Scrap Romex: Should you strip it?

In my analysis, unless you can process a lot of material very quickly, you're wasting your time stripping scrap Romex, or worse, working for China at Chinese labor rates. Here's the breakdown:

== Analysis: NM-B 14-2 Romex solid copper wire ==

Weight with insulation, copper and ziploc bag: 92g
Weight with insulation and ziploc bag (no copper): 38g
Weight of copper: 54g

Recovery rate: 54g/92g = 58.69%

GLE Recycling Prices (27-FEB-2014)
#1 insulated wire: $1.25/#
Bare bright copper $2.80/#

Wire:Copper price ratio: 44.64%

2 minutes to strip 1M of Romex by hand (if you get fast at it) = 30 meters per hour

Approximately 1 Meter of Romex:
54g = .11905# x $2.80/# = $.333 #1 Bare Bright price
92g = .202825# x $1.25/# = $.285 #1 insulated wire price
Difference in price = $.048 increased value over selling as insulated wire

$.048/2 minutes x 30 = $1.44/hour = SLAVE WAGES

How long does it take you guys to strip a meter of Romex? Am I just really slow?

I took a look at your calcs...you may be skewing the numbers some by including the ziplock bag... That being said, about 60% recovery is about what I would expect. Maybe some experts will chime in here...

Also, you took 2 minutes to strip several small pieces of wire...consider stripping a meter or two of unbroken romex. You need to cut the jacket and then skin the 2 inner wires. Well under a minute with a sharp Olfa cutter.

Don't forget that normal romex has 3 copper wires in it...the bare ground wire needs to be considered, too. It could have fallen out of the short pieces you have, since it isn't held in there very well.

Also, solid core wire is the easiest to strip.. to automate the process, squeeze it between two metal rollers, and the insulation breaks in two places. (No fiddling around with a knife and trying to center it on the wire.) I don't know for sure, but you may be able to strip romex in one pass by that method--break the outer jacket AND the individual wire covers in one pass. Youtube videos are your friend here for ideas on what others have done to make solid core wire strippers.

If you have access to lots of romex I would do a test on a realistic sample of wire that is more representative of what you would be getting. All the romex scraps I have seen from house wiring are rarely less than a foot long and some are easily 10 feet. Do a timed sample with a few lbs of romex and I'm sure you would be into North American wages pretty easily.

as usual, YMMV!!

Jon.

2 words: wire stripper

Originally Posted by sawmilleng

I took a look at your calcs...you may be skewing the numbers some by including the ziplock bag... That being said, about 60% recovery is about what I would expect. Maybe some experts will chime in here...

Also, you took 2 minutes to strip several small pieces of wire...consider stripping a meter or two of unbroken romex. You need to cut the jacket and then skin the 2 inner wires. Well under a minute with a sharp Olfa cutter.

Don't forget that normal romex has 3 copper wires in it...the bare ground wire needs to be considered, too. It could have fallen out of the short pieces you have, since it isn't held in there very well.

Also, solid core wire is the easiest to strip.. to automate the process, squeeze it between two metal rollers, and the insulation breaks in two places. (No fiddling around with a knife and trying to center it on the wire.) I don't know for sure, but you may be able to strip romex in one pass by that method--break the outer jacket AND the individual wire covers in one pass. Youtube videos are your friend here for ideas on what others have done to make solid core wire strippers.

If you have access to lots of romex I would do a test on a realistic sample of wire that is more representative of what you would be getting. All the romex scraps I have seen from house wiring are rarely less than a foot long and some are easily 10 feet. Do a timed sample with a few lbs of romex and I'm sure you would be into North American wages pretty easily.

as usual, YMMV!!

Jon.

Thanks, Jon. Yes, about 60% is roughly what I got. The plastic bag is a non-factor since it was weighed with the copper and without. I also double-checked the weight of the copper by inference by just weighing it on the scale separately. The only possible way the numbers are off are with the scale itself. It's a postal scale with a resolution of 2g. It is a quality unit and fairly accurate and repeatable, but it is not perfect. Still, 58% =~ 60%, no?

I have seen the "squeeze it between two metal rollers" videos on YouTube. I sure wouldn't want to have a distracted moment and get my fingers too close to a device like that unless there was a lot of safety designed in. That's a shortcut to a disability check for somebody like me who earns his primary living by typing. I'm a believer that it works well, though, and is very fast. I'm not getting enough Romex scrap to justify building a machine unless it also works with stranded wire. Does it?

--Geoff

I took in a load of romex (stripped) yesterday. I lost money stripping it. This is assuming the price the employee quoted me is correct. Lately they've been jerking me around on prices.

