84-inch cable reels: mostly steel, mostly the maker's

Steel first

Southwire’s two 84-inch reels both carry “RMT” codes, the Aluminum Association’s designation for returnable metal reels with I-beam tires. Its catalogue lists a charge against each one, and its steel reel policy credits that charge only when the reel is returned within 12 months of shipment. If the reel in front of you is steel, the answer is the maker’s return process, with the serial number and the original invoice.

The desk does not buy returnable steel reels and will tell you so if you send one in a request. It is cheaper for you to send it back.

The wooden 84

Sonoco’s EcoReel table and AFL’s van table both list wooden 84-inch reels, so they do circulate. Sonoco’s has a 46-inch traverse and a 42-inch drum and fits nine to a truckload; AFL’s has a 36-inch traverse and 35-inch drum and fits 14 to 20 to a van depending on nesting. Wooden reels this large usually come off medium- and high-voltage power cable.

Handling

Plan on the better part of half a ton. Southwire’s steel 84s are listed at 895 and 930 pounds, and the arbor hole steps up to 5¼ inches for a heavier shaft. These reels move by crane or a large forklift with forks under both flanges; on a truck they are blocked and chained. Nobody rolls an 84 by hand.

Where they come from

Transmission and substation work: the Aspen to Golden and Golden to Mars lines Dominion is building through Loudoun, Pepco’s Capital Grid cable under the District, and the data-centre substations those lines feed.

Once empty

A sound wooden 84 is a working reel for another heavy-cable job, and that is where the desk tries to send it. Damaged ones are recycled; the lumber is large-section and the hub hardware is steel.

Published dimensions at and near 84 inches

The steel reels carry the larger 5¼-inch arbor hole. Sonoco's wooden 84 has a 46-inch traverse; AFL's a 36-inch traverse and 35-inch drum.

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 84s turn up here

Transmission yards and substation builds. If you are a superintendent closing a job with a mixed row of big reels, photograph each one’s stencil, serial number and code before anything moves. That record settles which reels go back to which maker and which, if any, are yours to sell, and it is what every steel reel policy we have read asks for.

Requests for 84-inch reels

Selling or clearing

At 84 inches, check for steel before anything else. Steel and tagged returnable reels go back to the maker; send the desk only wooden ones, with photos of both flanges.

Buying

Say what will lift it at your end (tractor forks, loader, crane) and where it will stand.

Empty weight to plan for

about 895 to 930 lb (steel)