Portable Cord: Extension Cords & SOOW

Portable cord letters are a code: Service, OOil-resistant (jacket and insulation), Weather-resistant. SOOW is the heavy-duty flexible cord of power tools, drop lights, stage and event power, and industrial extension runs — typically 18 through 2 AWG, three or more conductors in a tough round rubber jacket. Lighter cousins (SJTW and the like) wire household extension cords, power strips, and appliance cords at 18–14 AWG.

Extension cords are thin copper in a lot of rubber — low copper recovery per pound. Stripping them is slow, messy work for very little copper, which is why experienced scrappers sell them insulated, by the category. That is not settling; it is the correct play. Buyers purchase portable cord as a matter of course, and a box or barrel of it is real money without an hour of stripping.

Holiday light strings are the lowest-recovery wire in the stream — published yard taxonomies put them around 10–15% copper. Nobody should strip them, and nobody should pretend otherwise. But they are still copper-bearing wire, they still sell insulated, and a post-season commercial takedown can produce surprising volume. Honest expectations, real value.

Heavy portable cord — 6, 4, and 2 AWG event, stage, and generator feeder cable — carries genuinely useful copper and shows up after concerts, festivals, film shoots, and emergency-power jobs. And any portable cord in quantity (contractor barrels, facility cleanouts) deserves a quote. Photograph the jacket markings and the pile; the gauge on the print tells the story.

Photograph what you have — the wire, any jacket markings, and the overall quantity — and send it to Ironcrest for today’s offer. We buy nationally and coordinate pickup from your site.

Sell your copper to Ironcrest →  |  Call or text 312-880-8174  |  Send photos →

See also: Should I strip this wire?  |  What type of copper wire do I have?  |  Copper wire grades guide (canonical)

Are extension cords worth stripping?

Almost never. The conductors are thin (often 18–16 AWG) and the rubber jacket is most of the weight — the stripping labor far exceeds the copper recovered. Sell them insulated; buyers purchase portable cord by the category.

What does SOOW stand for?

Service, Oil-resistant (inner and outer), Weather-resistant — a heavy-duty portable cord rating. It tells you the cord is built for hard industrial use, which usually means heavier gauges and better copper content than a household extension cord.

Is Christmas light wire worth anything?

As insulated scrap, yes — modestly. It is among the lowest-recovery wires (roughly 10–15% copper by published yard taxonomies), so never strip it. In volume, from commercial displays and takedowns, it still converts to real money.

Who buys old extension cords?

Scrap buyers purchase portable cord as a standard insulated-wire category — no stripping required. Coil them, keep them dry, and sell by the lot. Ironcrest buys portable cord nationally.

Should I cut the plug ends off?

Trimming molded plugs and metal prongs helps — they are contamination that drags the grade. A quick snip of the ends is the one piece of prep that actually pays on cordage.