36-inch cable reels: where the published load tables start

Two hundred to a truck

The number to keep in mind for this size is 200. That is the maximum Sonoco says fits in one of the trucks it sends, and it is roughly what a yard needs before a manufacturer pickup makes sense. A data-centre fit-out in Ashburn can produce that many over a long job. A distributor branch in Lanham or a contractor’s shop in Upper Marlboro, clearing reels a few at a time, never will. Those reels come to the desk.

What it carries

The H-13 and N-24 are N-series and H-series nailed designs, built for insulated cable rather than bare conductor; the C-17 and C-18 next to them are C-series reels for heavier copper. At 36 inches you are looking at the reels behind most branch-circuit and feeder work: copper THHN in longer lengths, multi-conductor control cable, smaller aluminium feeders.

Handling

At 73 to 99 pounds, a 36-inch reel rolls easily by one person and lifts with two. It fits upright in a full-size pickup bed with the tailgate shut. For a stack of them, keep them standing on their flanges in rows, chocked at the ends, and keep steel and plastic reels in a separate row so the sort is done before the truck arrives.

What it suits once empty

• Coffee table: the H-13 stands about 19 inches high on end, which is coffee-table height with a 36-inch round top.
• Patio or kitchen table: the N-24 stands nearly 32 inches high, close to dining height.
• Farm and garden: fence wire, hose and drip line wind back onto a 36-inch reel with a pipe through the 3⅛-inch arbor hole.
• Re-spooling: a sound nailed 36-inch reel on a stand is a working reel again.

Measure the traverse as well as the flange before you ask for or offer one: the same 36-inch flange makes a squat table or a tall one.

Published dimensions at and near 36 inches

Southwire's two 36-inch reels are very different shapes: the H-13 is narrow (16⅜ in traverse), the N-24 wide (28 in). Sonoco's load table gives a 24-inch traverse.

Reading the numbers

Flange

The diameter of the round end, edge to edge. The size a reel is known by.

Traverse

The inside width between the flanges, where cable winds. It sets how tall the reel stands on end.

Drum

The diameter of the barrel the cable winds onto. Stiff power cable needs a big drum.

Arbor hole

The centre hole for a shaft. 3⅛ in on most wooden reels; 5¼ in and up on heavy steel ones.

Weight

Empty, or tare, weight in pounds as the maker publishes it. A tag on the reel gives the same figure.

Series letter

Southwire codes the build: A and C nailed, N plywood or nailed, E and G plywood, S steel.

Where 36s turn up here

Almost everywhere: apartment and office jobs in Arlington and Silver Spring, school renovations in Fairfax, warehouse fit-outs along I-95 near Laurel. A tip for sellers: the 36 is the size buyers ask for most for tables, so a clean, unbroken one with both flanges flat is worth setting apart from the damaged ones before the truck comes.

Requests for 36-inch reels

Selling or clearing

A sound nailed 36-inch reel meets the size rules of the programs we have read; count by brand first in case one maker's reels fill a truck (200 at this size, by Sonoco's table). Send the desk the rest.

Buying

Say how it will come off the truck. At this size two people or a machine are needed.

Empty weight to plan for

73 to 99 lb