Ill chime in as a wire buyer . It all depends on your situation. I have a wire stripper and I ONLY get $0.90 a pound for ALL insulated wire . I have a wire stripper and bare bright is $ 3.03 a # . Romex wire recovery is between 62-65 % generally . I was buying extension cords at .70 a # . That had a recovery rate between 38 and 44 % recovery rate. You can dispute me on This but I have found SOME extension cords with a recovery rate higher then romex. Again it depends on the recovery and how fast you can strip . I have stopped buying for now, I may start up again if I can get faster at it .

GG,

I don't think the crusher roller design works for stranded wires, because the wire will just flatten out. If you mash it hard enough you end up with fine strands of wire embedded in the insulation.

I see that Redcross gets a little more than 60%--I'd go with his numbers as he has been at it for some time.

Yeh, any wire stripper can make the blood run cold when thinking about what it could do if it dragged you in with it. One of my sons bought a common hand-cranked cutting stripper offa eBay. The ads suggested you can put an electric drill on it but we preferred the hand crank for safety reasons!!

If I was gonna build a powered stripper I would put a speed controlling foot pedal on it along with a safty crash bar in front of the rollers. Hit the crash bar and it stops dead. Or let off on the foot pedal and it stops, too.

Maybe some enterprising soul will come up with a little copper granulator that suits the small quantities that us little guys on SMF can use and afford!!

Doing it by hand with an Olfa cutter can be hazardous, too.

I would love to have a source of romex. I have seen the electrical contractors come in to the yards with pickup loads of unstripped romex. Most are too busy to even consider stripping.

Jon.

I've been stripping romex on and off for 6 1/2 years. I always use a box knife with a sharp blade. Lay the wire across a vice, hold the knife at an angle on top of the wire so the blade cuts into the insulation and pull the wire under the knife. Never try to push the knife along the wire, that's when it gets dangerus. Hay Sawmilleng, getting in your car and driving down the road can be hazardous.

Originally Posted by KzScrapper

I turn 90+% of my wire in as insulated...If processing something doesn't yield $20+ an hour I'd rather chase more stuff then play with it.

As stated on many posts in this forum, it just depends on what your time is worth to you. I do a lot of wire stripping, but I personally do not strip it during the day. I usually strip mine when I am online playing poker, I will start stripping some when I am not playing a hand. That being said, I am picky on the wire I strip, I do not strip the general wiring harness wire from washers, etc. I do the thicker stuff and any romex I might have found. It gives me something to do while I am waiting for the next hand, and helps to maximize my income. That is just me though.

Happy, sorry, not trying to sound like a safety Nazi....it sounds like you got a decent method figured out. How much copper do you figure you can strip per hour with your method? Does the same method work OK with stranded wire?

Jon.

I'm like KZ, I only strip the thick stuff. Degaussing cables, jumper cords, they all get stripped. That thin stuff in computers, and other electronics I just get rid of as insulated. Then again my yard knows me, an will take it all in their highest category for insulated.

Long as I'm making that .90lb+ I'll keep taking it in covered. Makes my life easier figuring out what I'll get for it when I hit the yard. I also wait till I have between 50 to a 100lbs of wire.

Sirscrapalot - We have a lot of strippers here.

Stranded stuff you need a wire stripper or at least the 2x4 stripper method , you can not use a knife effectively . Thats just my opinion . I own a coppermine wire stripper .

Kevin

yes, with a 700USD wire stripper machine

I know this is an old thread, but it never mentions the following option for ROMEX- stripping only the flimsy outer insulation and removing the loose paper on the ground wire. The other two wires have been a pain for me to strip- possibly because of arthritis, even when using a TNT Tooling wire stripper. Anyone else able to do calculations for removing just the easy stuff and leaving the tight insulation on the other two wires? (I don't have enough experience yet to trust my numbers, or I'd do it myself)

Steve, that is a far better way to go about it. In my experience you can just get a corner started and then use the ground wire to rip down the outer sheath. You quickly end up with the bare bright ground wire and two pieces of “spaghetti” wire. Spaghetti pays higher than romex and you get some B.B. as well. In addition to it being a very fast procedure. Trying to strip spaghetti is a fools errand in my humble opinion.

Originally Posted by Melk

Steve, that is a far better way to go about it. In my experience you can just get a corner started and then use the ground wire to rip down the outer sheath. You quickly end up with the bare bright ground wire and two pieces of “spaghetti” wire. Spaghetti pays higher than romex and you get some B.B. as well. In addition to it being a very fast procedure. Trying to strip spaghetti is a fools errand in my humble opinion.

Thanks Melk. I appreciate your prompt reply.