating, which is why the same wire is often marked THHN/THWN. THWN-2 holds 90°C in wet locations, and THWN-2 is what most current specifications call for, so a reel marked only THHN may not satisfy the engineer on the next job even though the copper inside is identical. Read the print before assuming a reel is current stock.
Conductor class decides how the wire behaves in a pull and how a buyer compares two reels of the same size. Solid through 10 AWG, then stranded Class B, Class C, compact and compressed. Compact and compressed stranding is smaller in diameter, which matters in conduit fill and in a tight pull. Copper and aluminium both appear in THHN, and the two are never interchangeable in a lot description, whatever the tag on the flange says.
What we buy in this family
Condition and documentation decide the basis, not the family alone. These are the forms this material usually arrives in.
- Factory reels with intact tags
- Partial reels with readable footage
- THHN, THWN and THWN-2 in mixed sizes
- Solid, stranded, compact and compressed
- Copper and aluminium conductors
- Long cut lengths from job trailers
- Storehouse rack clean-outs and odd colours
What we read on a THHN reel before anything else
Jacket print comes first. A legible print gives the size, the rating, the conductor material and the listing, and it lets a buyer confirm the reel matches its tag without stripping a sample. Print gone chalky from sun, or rubbed off against a rack for years, does not condemn the wire, but it moves the reel into a different review queue.
The tag comes second. A factory tag with footage, size and a reel number is inventory evidence. A masking-tape label in marker is a claim. Both are usable; only one of them shortens the conversation. Where the tag is gone we weigh the reel and work footage from weight, which is an estimate.
Condition, storage and what downgrades a reel
THHN is thermoplastic, so heat and sunlight are the enemies. A reel that sat outside through two Carolina summers will show UV chalking, and the nylon jacket can craze at the flange bend. Wire stored indoors on a rack, still banded, with the factory wrap intact, is a different product and is reviewed as one.
Kinks and flange damage matter more than most sellers expect. A kink is a stress point in the insulation and a place where the next pull fails; a flange bent inward means the outer wraps took load on the way off a truck. Wet cardboard and rusted steel are signs the reel spent a season on the ground.
Footage, tags and the evidence behind an offer basis
Footage decides whether a lot is priced as wire or as scrap. The strongest evidence is a factory tag with a documented remainder, or a printed length counter with matching start and end marks. Where neither exists we ask for reel weight, conductor size and flange diameter, then compare against published weight-per-thousand-feet tables, which produces a range rather than a promise.
No buying desk can turn an unmarked partial reel into documented inventory. What we can do is split the lot so tagged reels are reviewed as wire and loose coils are reviewed as recovery material, with written terms for each group.
Where this cable turns up in the two states
Charlotte and Raleigh commercial work generates THHN in the sizes fit-out consumes: 12 and 10 AWG on partial reels, pulled for a tenant improvement and left in the job trailer when the punch list closes. Upstate plants around Greenville and Spartanburg add the heavier end, where feeder-size THHN leaves on reels opened for a single pull and never returns to the storehouse rack.
Wholesale distribution is the other source. Electrical houses across the Piedmont and the coastal plain stock THHN in depth, and a slow-moving colour or a superseded size sits in a warehouse until somebody writes the inventory down. Municipal and co-operative utility yards add their own mix on clean-outs. The material is the same everywhere; what differs is how it was stored and whether the paperwork survived.
Coverage
North and South Carolina
Every city page carries the local industrial base and access notes. Start from a state hub if you are not sure which one applies.
THHN and THWN wire questions
Is THHN the same as THWN?
No, and the difference is the wet rating. THHN is a 90°C dry-location conductor rated 75°C wet. THWN is rated 75°C in wet locations. Most current wire is dual-marked THHN/THWN or triple-marked THHN/THWN-2, and the -2 suffix carries 90°C wet. For a surplus lot the jacket print decides the description.
Will you review partial reels with no tag?
Yes, and we will tell you plainly that they are recovery material rather than documented inventory. Send the conductor size from the print, the flange diameter, an approximate remaining depth of wire and the reel weight if you can get it on a scale. A buyer can estimate footage from that, and the estimate is not treated as a measured length.
Do copper and aluminium THHN go in the same lot?
They can travel on the same truck but they are reviewed separately, because the metal sets the floor and the application sets the ceiling. Aluminium THHN is legitimate feeder conductor in the right size and termination, but a buyer comparing it to copper will discount it. Keep the two apart on the pallet so the count is not in question.
How much footage makes a reel worth documenting?
There is no single number. A 500-foot reel with most of its length left is worth the paperwork. A short tail is not, and the labour of measuring it can exceed the difference in value. The test is whether a contractor would pull it. If so, document it; if not, group it with the cut-offs.
Send thhn and thwn wire details
Construction, footage, condition and pickup city. Photographs can follow once a buyer has replied.
Or email saleselectricalbuyers@gmail.com
- No fee and no obligation to sell.
- Written lot terms before anything moves.
- Pickup scheduled around your access rules.