Empty reels from electrical contractors

The biggest source of reels

Electrical contractors handle more cable than anyone else in the region, across more jobs, and they produce more empty reels as a result. A mid-size contractor in Montgomery County or South Jersey might run crews on a dozen jobs at once: office fit-outs, school additions, apartment buildings, warehouse upgrades, hospital wings, service changes, car chargers and solar tie-ins. Every one of those jobs ends with empties. Some go back to the distributor, some go back to the shop, and some are left on site for someone to deal with. This page is about all three.

What contractors' reels look like

• Small plywood spools from branch wiring, control wire and low-voltage cable: the bulk by count.
• 24- to 42-inch nailed and plywood reels from feeders, sub-feeds and cut lengths of building wire.
• 48- to 60-inch nailed reels from service entrance and main feeder pulls on bigger buildings.
• Compartment reels carrying several conductors for one circuit.
• Occasional large and steel reels on medium-voltage work, which are often returnable.

Most are one-way wooden reels. Distributors sell cut lengths on their own reels, and cable mills ship full reels one-way; Southwire, for instance, ships its wooden reels non-returnable with no deposit. Steel reels and stencilled wooden reels are the exception and go back to their makers.

Three ways contractors use a pickup

1. Shop clear-outs. Empties brought back from jobs pile up at the shop. A single visit clears the lot, sorted into reuse, recycling and returnables.
2. Job-site clear-outs. At the end of a project, the reel pile is cleared before handover. See clearing reels off a job site.
3. Recurring pickups. For contractors who produce empties every week, a schedule keeps the shop clear. See recurring pickup.

Returnables on contractors' jobs

The contractor that bought the cable is the one billed if a returnable reel does not go back. On a busy job, returnables get mixed into the general pile and forgotten. At every pickup, steel and stencilled reels are set aside first and listed by maker and number, so the contractor can arrange the return and keep the credit.

Records for the job file

General contractors and owners often ask electrical subcontractors for closeout paperwork, including where waste went. A pickup record lists the reels collected by size and outcome, reused, recycled or set aside for return, with the site address and date. Ask for it in the request.

Keeping reels collectable

• Stand empties on their rims, on hard ground, away from vehicle routes.
• Keep returnables in a separate, marked spot.
• Pull lagging nails and stack lagging separately.
• Do not let crews cut reels up for blocking or firewood.
• Keep plywood spools dry; they peel when wet.

Across the region

Contractors' reels come from everywhere in the service area, but shops cluster along the main corridors: US 422 and US 202 in Montgomery County, I-95 and US 1 in Bucks County and Northeast Philadelphia, Route 130 and Route 73 in South Jersey, and US 1 and I-476 in Delaware County. Pickups are routed along those corridors.

From takeoff to closeout

An electrical job begins with an estimate built from a takeoff of every feeder, branch circuit and fixture. The contractor orders cable by the reel, schedules deliveries, and assigns crews with reel stands, pulling equipment, tuggers and carts. As the job progresses, the foreman tracks what is pulled and returns surplus. At closeout, after the punch list is done, the gang boxes and leftover material go back to the shop, and the empty reels either come back too or stay on site for disposal. Contractors who plan for the reels at the start, with a pickup arranged at closeout, avoid a last-minute scramble.

Reel trailers and jack stands

Larger contractors use reel trailers to carry heavy reels to the pull point, and jack stands or reel rollers to pay cable off smoothly. That equipment is easy on the reel; reels pulled from that kind of setup usually come back in good condition. Reels dragged, rolled across rough ground or dropped from a truck are a different story.

Union and open-shop firms

Contractors of every size and kind are welcome, from one-van residential shops to large union firms with fleets of trucks and multiple yards. We fit the pickup to the yard.

Training centres

Apprenticeship training centres use reels for teaching wire pulling. They often have surplus reels too.

Service calls and maintenance crews

Service departments fixing tripping breakers, adding circuits, changing fixtures or wiring generators carry stock on their vans. Over months, the vans' bins and shelves fill with empty spools and partly used reels that nobody wants to throw out. A clear-out day, with every van emptied into one pile at the shop, makes a tidy single collection. Fleet managers often schedule that each quarter, alongside van inspections and tool audits.

Low-voltage and integration trades

Security, audiovisual, nurse-call, building automation and access-control integrators use smaller cable in larger variety. Their spools are light but numerous.

Questions

Can you collect from several of our job sites in one day?

Yes. List each site with its ZIP code and the reels there, and they are routed together.

Will you take reels with cable left on them?

Only by arrangement. Leftover cable belongs to the contractor and has its own value.