#2 AWG Wire Buyers in Pennsylvania
Two gauge copper for 125 A services, large feeders and ground rings, bought in reels and cut lengths across Pennsylvania.
Number 2 AWG copper measures 0.2576 in across the bare conductor and about 66,360 circular mils in area. It carries 95 A at 60 degrees C, 115 A at 75 degrees C and 130 A at 90. That range covers residential service conductors up to 125 A where the service allowance applies, 100 A feeders with margin, and the larger equipment circuits in a small plant. It is the last size before conductors get genuinely hard to handle by hand.
Two gauge has an unusual second identity. The code requires a ground ring to be at least 2 AWG bare copper, so a coil of bare 2 AWG is a grounding product as much as a power conductor. Between service work and ground rings, the size stays in demand, and the leftovers are usually long enough to matter. A service upgrade that leaves 80 ft of 2 AWG leaves a length a smaller job can use, which is why these reels move.
| Size | 2 AWG, 0.2576 in bare copper diameter, about 66,360 circular mils |
|---|---|
| Ampacity class | 95 A at 60 degrees C, 115 A at 75 degrees C and 130 A at 90 degrees C for copper |
| Construction | 7-strand copper standard, solid available in bare grounding wire |
| Common insulations | THHN, THWN-2, XHHW-2, and bare for ground rings and electrodes |
| Standards | UL 83, UL 44, ASTM B8, 600 V class, 2 AWG minimum for a bare copper ground ring |
What 2 AWG carries
The conductor is a distribution size. At 75 degrees C it carries 115 A, which is why it appears on 100 A feeders with capacity to spare and on residential services in the 125 A range. The 60 degree column drops it to 95 A, so terminations and ambient temperature still decide the usable figure.
Most 2 AWG in circulation is seven-strand. That construction pulls well and terminates in standard lugs, though the individual strands are stiff enough that a bad bend leaves a permanent kink. Solid 2 AWG appears mainly as bare grounding wire for ground rings.
- 115 A in the 75 degree column
- 7-strand is the standard power construction
- Solid bare 2 AWG for ground rings
Where #2 is used in Pennsylvania
Service upgrades and subpanel feeders are the main source. A 125 A residential service, a 100 A shop panel, a detached garage feed or a generator transfer switch all consume 2 AWG, and each job produces a cut length that may be too long to discard and too short to return.
Ground rings take it in larger quantities. New construction with a ring electrode uses hundreds of feet of bare 2 AWG buried around the footing. Hospitals, data centers and industrial buildings use it for grounding electrode systems, and plants use it for equipment bonding and for feeder taps on smaller transformers.
- 125 A residential services and 100 A feeders
- Detached building and generator feeds
- Bare ground rings around new construction
- Equipment bonding and transformer taps
What makes a 2 AWG reel resellable
Length rules this size more than any other. A 250 ft reel of 2 AWG THHN is a valuable feeder reel. A 30 ft piece is a grounding jumper. The middle range, roughly 60 to 150 ft, is where the offer depends on the buyer who happens to need that exact run.
Insulation type decides the rest. XHHW-2 and THWN-2 are the modern choices and sell faster than older single-rated stock. Bare 2 AWG is priced against copper with a premium for clean, straight coils that a contractor can unroll into a trench.
- 250 ft reels are the easiest to place
- XHHW-2 and THWN-2 over older single-rated wire
- Clean bare coils for ground ring work
Heavy reels, kinks and print
Two gauge is heavy, and heavy reels get handled with equipment. Crushed flanges, wire spilling off the side and kinks from a fork tine are common. A kink in 2 AWG cannot be straightened well enough to pull, so that section is cut out and the reel is measured again.
Print survives well on this size, and the reel tag is often still attached because the reel was too heavy to respool. Where the tag is gone, measure the bare conductor. Two AWG copper is 0.2576 in, which is close enough to 1 AWG that a caliper is worth using rather than a guess.
- Check for fork damage and crushed flanges
- Cut out kinks before measuring footage
- Measure bare diameter to separate 2 AWG from 1 AWG
What to include with a 2 AWG service reel
Send the reel tag, the print and a photo of the cut end. Include the approximate footage, the insulation type and whether the conductor is bare, green or a phase color. For service cable, say whether it came out of a meter base or was never installed.
Give us the town and the access. A full reel of 2 AWG is a two-person lift at best, and a pallet of them needs a forklift. Knowing that before the quote keeps the pickup from stalling at the dock.
- Tag, print and cut end
- Footage, insulation and color
- Installed or surplus, plus access details
What we buy in this category
- 2 AWG THHN and THWN-2 in black, red and white
- 2 AWG XHHW-2 copper feeder reels
- Bare 2 AWG solid copper for ground rings
- Bare 2 AWG 7-strand for electrode and bonding work
- Green-insulated 2 AWG equipment ground
- Service entrance cut lengths from panel upgrades
- Reels with 100 ft or more remaining
Selling #2 awg wire in Pennsylvania
From the Route 202 corridor to the Mon Valley and the I-81 warehouse belt, #2 awg wire is stored in shops and yards all over the state. Send the city or township, the access details and the photographs, and the pickup can be planned against the real site.
#2 AWG Wire questions
What is #2 copper wire used for?
It serves 100 A feeders, residential services up to 125 A, generator connections and large equipment circuits. Bare 2 AWG is also the minimum size for a copper ground ring, which keeps a separate demand for it.
How many amps will #2 copper carry?
It carries 95 A at 60 degrees C, 115 A at 75 degrees C and 130 A at 90 degrees C. The lower columns apply when terminations or ambient temperature limit the installation, so the breaker size is not set by the wire alone.
Do you buy bare 2 AWG in short coils?
Yes. Bare 2 AWG is bought as grounding material, and coils of 50 ft or more are useful for electrode conductors and bonding. Shorter pieces are grouped and valued on copper content. Clean coils with a known gauge are the easiest to price.
Can service-entrance wire be resold?
Often it can, if the ends are clean and the print is legible. Cable removed from a meter base may have lugs, heat marks or crushed strands, and those sections are cut back before the remainder is graded.
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Buying detailsHave surplus wire on the floor right now?
Send photographs of the reels, tags and jacket print. We will tell you what the material is worth as wire, not just as metal.