burnt copper A NoGo - Page 2

Originally Posted by newattitude

Correct me if I'm reading the OP wrong but, are you saying you knowing tried to sell something you knew was not accepted (burnt wire) and are complaining about the law being upheld?

No I took item with me - not knowing it was illegal to sell. I did not create the product in GA
No I don't feel I was complaining


The yard was called
Blaze in Lawrenceville GA
678 377 9102
530 seaboard industrial blvd
Compared to my area I was surprise how well they paid for mix metal , they also make there shred

Originally Posted by 99problems

SEE. thats why i just need to get a truck and commute the 25 miles north a few days of the week. most of the good stuff from craigslist is within a 10 mile radius of lawrenceville area. If people actually responded to their craigslist posting i would just leave early in morning and wait for postings all day lol.

Only thing they for cash here are cans. and some sort of rule about having to be a hvac business (or something like that to recycle air conditioners). AND DEFINITELY NO . AND I MEAN NO BURNT WIRE.

FUNNY thing is on some parts of town people would rather hide a computer in a trash bag at bottom of their trash can , instead of letting somebody have it. (what a waste of trash bag also lol)

For me if I lived in GA I would have a car that gets 30 mpg and a trailer - thats how to curb hunt there .
Also I drove up and down plenty of homes on there trash day and did find a little -- REALLY LITTLE . So maybe your correct that many people bury the goods in the trash cans , Heck that kinda of curb hunting - - really looking in cans for the sake of it - - nope for home owners.

As most people think thats how the curb hunter works it.
But With a bit of pride I look for it in the open or the old wire out of the can.

Originally Posted by BRASSCATCHER

Sulfuric acid will eat thru all organic materials. Pants,shirts,shoes,boots,socks,hats...etc. It will keep eating until it exhausts itself or hits something inorganic. I would not handle it unless you have gloves that go up to at least your elbow that are rated to handle acid. You should also have at least a rubber apron on and a full face shield.
I am a bit surprised that you would post this as a means to clean copper wiring. Most scrappers are not going to have that proper safety equiptment to handle sulfuric acid and by posting in big red letters not to pour water into acid ever may not be enough of a warning for some people. Its very easy to get what goes into what confused and if the mistake is made or the proper dilution is not mixed you are going to have at the least some bad burns or possibly worse.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND anyone using sulfuric acid to strip wire. If you are too lazy to use a wire stripper or strip it by hand then turn it in as #2 insulated. Its not worth permanently scarring yourself or possibly killing yourself for a couple of pennies.
I am also surprised you posted this considering the top priority at the other site is safety.

I think that you have miss read this thread. I am talking about using 10% sulfuric acid not HOT 98% sulfuric acid this is used in HS jewelry making classes and in wash tanks in machine shops. This is to be respected but not feared and warn the fire department about. If this was the case when you unclogged your sink you would need to call then too.

pickling cooper is not new or inherently dangerous caution is good not saying its not.

Eric

I just can't see that adding extra work & materials to the copper wire would add that much $$ to the Copper.

Sure, I burn the plastic coating off (Well not for the last year or so. Insulated prices were good enough untill 2 months ago, then they changed, so its now viable again)

A 'Good burn' will save you more $ than what you would gain by using expensive acid to eat away all the 2nd grade copper oxides.

To get a 'Good burn' I wait till a really windy day (in the right area, better get that sorted, don't wanna be paying for a Fire crew to visit me (again))
gale force if I can.
Spread out all the wire flat out on a wire bed frame, off the ground & I make a little fire with scrapwood at the windy end of the bedframe, on the ground.
Normally I burn off 20kg at a time, for a return of, say 66%. So, 14Kg copper.

Once thats fired up, I let it catch the wire alight (it takes a little heat to get the copper warm so it burns right & hot) and the wind takes over.

If I see a red hot chunk of wire in the burn, I use a poker to spread it out so it gets air in to cool it down & oxygen to keep the fire roaring.

The thing I want to do is, burn it off real quick.
That way there less time for the fire to make copper oxide outta yah wire. The wind will not blow the fire out. The faster the wind, the faster the fire, the less oxides you get.

Then, as soon as the plastics burnt off the copper, chuck some water over the bright copper to cool it off.
Yah have to work fast & do 3 things at a time.

Then I get the copper home & give it wash with water & a dash of clothes washing powder & a rinse again & the coppers as clean as its ever gonna get.
----------------
The oxides I do wash off I collect (30 odd Kg now) & will electroplate the copper metal out as copper coloured grains, which will get mixed into whatever copper I can mix it into & sold as 'Domestic Copper'.

But between getting $1.20Kg for looms & $6.20Kg for domestic ($25 verses $86.....)

What I have learned is easy to see , don't stockpile lots of Burnt CU , cause one day you might be in for a surprise. A proper burn is not with out technique and time.
The yard named Blaze I felt was very fare in there % ratio of CU to Coating .
Stockpiling the wire as is during these turbulent law making times seems the safest choice

Originally Posted by etack

......This is to be respected but not feared and warn the fire department about. If this was the case when you unclogged your sink you would need to call then too.

pickling cooper is not new or inherently dangerous caution is good not saying its not.

