- Lane
- Orange County on the 5
- Freeways
- ZIP codes
- 92602
- 92604
- 92606
- 92612
- 92614
- 92618
- 92620
- County
- Orange County
Empty cable reels picked up in Irvine
Yes, we pick up empty reels in Irvine, from the business complex by John Wayne Airport to the Irvine Spectrum and the technology parks off the 5 and the 133. Irvine sits in the middle of our Orange County 5 lane.
What gets made in Irvine
Irvine is a planned city, and its industry was planned too. Near John Wayne Airport, the Irvine Business Complex mixes offices, labs and light industry with new apartment towers. To the south-east, the Irvine Spectrum area around the 5, the 405 and the 133 holds technology, medical-device, semiconductor and automotive firms in campuses of low buildings. Between them, along Jamboree Road and Alton Parkway, more business parks fill the flat land.
The former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, closed in 1999, is being rebuilt as the Great Park and the neighbourhoods and business areas around it. Construction there has gone on for years and will go on for more.
The University of California, Irvine sits on the city's south side. A large campus is always building something: labs, housing, a new hospital wing, each one wired from the street to the outlet.
What Irvine produces most is the small, clean reel. Labs and electronics firms buy data, control and instrument cable on plywood and nailed spools of 24 to 30 inches, and those are some of the easiest spools for us to resell. Building projects add 36 to 48 inch reels of building wire and feeder. Very large utility reels are rarer here than in the older industrial cities.
Where Irvine's empty reels come from
- Technology and medical-device campuses
- Data, control and instrument cable on 24 to 30 inch plywood and nailed spools.
- Construction at the Great Park and the Spectrum
- Housing and commercial projects empty building-wire reels of 30 to 48 inches.
- Campus and hospital projects
- University and medical construction leaves feeder reels, often nailed, of 36 to 48 inches.
How the Orange County on the 5 run reaches Irvine
The 5 and 405 run reaches Irvine after Tustin, working the airport-side business complex off Jamboree or MacArthur and then the Spectrum off the 5 or the 133. Irvine's business parks have wide drives and docks, so loading is quick; construction sites need a gate time and a superintendent's name.
Other stops on the Orange County on the 5 lane: Santa Fe Springs, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Tustin, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach. Reels from Irvine can share a deck with any of them.
Getting Irvine's reels ready for the truck
Count by flange
Measure across the round end of each reel and group them: 24, 30, 36, 48 inch flanges are the sizes we see most from Irvine. A phone photo of the stack helps us size the run. The measuring guide shows where to put the tape.
Stage them where a flatbed fits
Put the reels where a 53 foot flatbed can pull alongside off Interstate 5, not down a lane it cannot turn in.
Give us a window
Tell us the hours your gate is open and staffed. Stops on the Orange County on the 5 lane get a pickup window by email once the run is planned.
Say how they get lifted
A forklift on site loads anything up to 96 inches. Without one, reels up to about 42 inches can be tipped and rolled up a ramp; bigger ones need a lift.
Flag the stencilled ones
A reel painted with a cable maker's name may be returnable. Tell us and we will say whether it should go back to its owner before we take it.
After the run, sound reels from Irvine are sorted for resale to contractors, makers and growers who want wooden spools; split flanges, torn arbor holes and rotten staves go to wood recycling. See resale or recycling for how a reel is graded.
Reel sizes that usually come out of Irvine
| Flange | How it loads | Empties per 53 ft deck (est.) | Empty weight, lb |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 in | Flat, stacked 4 high | 416 | 23 to 24 |
| 30 in | Flat, stacked 3 high | 189 | 39 |
| 36 in | Flat, stacked 3 high | 102 | 64 to 77 |
| 48 in | On edge, two rows | 26 to 30 | 106 to 177 |
Estimates from published reel and loading charts; method on reels per load.
Nearest areas to Irvine on the grid
Straight-line miles between town centres, not road miles.
Other Orange County areas, by grid square
- Anaheim 92801F7
- Santa Ana 92701F8
- Huntington Beach 92646F9
- Garden Grove 92840F8
- Fullerton 92831F7
- Orange 92865G8
- Costa Mesa 92626F9
- Tustin 92780G8
- Buena Park 90620F7
Irvine pickup questions
Do you collect from Irvine Spectrum business parks?
Yes. Most have docks and forklifts, which makes a ride-along quick.
Are small plywood spools worth collecting?
Clean ones are among the most wanted spools we sell. Pallet them by the dock.
Do you go to Lake Forest or Foothill Ranch?
Their business parks are a short run up the 5 and the 241 from the Spectrum. Ask with the address.
Do labs need special handling for reels?
Empty reels from labs are ordinary wood. If any held cable for a controlled area, have the site release them first, as it would any other material.