Reel size
60-inch cable reels
Sixty-inch reels carry medium-voltage and big feeder cable. They weigh hundreds of pounds empty, move only on forks, and a good share of them belong to the cable maker or a utility.
The numbers
- Flange thickness
- 2.5 to 3 in
- Height on its flange
- about 33 to 42 in
- Handling
- Forklift rated for the weight; never by hand
- Weight method
- Two flange discs plus the stave shell, at 28 to 40 lb per cubic foot
What it carries
Medium-voltage cable, large feeders, collection cable on solar and storage sites, and high-count fibre. Builds are heavy nailed or bolted wood, with some steel.
Who empties them
Utility contractors in ComEd and NIPSCO territory, data-centre electrical crews, substation builders, solar contractors and large plants.
Buyback, return or recycling
Bought when sound and one-way, usually with a buyer lined up. Returnables are very common: read every tag. Damaged 60-inch reels are recycled with their steel parts separated.
Uses for buyers
Big outdoor tables, landscaping features, farm storage, and rewinding medium-voltage or feeder cable.
Where they turn up around Chicago
Substation and line work in Will County and Lake County, Indiana; data-centre medium-voltage feeders in Elk Grove Village; plant service upgrades in the Calumet; and storage-site collection cable. They usually come a handful at a time, each taking a forklift trip.
Plan pickup space: a 60-inch reel needs a clear aisle and room to tilt it onto forks safely.
Checking one
- Steel parts: arbor plates, bands and bolts often mean a maker owns it.
- Rot at the flange edges where water sat.
- Torn drive holes from heavy payoffs.
- Split flange boards from tie-down straps over-tightened in transport.
Storing them outdoors
Sixty-inch reels usually live outdoors because nothing else has room. Put them on timbers or railway sleepers on level ground, chock each one, leave a forklift aisle, and check every few months for standing water at the bottom flange. A tarp over the top flange slows weathering.
How much cable it holds
Layered capacity at the middle build shown above, with 2 inches of clearance below the flange rim. Real cable packs less neatly; treat these as upper figures and check with the capacity calculator.
| Cable diameter | Length | Layers × turns |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 in (6 mm) | 70,770 ft (21,570 m) | 48 × 128 |
| 0.35 in (9 mm) | 35,560 ft (10,840 m) | 34 × 91 |
| 0.5 in (13 mm) | 17,690 ft (5,395 m) | 24 × 64 |
| 0.65 in (17 mm) | 10,090 ft (3,075 m) | 18 × 49 |
| 0.8 in (20 mm) | 6,910 ft (2,105 m) | 15 × 40 |
| 1 in (25 mm) | 4,420 ft (1,350 m) | 12 × 32 |
| 1.25 in (32 mm) | 2,550 ft (775 m) | 9 × 25 |
| 1.5 in (38 mm) | 1,940 ft (590 m) | 8 × 21 |
| 1.75 in (44 mm) | 1,200 ft (365 m) | 6 × 18 |
| 2 in (51 mm) | 1,110 ft (335 m) | 6 × 16 |
In metric
- Flange
- 152 cm
- Traverse
- 71 to 91 cm
- Drum
- 71 to 91 cm
- Empty weight
- about 136 to 272 kg
Questions
How heavy is a 60-inch wooden reel?
Roughly 300 to 600 pounds empty for common nailed builds, by our wood-volume estimate. Damp wood and bolted builds weigh more.
Are 60-inch reels usually returnable?
Many are, especially from utility work. Check the tag before anything else.
What forklift does a 60-inch reel need?
One rated well above the reel's weight, with tines long enough to reach under both flanges. A standard warehouse forklift usually manages; check its rating plate.
Can a 60-inch reel be a garden feature?
Yes. Laid on a flange on gravel, it makes a raised bed or a platform; sealed and anchored, it lasts several seasons.
Reel words on this page
- Flange
- The round side discs that hold the cable in. Flange diameter, edge to edge, is the size a reel is known by.
- Traverse
- The inside width between the flanges: how wide a layer of cable can be.
- Drive hole
- A smaller hole off-centre in the flange that a drive pin uses to turn the reel.
- Payoff
- The stand or trailer a reel turns on while cable is pulled off it.
- Returnable reel
- A reel its maker expects back, usually stencilled or tagged to say so.
- Reel tag
- The label or plate carrying the maker, the reel number and sometimes the return terms.
Selling or buying 60-inch cable reels?
Pick buy, sell or recycle, the product, the count and your ZIP, and the full request opens with those filled in.
Or write to info@chicagowoodenspools.com with the count, flange sizes and a photo of the stack.