Areas · Prince George's County
Reels and spools in Brandywine: where US-301 meets MD-5
BRANDYWINE, Md. — Brandywine, in ZIP 20613 at the southern edge of Prince George's County where US-301 and MD-5 meet, is a growing place with open land around it. Its reels come from new building and utility work, and its farms and yards are good homes for large reels.
From the reel desk · Checked 9 November 2026
Schematic line map, not to survey: Brandywine marked, with US-301, MD-5 drawn heavier. The Potomac, the Anacostia, the District line and the Beltway are drawn for bearings.
Fact box: Brandywine
- ZIP
- 20613
- Main roads
- US-301, MD-5 (Branch Avenue), MD-381
- Neighbours
- Clinton (20735), Cheltenham (20623), Waldorf to the south
- Land use
- Housing, commercial strips, industrial land, farms
A crossroads
US-301 and MD-5 come together at Brandywine before splitting again toward Waldorf and La Plata. The crossroads has drawn shopping centres, warehouses and new housing, while the land around it is still farms, woods and gravel works. It is the southern gateway of Prince George’s County, a few miles above the Charles County line.
What produces reels
Three kinds of work leave reels here. New building (subdivisions, retail centres and warehouses along US-301) uses building wire and feeders. Utility work for that growth uses aluminium conductor on large A-series reels and secondary cable on smaller ones. And industrial users in the area take in cable for their own work. The mix means a Brandywine pickup can include everything from 23 inch building wire reels to 66 inch utility reels.
Pickups at the south end
Brandywine is a longer drive from the Beltway than Landover or Capitol Heights, so pickups are planned around fuller loads, often combined with Clinton, Cheltenham or Waldorf. If you have a few reels now and more coming, say so; the desk may suggest waiting a few weeks so the truck goes out once.
Weather and storage
Open yards in the south of the county hold reels well, but rain and ground contact ruin them. Stand reels on their flanges on timbers or pallets, not on dirt. Keep plywood reels under cover if you can. A reel that rots at the bottom of a flange is lumber, not a reel.
Large reels for the land
Brandywine’s farms, horse properties and nurseries want big reels: 48, 60 and 66 inch nailed wood reels for hose, poly pipe and fencing, and for feeders and stands. Delivery needs a truck route that will take the weight; a 66 inch wooden reel weighs 370 to 473 pounds empty in Southwire’s published figures.
Buyers closer in
Homeowners in Brandywine and Clinton ask for table and fire-pit-side reels, and event businesses ask for several matching reels at once.
Getting here
US-301 runs north to Upper Marlboro and Bowie and south to Waldorf. MD-5 runs north to the Beltway at Camp Springs and south toward St. Mary’s. MD-381 heads southeast toward Aquasco.
Sending a request from Brandywine
- 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
Will the desk combine a Brandywine pickup with others nearby?
Usually. Pickups at the south end are planned around fuller loads, often with Clinton or Waldorf.
How heavy is a 66 inch reel to deliver?
Southwire lists its 66 inch wooden reels at about 370 to 473 lb empty.
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