Reels from electrical contractors' yards
Electrical contractors are where most empty reels end up. Every job leaves a few, and they pile up by the fence until someone has to deal with them. We collect mixed brands, mixed sizes and part loads from contractor yards across the four counties, from six reels to a full deck.
- Usual flanges
- 24 to 48 in
- Areas it fills
- 6
- Lanes
- 4
Electrical contractors around Los Angeles
An electrical contractor buys cable on reels for every commercial and industrial job: building wire, feeders, control cable, data cable. When the reel is empty it comes back to the shop, and unless the maker or distributor wants it back, it stays there. Most yards hold a mix: 24 and 30 inch spools from low-voltage work, 36 and 42 inch reels from building wire and feeders, and the odd large reel from a plant or utility job.
Manufacturer return programs exist and are worth using when they fit. Service Wire, for example, picks up its own nailed reels of 30 to 72 inches, in sound condition, by the full truckload. A contractor's fence line rarely looks like that: it is several brands, several sizes and a few broken ones. That leftover is what we take.
Yard space is the hidden cost. A fence line of empties takes room that could hold material or vehicles, and a stack of reels left outside for a year loses most of its resale value to sun and rain. Clearing them while they are sound is better for everyone.
Where the reels pile up
In the contractors' own yards and shops: along San Fernando Road in Sun Valley and Pacoima, in the industrial blocks of Santa Ana and Garden Grove, in Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga, in the Gateway Cities, and behind thousands of small shops across the basin. Job sites add more when a project ends.
What kind of reels
Mostly nailed one-way reels from 24 to 48 inches, a few plywood spools, and the occasional bolted reel. Mixed brands, almost always.
How a pickup fits the work
Contractors want reels gone without anyone having to drive them anywhere. Count them, take a photo, and send the address: a small stack rides along on the next run that passes, and a big clear-out gets its own window. A standing pickup suits a shop that empties reels every month.
Where the reels go next
Most contractor reels are one-way nailed reels, and the sound ones are the backbone of what we sell: table-size spools for makers, mid-size reels for growers, and reels for other contractors who wind their own cable. The broken ones, with split flanges, loose staves or arbor holes chewed by reel stands, go to wood recycling rather than a landfill.
When the reels come off the job
Timing follows the jobs. Shops fill up at the end of big projects and when crews clean up between them, and many contractors clear their yards before the holidays or at the end of a fiscal year. A standing pickup takes the guesswork out.
A pickup, stop by stop
Pull the keepers
Set aside reels you will reuse, and any that the maker wants back.
Count the rest by size
Group by flange: 24, 30, 36, 42, 48 and up. A photo helps.
Clear the gate
Leave room for a 53 foot flatbed to pull alongside, or tell us if it cannot.
Ride along or full run
We say which, and send a pickup window.
Reel sizes from electrical contractors
Lanes that serve electrical contractors
- Lane 4San Fernando Valley, 5 and 118Sun Valley, Pacoima, Van Nuys, Canoga Park, Chatsworth
- Lane 6Orange County on the 5Santa Fe Springs, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Tustin, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach
- Lane 8Inland Empire on the 10Chino, Ontario, Jurupa Valley, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, San Bernardino, Redlands
- Lane 2Alameda Corridor and VernonCompton, Huntington Park, Vernon, Commerce
Other industries that empty reels here
Questions from electrical contractors
Do you take mixed brands?
Yes. Mixed brands and part loads are what we are for.
Should I use the maker's return program instead?
If you have a full truck of one maker's sound reels and it runs a program, try it first. Everything else, send to us.
Can you take broken reels?
Yes. Split flanges and torn arbor holes go to recycling instead of resale.
How small a stack will you pick up?
Six reels is a normal ride-along. Fewer, if the truck is passing.
Do you collect from job sites as well as shops?
Yes, where a flatbed can reach the reels and someone can sign for the pickup.
What about reels with cable left on them?
Tell us. Leftover cable has value, and we will either price it or leave it with you.