Areas · Montgomery County
Reels and spools in Olney: houses, horse farms and the edge of the Ag Reserve
OLNEY, Md. — Olney, in ZIP 20832 in central Montgomery County, is a community of houses and shopping centres at the edge of open farmland, so it has more people who want reels than reels to sell. The desk delivers spools here and collects from home and commercial jobs on runs up Georgia Avenue.
From the reel desk · Checked 9 November 2026
Schematic line map, not to survey: Olney marked. The Potomac, the Anacostia, the District line and the Beltway are drawn for bearings.
Fact box: Olney
- ZIP
- 20832
- Main roads
- Georgia Avenue (MD-97), MD-108, MD-200 (ICC) to the south
- Neighbours
- Sandy Spring, Brookeville, Ashton
- Utility
- Pepco (most of the county)
Where the suburbs stop
Olney grew around the crossroads of Georgia Avenue and MD-108 and is now a community of subdivisions, a town centre and a hospital. North and west of it, Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve protects farmland and open space. East are Sandy Spring and Ashton, older crossroads villages. That puts Olney at the line between suburban Montgomery and its farm country.
Reels from small jobs
Olney does not have large construction sites or industrial yards. Its reels come from:
- House work: service upgrades, generator and electric-vehicle charger installs, solar, and new houses on infill lots.
- Commercial renovation in the town centre and shopping centres.
- Utility work on the area’s distribution lines.
Each job leaves a few reels, usually 23 to 36 inches. The desk picks them up on runs that also cover Rockville, Gaithersburg or Silver Spring.
Large reels for farms and horses
The farms and horse properties north and west of Olney are where big reels are wanted. Common uses:
- Hose and poly pipe on 48 to 60 inch reels, with a pipe through the arbor hole.
- Fencing wire on smaller reels.
- Stands and feeders, using a reel on its flange.
A 48 inch reel weighs about 200 pounds empty in Southwire’s tables, and a 60 inch wooden reel nearly 400. Delivery to a farm needs a firm route for the truck and someone with a tractor or a strong back on the other end.
Table reels for houses
Olney homeowners ask for 30 and 36 inch reels as patio and garden tables. The height on end depends on the traverse, the width between the flanges: a 30 inch Southwire A-10 stands about 25 inches high, a 36 inch N-24 about 32. Say what height you want.
Getting here
Georgia Avenue (MD-97) runs north from Wheaton through Olney to Brookeville. MD-108 runs east to west, toward Laytonsville and Sandy Spring. The Intercounty Connector (MD-200) passes south of Olney, linking I-270 and I-95.
Sending a request from Olney
- Count and measure. Count the reels and measure the largest flange edge to edge across the face. A photo with the tape in it is better than a guess.
- Check the build. Nailed lumber, plywood sheet, steel or plastic. Look for a stencil or tag naming the maker and the reel number.
- Set aside steel and tagged returnables with their serial numbers. Those go back to the maker, not to the desk.
- Say where they stand: yard, dock, garage level, alley or curb, plus clearance, gate hours, badging or escort a driver needs.
- Say what loads them: forklift, pallet jack, loader, ramp, or only people. Reels over 42 inches weigh more than 100 lb empty.
- Say how often: one time, weekly, monthly or at each job close-out.
- Buying instead? Give the flange and height you want, how many, and how the reel gets from the truck to where it will sit.
- No form handy? Email info@dcwoodenspools.com with the same details and a few photos.
Reels you are likely to have
| Reel | Build | Flange | Traverse | Drum | Lb | Usually carries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-5 | Nailed wood | 23 | 17 | 12 | 34 | Copper building wire, grounding |
| A-10 | Nailed wood | 30 | 22 | 16 | 66 | Service drop, bare aluminium |
| N-24 | Nailed wood | 36 | 28 | 14 | 83 | Insulated and multiplex cable |
| A-29 | Nailed wood | 42 | 28 | 21 | 154 | Overhead conductor, feeders |
| A-38 | Nailed wood | 48 | 28 | 24 | 212 | Aluminium and ACSR, large feeders |
| A-62 | Nailed wood | 60 | 28 | 28 | 397 | Utility conductor |
| A-76 | Nailed wood | 66 | 28 | 30 | 473 | Heavy conductor |
| S-120 | Steel, returnable | 84 | 36 | 42 | 895 | Transmission and medium voltage |
Other makers' reels differ by an inch or two. All flange sizes · How to measure
Questions the desk gets
Can the desk deliver a big reel to a horse farm near Olney?
Yes. Give the flange size, the route for the truck, and how it will be unloaded.
What height is a 36 inch reel used as a table?
It depends on the traverse. Southwire's 36 inch reels stand from about 19 to 32 inches high on end.
Sources
Each opened and read on 9 November 2026.
- Southwire, Reel Packaging Information (CableTech Support): reel series, wooden reel dimensions and weights, steel reel dimensions and charges, tag contents; cites NEMA WC26
- Maryland Office of People's Counsel, Your Local Electricity Companies: which utility serves which Maryland counties