copper wire ?

I hit upon about 200 pounds of electric company wire . It is as green as the statue of liberty . it's copper color when you cut into it .
YET it has a thin steel tracer wire fused in center . I have not tested to see if I cut a smidgen of the copper (like the edge of it) to see if nonferrous



It's a very impressive find , That i feel it's not worth selling as copper bearing at .12 to .15 per pound , My query is maybe this is worth melting
as I feel the steel tracer should not melt with copper it should float to surface BUT I might not know the how metals react.

CH,

Photos?

It might be old wire that was made to be hung between poles--the steel wire provided the strength and the copper was the conductor. I've got some old 2-conductor wire with a hard black rubber covering that is copper covered steel...it was used to bring electrical power to the old farm I've got. The old power poles are still laying in the bush. The copper covering isn't very thick, though. The wire is like spring steel--very stiff and tough. Actually, in thinking about it, the stuff may have been phone line. A bit too light duty for carrying much power.

If you have a yard that you deal with that has anyone with half a brain in their head, you might be better to calculate the % copper in the weight of the wire and just sell it to them as XX% copper. You would have to accurately measure the steel core and the outside diameter of the copper wiring. Got a vernier caliper or know someone with one? If you get the two diameters I can help with the calcs.

Jon.

With out seeing any pictures it sounds like it could be coax wire, not worth much post a pic if you could.

ive dealt with a couple different things similiar to what you are talking about...one thing i have had a lot of in the past is either copper or aluminum wire that is a bare braided wire that is either pure aluminum or copper but it has a steel strand in the center for strength...this type i usually cut in smaller pieces and clean...after you find a good method that works for you it isnt that bad of a job.....this stuff was usually old electric or telegraph lines....we had lots of old telegraph lines around here they are all gone now...its a shame we sold em all back when copper was around .65 cents per pound

the other wire ive saw alot around here is what we commonly refer to as railroad wire.....it is either one real thick strand alone or several thick strands and is braided.....this stuff is usually bare and it is green as a gord. sometimes ....it is copper clad wire....it has a steel core and there is no way i know of to clean it......id think melting it would loose you money.......

im not sure which type you have or even if what you have is anything at all like what i am talking about.....i can tell you that where i live if you have the copper clad type wire (steel core with copper plating ) you have to have a railroad permit to sell it....if you know the right people they are easy to get....in my experience this type is more trouble than what it is worth....i have to fill old cars with it when i get it or else it must be in 4ft pieces

Copperweld is a trade name. Here's their catalog.

They make all sorts of copper coated steel wire--from one strand stuff all the way up to 19 strand cable. They also make composite cable--a mix of the copper coated steel wire and plain copper wire. They market most of the wire towards electrical grounding, like around big transformers.

Apparently the electrical code makes you use ground wire that is really heavy for mechanical protection but that makes it oversized when you look at the current capacity if you use pure copper wire. So the copper coated steel is just right for the job.

Its a bit of a laugh to look thru the catalog. They make a big deal about copper thieves.

I'm curious to see how thick the copper is on CH's find. It sounds like it is a lot thicker than the modern wire.

Jon.

What if you sent a sample of it to someone with a yard that grades very fairly? Say their yard is willing to pay $1+/lb. It would be worth it to ship the lot to this person so they can sell it.

The cooper in the pic is 2&1..6a or 8a...6a is 67% copper and 8a is 57% copper

from your description it really sounds like you have what most folks around here call railroad wire no matter if it was railroad or power company thats just what folks have named that type of wire in my area...the power companies and the railroad both used a steel cored copper clad wire to run electricity a long long time ago....it is very hard to even sell it in my area...some yards will accept it in an automobile, but most will not accept it at all..if they do they want it in 4 ft sections.....

ive always felt it should be worth more than shred but i have never had any luck,,,what i have dealt with seems to be a very high percent copper but everywhere tells me its not worth it for them to seperate the steel and copper.....if you find a market for this type of wire we may be able to do some business...i can get tons and tons of it....my dad owns 100 acres that has thousands upon thousands of feet of this wire scattered on it....we own land that was a major right a way for tenesee gas company, american electric power, and an old railroad and telegraph company.....

in the past i have only cleaned the stuff up when i have needed to..it is alot of work getting the stuff out and is not worth it for shred price..there are a few old dumps where the stuff is still in spools...the spools are rotted away to nothing but the coils of statue of liberty green wire are still there.....once in a while we will find that someone has stole some of the stuff from our property...we always kinda laugh about it ...because we know they are in for a big surprise when they get 9 cents per pound instead of 3 dollars.....

anyhow if you find a better price than 10 or 14 cents per pound let me know, i will definatley cut you in for a very reasonable profit......

Originally Posted by pjost

I don't understand why you guys are letting this stuff slip through your fingers. If your yard won't take it as is, or pays iron price, take a small bolt cutters and cut it into 3 foot pieces. Then unwind the copper from the steel. Yeah it's a pain, but it's doable.

i dont think you understand what we are talking about....if you cut this stuff into 3 foot pieces then you will just have 3 foot pieces of copper clad steel wire....its not doable unless there is a way of either melting the stuff or chemically seperating....the copper is plated around the steel..it is very very thick so they call it clad instead of plated....

What would probably work , if I could shred into a copper shot like mix . (all of it ) then put it all into a like 200 gallon container . Fill with a salty brine solution,
I bet in a year iron would rust away leaving copper behind , I am pretty sure copper can stand up well in salt water . WELL that's just a fantasy .
I think melting would take lots of time and fuel leaving not so much profit.

I once bought some on E bay as copper ( about 4 1/2 years ago )
& discovered after I left a good comment that a magnet stuck to it .
Since I was kinda new to scrapping I just sold it off with my regular copper mix and it passed
But now as an experienced seller of metals I would never risk my reputation as the yard men expect me to know what
I am selling .

Originally Posted by pjost

Wish u were closer to me. I'm getting .90 / lb..

How much do you get?..id pay ya better than that!