Reliable Wire & Cable Inc.

08/08/2026

🎣 It's the weekend — who's got a line in the water?

We know a good chunk of our followers trade the job site for a fishing spot on weekends, and we love it!

Drop your current or past catches in the comments — doesn't matter if it's a trophy or not. Let's see what you've got. 🐟

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08/07/2026

📊 Weekly Copper Recap

This week's COMEX copper (HG, $/lb):

Mon 8/3: $6.45
Tue 8/4: $6.64
Wed 8/5: $6.66
Thu 8/6: $6.76
Fri 8/7: $6.62

August MTD average (5 trading days): $6.63

Copper climbed steadily through Thursday before pulling back slightly today. Still a very elevated week overall — August is off to its strongest start of the summer. Worth watching closely heading into next week.

08/06/2026

📊 If you're tracking your project margins — copper is the single biggest variable in cable cost. Watching it weekly isn't overkill, it's good business.

We post copper prices every Friday as part of our Weekly Copper Recap.

We also post DAILY copper prices to our X account...if you don't follow us there head on over and give us a follow (https://x.com/reliable_wire).

Additionally, you can see on a daily basis what copper is at by heading to our homepage and checking out the banner at the top!

📞 800.614.4701 | 💻 reliablewire.com

08/06/2026

🏭 Trade Thursday

There's a version of customer service that's really just order processing. You call, they take the order, it ships. That's the minimum.

Then there's what we actually do.

We have driven to a customer's house late at night to make a delivery when a job couldn't wait. We've called customers back to flag an order that looked wrong before it shipped. We've set up custom stocking arrangements so the cable a crew needs every week is already on the shelf before they call. We've answered the phone at 6am and 8pm because we knew you couldn't wait.

As the old saying says, "Where there is a will, there is a way". We have the will to help, so there isn't much that you can throw at us that we won't try to tackle for you.

None of that is in a brochure. It's just what happens when the people running your account actually care about whether your job goes well.

The low-voltage trade is deadline-driven, inspection-driven, and doesn't have a lot of room for a supplier who treats your order like a transaction. We get that. It's why we operate the way we do.

If your current supplier feels like a vending machine — you put in the order, something comes out — give us a call. We think you'll notice the difference pretty quickly. 🤝

📞 800.614.4701 | 💻 reliablewire.com

08/05/2026

We will be hosting a Vericom Certified Installer Training Lunch & Learn in a few weeks. On August 31st from 11:30am-1:30pm at our headquarters in Evergreen Park, IL. Please contact your rep if you are interested in attending this event. Details can be found in the image below.

We’re excited to team up with one of our great stocking partners, Reliable Wire & Cable Inc., for an upcoming Vericom Certified Installer Training Lunch & Learn!

Join us Monday, August 31, 2026, from 11:30 AM–1:30 PM at Reliable Wire and Cable in Evergreen Park, IL.

Installers can earn 2 BICSI CECs, enjoy lunch, and connect with the Reliable and Vericom teams while learning more about Vericom solutions.

Seating is limited. Contact Todd Philpott or Scott Dussman to reserve your spot.

08/05/2026

🎛️ Wire Wednesday — AV & Control

AV installs have a way of multiplying cable types on a job fast. Speaker runs, line level audio, control signals, video. And if you're working with a specific platform like Lutron or Crestron, add system-specific cable requirements on top of that.

The cleanest installs we see come from those who plan the cable list before they start pulling...not discovering mid-job that they need three more cable types that aren't on the truck.

Here's what our AV & Control line covers:

🔊 Speaker cable — in-wall and outdoor rated options
🎚️ Line level audio — balanced and unbalanced runs
📡 Coax — for video distribution and CCTV
🔵 Category cable — IP-based AV systems and AV over IP
🏠 Lutron & Crestron specific — system-matched cable for clean integration
🔔 Sounds & Intercom — multi-conductor options for paging and intercom
🌳 Direct burial — for outdoor or underground AV runs
💡 Fiber — for long AV runs where copper won't cut it

Most every type ships in our ReliaGrip™ Spoolbox — tangle-free, field-ready. And like the rest of our catalog, it all comes from one order, one call, one supplier. 📦

Got an AV or control job on the board? Let's make sure your cable list is complete before day one.

📞 800.614.4701 | 💻 reliablewire.com

08/04/2026

⚡ CIC vs. Standard Fire Alarm Cable

Most fire alarm installs use standard FPLP or FPLR. But there's a category of installation where standard cable isn't enough — and getting it wrong has serious consequences.

CIC (Circuit Integrity Cable) is a 2-hour fire-rated cable designed to keep a fire alarm circuit operational for up to two hours during a fire. Standard fire alarm cable will eventually fail when exposed to direct flame. CIC won't...at least not for the two hours it's rated.

When CIC is required:
— Emergency voice/alarm communication systems (EVACS) in high-rise buildings
— Fire pump wiring where continuity during a fire is critical
— Elevator recall circuits in many jurisdictions
— Any application where your AHJ requires a 2-hour fire rating for the circuit

The key distinction: CIC is tested for circuit integrity under fire exposure — it keeps working while everything around it is burning.

Check with your AHJ and your system designer on any high-rise or mission-critical life safety application. When CIC is required, there's no substitute.

We carry CIC in multiple configurations — call us if we can help!

📞 800.614.4701 | 💻 https://reliablewire.com/cables/fire-alarm-cable/fire-ci-cic-cable

08/04/2026

🗣️ Testimonial Tuesday

"Knowledgeable, knows his product, helpful and gets material to the job quick. Great person to help you with what you need."

— Rex (Elkin, NC)

Knows the product, gets it there fast, and actually helpful when you call. That's the bar we set every day. 🙌

08/04/2026

🚨 Copper Price Alert

Copper jumped $0.20/lb this morning — from $6.4450 yesterday to $6.6415 at the COMEX open today.

That's the highest price we've seen since we started tracking this month and one of the sharpest single-day moves of the summer. If you've got a large cable order on the horizon, today's number is worth paying attention to.

Same-day shipping on most orders. Give us a call before prices move. 📞

📞 800.614.4701 | 💻 reliablewire.com

08/03/2026

🧮 Stop Guessing on Cable Quantities

We built a free Cable Quantity Estimator on our website. If you're still doing takeoffs by hand or adding a rough percentage in your head, it's worth two minutes of your time.

Here's how it works:
📋 Enter each run length for your job
⚙️ Set your waste factor (5% for clean runs, 10–15% for standard commercial, 20%+ for complex routing)
📦 Choose your spoolbox strategy — whole reels, partial cuts, or one spool per run
✅ The tool builds your full Bill of Materials automatically and syncs with your cart

No more under-ordering mid-job. No more over-ordering and eating the overage. Just an accurate quantity, ready to order.

👉 Try it free at: reliablewire.com/tools/cable-quantity-estimator