Eric

Yes you should warn the fire department, using it once to unclog a sink is not the same as you using it to clean wire. You have a higher risk of getting it into your eye or other related accidents. In my book, its just smart to let them know that you have an acid that strong (if its pushing over 90%) and your using it more than just once a year for the dammed clogged sink.

Just take a look at this link https://www.google.com/search?q=sulf...w=1008&bih=632

just encase something known as a accident happens it would be nice if they knew what was burning your skin off when they show up and how to stop it....just a thought...I kinda like my skin/body.

You must really know 99.9% of scrappers are not calling any one with there Biz.
I have to chuckle at the thought of a call to my Fire Department about it .
Lets get down to this
Saws
cutting tools
Fire
Dust
Smells
Toxic
Are scrapping bed fellows.
depending on how deep you get
if you don't know how to be safe don't do it
On a hot summer day go ahead do your work with shorts no shirt and sandals
what you think your in the Bahamas . This is work There is an assumption in the forum , That
you know safety or respect the need to know

This information below is what makes the forum , this is how we learn .
debating about safety is great for the newbie who might be looking at the post But how can we really stop some one who is not going to ever be safe.
Please if your gonna dress for a Cancun beach don't scrap metal. Never let your guard down Be safe.

Originally Posted by etack

jewelers use dilute sulfuric acid in there pickling solutions to brighten cooper.

look for sulfuric acid drain cleaner. It will be wrapped in plastic at Ace or HD Lowes. it should say 98% sulfuric acid. from what I read on this (pickle)its about 10% acid the rest water 1:10 ratio on acid to water. (always add acid to water ESPECIALLY WITH SULFURIC)

Try it on small lot with a small amount of acid solution.

If I were to do this and had a reason to. I would set up my turkey fryer and use a big canning pot to boil water in then I would make my acid solution (always add acid to water ESPECIALLY WITH SULFURIC) in a 5gal plastic pail and put it into the hot water and let it heat up. when its warm around 80-90 degrees I would dip in some cooper and let it sit till all is clean. first rinse it in water then rinse it in a weak solution of lye and water then clean water again and again.

Just a warning sulfuric acid is a nasty unforgiving acid when concentrated and still nasty diluted. look up sulfuric acid burns it will eat through your skin in no time. diluted it will burn were gloves and eye protection. It will also do some pretty good work on your clothes so where the ones you were throwing out. I like to use those plastic rain suits for stuff like this.

Metal Studio Workbook: In a pickle. All about pickling solutions and how to dispose of them.

----------------------
Now with all due respect this link

https://www.google.com/search?q=sulf...w=1008&bih=632

Is a real truth. But I would also like to discuss what kinda society we live it that other people use acid to hurt others,as clearly many of the pics are actually crimes & not accidents

Originally Posted by newattitude

Correct me if I'm reading the OP wrong but, are you saying you knowing tried to sell something you knew was not accepted (burnt wire) and are complaining about the law being upheld?

I've been holding back on commenting on this thread. I've been waiting to see if anyone would actually mention that the reason most yards won't accept burnt copper wire is because it is illegal to burn it. It's a federal law, which means it's illegal everywhere in the USA.

Originally Posted by 99problems

hmm suggestions on cars with these capabilities and specs? (that is a model older than 2005)

The most I have hauled was 4300 pounds in a cargo van . they were oil burners .for that weight you need some thing approaching real .
Most of my scrapping is done with a mini van I can carny 1000 with no concern 1500 you drive slow. 2000 you better have balanced it out even and drive very slow & get it out soon as you can .
When you come down to it, hauling 1500 lb can make you money . So an old Nisson or Toyota can haul 2000 pounds with trailer , You will have to drive it slow and go tru the gears with care . But it will manage .
I had a centra 5 speed it got great mileage and I pushed a car or 2 to a gas station with the old bugger great motor that one.I stuffed 500 pounds in trunk and folded back seats no problem . should of kept car but sold it to have a cargo van but I always wished I kept it and had a trailer from Harbor Freight.

@ etack- No I did not mis-read the thread. You still have to use 98% sulfuric and dilute with water. Not as bad as handling hot sulfuric but I still would not want to have it spill and get a drop in my eye, or have it all over my work area. You, me and others know that water should not go into acids, but it only takes one time for someone to get distracted and make that mistake. Don't want to get into a pissing match about this, so we can just agree to disagree on this point and hopefully our posts will educate a few people that read this.
@SirS- any pictures of you in those shorts?

Originally Posted by Sirscrapalot

@SirS- any pictures of you in those shorts?

Full article at Scrap Metal Forum: http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/day-l...#ixzz2bvNsPjUn

You scare me BC, almost as much as the thought of pics like those getting out!

No shame in my game, I live on a beach an like a sponge I soak up the sun. Don't hate me cause I'm tanned.

Sirscrapalot - I can remember all the dumb stuff I've done just fine, no need to immortalize it with picture or video. - me

hahaha