SELL SURPLUS TRAY CABLE, TC AND PLTC

Tray cable is a multiconductor assembly built to run in cable tray without conduit around it. It is rated 600V or 2kV, insulated in PVC/nylon or cross-linked polyethylene, and made with anything from two conductors to a full multi-pair count. The family splits three ways: TC for tray runs, TC-ER for exposed runs between the tray and the equipment, and PLTC, a 300V power-limited version used for instrumentation and control circuits.

Surplus appears when a tray run is measured generously. Cable is cut at the tray exit, the drop to the equipment changes, and the balance of the reel goes back to the maintenance crib or the shop. Instrument projects leave PLTC behind for the same reason: the loop count moved after the cable was bought. Because tray cable is expensive per foot and heavy to store, most of it eventually gets cleared out in one pass.

What we buy

• TC cable — 600V or 2kV multiconductor, PVC/nylon or XLPE insulated, for open runs in cable tray.
• TC-ER — the exposed-run rated version that can leave the tray for an equipment connection.
• PLTC — 300V power-limited tray cable for instrumentation, control and signal circuits.
• Conductor counts and sizes — 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12 and higher counts in copper, with and without ground.
• Shielded constructions — overall foil or braid shields with a drain wire, and individually shielded pairs.
• Armored tray cable — interlocked armor over the assembly where the route needs mechanical protection.

How to read a tray cable reel

Tray cable is identified by its jacket print, and the print states the type, voltage, conductor count, insulation and often the temperature rating. The one thing the print cannot show is how much cable is left, so the tag and the visible wrap on the reel both matter.

Condition and length

Most tray cable surplus is genuinely unused, because it never left the reel. The failures are physical rather than electrical: a jacket scuffed through on a tray edge, a reel dropped off a forklift, or a wrap that took water while stored outdoors. The inner layers usually survive all three, which is why we ask for a photo of the damaged section and the remaining length rather than a description.

• Full reels with the factory tag and unbroken wrap
• Part reels with tag footage and a clean jacket at the cut
• PLTC and shielded instrument reels from completed loop work
• TC-ER in 3/C and 4/C copper from plant projects
• Mixed pallets of counts and sizes from a single shutdown

Single cut lengths under about 50 ft are usually declined unless they are part of a larger lot, and so is cable with the jacket cut through to the shield, cable that has been pulled and removed, and reels where the count cannot be established at all. Send the lot with one clear photo per reel and we will sort it.

What to photograph

1. The full reel, showing flange diameter and how much wrap is left.
2. The jacket print, held flat, with the type and voltage visible.
3. The reel tag, including footage and the manufacturer name.
4. The cut end, so the conductor count, colours and shield are countable.
5. Any jacket damage or flat spots, close enough to judge the depth.

Tray cable surplus in Washington, DC and Maryland

In the District, tray cable is a smaller share of the surplus stream and usually arrives from mechanical rooms, central plants and laboratory or institutional service corridors where a short tray run feeds equipment. Quantities tend to be a few reels at a time, often TC-ER in 3/C and 4/C copper.

Maryland is where the volume sits. Baltimore’s industrial corridors, the water and wastewater plants that serve the suburbs, food processing on the Eastern Shore and manufacturing around Frederick and Hagerstown all run tray. A plant shutdown or a control system replacement typically releases a mixed pallet of TC, TC-ER and PLTC at once, with counts that no longer match the new layout.

Related cable types we buy

• Control & instrumentation cable
• VFD cable
• XHHW & XHHW-2 wire