Sizing
Reading reel stencils and tags
The stencil tells you whose reel it is, the code tells you its size and whether it is returnable. How to read manufacturer codes and Aluminum Association NR and RM designations.
Updated
Before a reel can go back, someone has to know whose it is. The stencil, the tag and any reel code answer three questions: who made it, what size it is, and whether it is meant to come back.
The manufacturer stencil
Cable makers stencil their name on the flange. Southwire's packaging document says its reels are stencilled "Southwire". Take-back programs check it: CommScope's vendors price non-CommScope reels separately, and Service Wire accepts Service Wire labelled reels only. A reel with a weathered or painted-over stencil is, for program purposes, unlabelled.
The reel tag
The tag on a full reel carries more than the stencil. Southwire lists what its tags show: manufacturer, product description, footage, gross, tare and net weights, stock number, operator and date of manufacture. Two of these matter when the reel is empty. The tare weight is the empty reel's weight, which helps you plan loads, and the date starts the clock on any steel reel credit. Photograph tags before they weather away.
Aluminum Association codes: NR, RM, RMT
Southwire's chart gives an Aluminum Association designation alongside many of its own reel codes. The prefix says whether the reel is meant to come back:
- NR: non-returnable reel. NR 48.28 is Southwire's A-38, with a 48 in flange and 28 in traverse.
- RM: returnable metal reel. RM 66.32 is Southwire's S-77, with a 66 in flange and 32 in traverse.
- RMT: returnable metal reel with I-beam tires. RMT 84.36 is the S-120, with an 84 in flange and 36 in traverse.
The two numbers follow the same pattern in every row of the chart: flange first, then traverse, in inches.
Manufacturer reel codes
Southwire's own codes are a letter series and a number. "A" series reels are nailed wood for bare aluminium and ACSR, "C" series are nailed wood reinforced for copper and steel, "N" series are plywood and nailed wood for lighter loads, "E" and "G" are plywood for building wire, and "S" are steel. The number is the reel volume in thousands of cubic inches: an A-99 holds 99,000 cubic inches. An "E" suffix marks an export reel treated with wood preservative.
Colour and other marks
- Service Wire's refurbished reels are identified by their green colour.
- Okonite steel reels carry a red ID tag with the reel number, which its return form asks for.
- AFL notes that center-support reels accepted in its program carry a red stripe on the drum.
When there's no stencil
Measure the reel and enter the numbers in the identifier. It matches flange, traverse and drum to published chart sizes, and routes an unlabelled reel to reuse or recycling, since no brand program will take it.
Questions
What does NR 48.28 on a reel mean?
It is an Aluminum Association designation: NR means non-returnable reel, and the numbers are flange and traverse in inches. In Southwire's chart, NR 48.28 is its A-38 reel: 48 in flange, 28 in traverse.
What does the number in a Southwire reel code mean?
Southwire says the number is the reel's volume in thousands of cubic inches, so an A-99 is an A-series reel of 99,000 cubic inches. The letter is the series.