We buy partial reels of cable.

Establishing what is actually left

Three methods work, and they are usually used together. The tag gives the shipped length, so subtracting what the job records say was pulled produces an estimate. Wrap count multiplied by circumference gives a second, independent number. Weighing the reel and taking off the tare gives a third, and it holds up best on large feeder where the wood itself is heavy. Write the method and the number on the flange, because the next person will ask.

None of them is exact. Wraps are counted on the outer layer while the layer beneath sits tighter, so a wrap count tends to overstate the remainder. A scale reads the reel, the wood and any water held in it. Two methods that agree within ten percent are enough for a review to begin, and the inspection settles the rest. A tape measure, a calculator and a scale have settled more of these questions than any file.

• Tag length minus documented used length
• Wrap count multiplied by the outer circumference
• Gross weight less tare, against cable weight per foot
• Jacket print, which sometimes carries a length marker
• The flange note, if someone wrote the footage there

Why a partial reel still gets bought

A buyer who needs four hundred feet does not care that the reel once held two thousand. Cable is a length product and the remainder is the product. What changes with a partial is the number of buyers who can use it, and a short piece of an unusual construction often places more easily than a long piece of a common one, because the contractor who needs it cannot buy it in small quantity.

The exception is a very short end. Under roughly a hundred feet of small building wire rarely justifies a dedicated trip, so it travels with other material from the same yard and the group is what moves. Construction decides more than length does: a partial of 15 kV shielded feeder, a partial of 500 MCM and a partial of tray cable are each reviewed on their own terms. Say which of the three you have and the lot can be placed or grouped without argument.

The cut end and the flange

Look at how the cable was cut. A square cut from a proper cutter leaves insulation and shield intact and suggests the reel was handled by someone who knew what it was. A torn, crushed or burnt end suggests the opposite, and it usually means the outer few feet are unusable. The same end shows whether the cable was dragged or lifted. A reel cut with a saw and left with burrs will not terminate cleanly either.

The flange matters as much. A cracked or rotted flange means the reel cannot travel, so the cable has to be rewound or coiled, which changes how a collection is planned and who has to be on site for it. Wood that has been wet for years fails at the lag screws first, and it fails while the reel is moving. Check the flange before the move is planned, not on the morning of it.

Do not cut a partial reel down to make it lighter. The length is the value, and a shorter reel rarely reviews better.

Taking a partial reel out of a yard

Say what equipment is on site. A partial of large feeder on a wooden reel can weigh more than a pickup should carry, and a forklift is the difference between a twenty minute load and a wasted afternoon. If the reel has to be walked to the truck on a pallet jack, plan for the surface between the two. A partial reel is a dead lift for two people and a routine one for a forklift.

Give the location and the access. A reel at the back of a fenced yard behind two others takes longer to reach than one standing at the gate, and a gate narrower than the reel changes the whole plan. A photograph of the approach saves a trip that ends with nothing loaded. One photograph of the reel in its surroundings and the route explains itself.

• Reel diameter, width and estimated weight
• Whether a forklift or crane can reach it
• Gate width and overhead clearance
• Ground surface between the reel and the truck