SOOW Cable Buyers in Pennsylvania

SOOW is a 600 V portable cord with a thermoset rubber jacket, rated for oil and water exposure and built to be flexed while energized. The letters break down as 600 V service cord, oil resistant jacket and insulation, and water resistant, with the extra O marking the oil resistant outer jacket. It is the cord on a welder, a portable conveyor, a temporary distribution panel or a pump that gets moved from pit to pit.

Most surplus SOOW in Pennsylvania comes in short factory lengths and partial reels of 250 ft. Contractors buy it for temporary power on construction sites, plants keep it for maintenance drops, and rental yards replace cords regularly. The material is compact, easy to store and simple to ship, which makes it one of the easier products to sell in small quantities. A shelf of partial reels in a job trailer is a typical starting point for a lot.

Construction	Two to five insulated conductors cabled together under a heavy rubber jacket
Conductors	Stranded copper, 18 AWG through 2 AWG, with 12/3 and 10/4 the most common
Insulation	EPDM or neoprene rubber insulation and jacket, oil and water resistant
Voltage and temperature	600 V; 90 C in most constructions, with -40 C cold bend ratings on some
Standards	UL 62 and NEC Article 400, portable cord and power cable

What SOOW cable is

The product is a flexible cord, not a building wire or a tray cable. Conductors are stranded copper with rubber insulation, cabled with fillers and covered by a rubber jacket thick enough to survive dragging over concrete. The 600 V rating and the oil and water resistance are what separate SOOW from the lighter SJOOW, which is a 300 V cord with a thinner jacket.

SOOW is used where the cable has to move. A fixed installation calls for building wire or tray cable, and a portable one calls for cord. That distinction matters when a buyer is deciding whether a reel can be used on a job, and it is why cord is quoted on gauge and conductor count rather than on voltage class alone.

• 600 V portable cord, not building wire
• SJOOW is the 300 V version with a thinner jacket
• Rubber jacket for flex and abrasion
• Common in 2, 3 and 4 conductor constructions

Where Pennsylvania sellers use SOOW cable

Construction sites are the largest user. Temporary power distribution, spider boxes, job trailers and portable tools all run on cord, and a general contractor's storage trailer usually has a shelf of partial reels. When a project ends, that material goes back to the shop and often stays there.

Plants use SOOW for maintenance drops, portable pumps, conveyors and washdown equipment in food processing, where the water resistance matters. Rental yards and event companies replace cord regularly. Machine shops keep 10/4 for welders and plasma cutters, and 12/3 for hand tools and temporary lighting.

What makes SOOW cable resellable

Gauge and conductor count set the price. 12/3 and 10/4 are the most requested, followed by 10/3, 12/2 and 14/3. A sealed 250 ft reel of 12/3 is a stock item for any contractor, while 50 ft of 16/3 has little value beyond the copper. Four conductor cord in 8 AWG and 6 AWG serves distribution panels and sells to industrial users.

Jacket condition is decisive. Cord is abused, and a jacket with deep cuts, exposed conductors or a crushed section is scrap. Cord that is clean, round and still marked with the print can be sold by the foot. Factory reels with the original label and footage are the easiest to place, and they hold the best price.

• Sealed 250 ft reels of 12/3 and 10/4
• Clean jacket with legible print
• Four conductor cord for distribution
• Coils over 50 ft in common gauges

Condition, storage and identification

Rubber cord has a shelf life. Ozone from motors and transformers, sunlight and heat all accelerate cracking, and a reel stored near a running motor can fail before its time. Check a bend for surface cracks and look at the jacket where it was coiled, since that is where compression damage shows first.

The print runs the length of the jacket and gives the type, the gauge, the conductor count and the voltage. It also carries the temperature and oil resistance markings. Where the print has worn off, the conductor count is visible at a cut end and the gauge can be estimated from the copper diameter, though a buyer will want the marking confirmed.

What to send for a quote

Send photos of the print, the cut ends and the coil or reel. List each item by gauge, conductor count and length, and note any jacket damage. Cord is light enough that shipping is practical, so a lot can be quoted from photographs without a site visit.

We quote once the inventory is reviewed, then arrange shipment or pickup. Tell us whether the material is on reels, in coils or loose, and whether the reels are banded, because that affects how it can be loaded and transported.

• Print showing 600 V and oil resistance
• Cut end photo for conductor count
• Length per coil or reel
• Jacket damage or repairs
• Packing, reel or loose coil

What we buy in this category

• 12/3 and 10/4 SOOW in 250 ft reels
• 10/3 and 12/2 portable cord coils
• Four conductor 8 AWG and 6 AWG cord
• Factory sealed reels with labels
• Partial reels from construction trailers
• Plant maintenance cord inventory
• SJOOW and smaller gauge cord
• Damaged cord for copper recovery

Selling soow cable in Pennsylvania

We review soow cable from every Pennsylvania region: the southeastern industrial corridor, the Lehigh Valley, southwestern Pennsylvania, the Susquehanna Valley, the northeast and the northern tier. Location decides the pickup plan, so include the municipality in your message.

• Philadelphia
• Norristown
• King of Prussia
• Pottstown
• Lansdale
• Abington
• Cheltenham
• Lower Merion