What a great forum! Thanks for having me!

[StephsScraps]

Hi Everyone! My name is Steph, I live in central Pennsylvania and I'm fairly new to much of the recycling/scrapping world. I've been scrapping for a few years, but mostly just opportunistic scrapping... like ripping stuff apart and separating and recycling if we had something we could save from eternally occupying a landfill. This past year, I have started reading a lot more about it, and have tried to keep up a part time income with it. I've done quite well with what we had laying around the garage and what friends and family have let me recycle. I want to committ to making a solid attempt at scrapping/recycling full time by seeking out scrap from many other sources.

I love the work... I love ripping stuff apart, seeing all the different colors and feeling the different weights of the metal and learning how it all is put together so that I can take it apart. I am really interested in learning what is the best use of my time in scrapping... like today I learned that spending 27 hours straight ripping copper wire from insulation probably wasn't worth the 36 dollars I made off of it....and although 10 dollars per 100 lbs of steel appears bulky and less worthy of my effort... it adds up much quicker to a larger payout than tirelessly ripping wire with a utility knife.

I am also interested in learning how to acquire sources of scrap metal... and how to fairly interact and partner with the people I collect from.

I am VERY impressed with this forum. You all have taught me so much in the past day! I am looking forward to getting to know this group!

Happy Scrapping...
Steph

[Mick]

Welcome to the Forum, Steph. Were you stripping that crappy stranded wire? Get some of that solid core house wiring or, better yet, some welding cable. You'll notice a definite difference.

[GeorgeB]

Welcome aboard. Enjoy your stay.

[miked]

Welcome to the forum. I also enjoy the discover of trearing things apart and seeing what's inside of them. Best to you, Mike.

[submarinepainter]

welcome to scrappers heaven lol

[StephsScraps]

Thanks everyone! For a good while today I had turned into a zombie whose only reminder of life outside of the foot and a half between me and my laptop screen has been the crunching of the plastic that formerly coated all that wire I stripped ( that is still laying under my feet from last night) as I move my feet around to make sure they still work I have been reading and reading and reading in this forum for hours and hours... so much to learn here!!! It's amazing. Thanks so much!

Mick- I was stripping all different kinds of wire... almost all of it was stranded. I came across some really awesome huge tractor trailer battery cable that I was in awe of...but other than that it was all mostly power cords and the like.

I was surprised today when the recycling center would not count the stranded wire as No.1 copper. I had it organized with No.1 and the guy moved all the wire to the No.2 box. I asked the manager about it when I went to the office to get paid and he told me when it comes to wire, it all depends on the thickness of it whether or not it makes No.1. It's no big deal- only a 10 cent difference per pound and I didn't have a huge load... but I was honestly very surprised and from what I remembered, I thought that unless the copper had other metal (like where it was soddered or what not) on it, that it was all classified as No.1. Is this normal to put all that wire in No.2? :confused:

[Mechanic688]

Every yard classifies it differently,