Insulated copper wire

I thought Id post this when I read the reply of another poster. For small pieces of copper wire I strip one end about 2-3 ft and wrap it around a nail in a piece of wood. Then with a box knife, I start at the stripped end; cutting the insulation easily. For longer lengths, I start the same only strip off a couple of feet. Then wrap the stripped end around a support post (lolly column) and the other end around my waist and holding with the other hand. Start at the stripped end - lean back to pull the wire tight and walk backyards; stripping insulation as you go. Make sure theres enough wrapped around the post so your weight doesnt pull it loose :(.

Cant you just burn the insulation off? my dad said thats how they did it back in the day....

No. They specifically state "no burnt wire". Ive heard about burning a lot from old-timers (scrappers - Im over 60 myself). I even tried it once on a couple of pieces and got a warning not to do it again.

They say that if you soak the burnt wire in acidtone over night it brings it back out and you can get #1 copper price for it never tried it though.Just wondering if anyone else has tried this.thanks SCRAPGUYS

Depends on where you live. Im in Missouri and they dont care at all if you burn it. Check with your scrap yard to be sure.

Cool little tip there! I bet 5 bucks someone did that after you posting this.

I allways clean the burnt wire off afterwards.
I burn it off, when its cold I put it in a big tray made from a big drum cut in 1/2 (actually its a old Ali tray I found.. same size)
Then I cut off all of the still plastic coated wire (you never get all of it burnt off) & all of the brass clips that I didn't get before burning.
Then I put some washing powder or dishwash liquid in (not much needed) & fill it 1/2 way with water & swish it around so the black Copper oxide falls off.
This is handy too, it removes the acid or whatever that is so bloody stingy (sore-stings) to cuts in your hands..

I lift it outta the tray & drip dry it a bit. I empty the water & the trays crap into a bucket.
Then I dump the wire back in & wash it with water again, then chuck it into a old 40Kg coal sack.

I know that adding some Hydrochloric acid to the second wash will brighten it up a LOT. Sodium hydroxide (Caustic soda) does the same job. It also removes a little more of its weight.

If you leave it for a short time it changes colour a bit (ie blue/green after a HCL wash or powdery yellow)
That makes them wonder what you have been up too & if you are trying to rip dem off.... Explain it to them, they will understand what you are doing, its kosher (for want of a better word)

60 Kg of Plastic coated wire (one layer of plastic) will burn down to 40Kg of burnt off & cleaned copper wire. ie 2/3rds of preburnt weight.

I rip out cars wiring looms to get this Copper wire, a long hard dirty dangerous work.
First I rip out the looms, then cut off all the plugs & unstrip off all of the plastic tape & sleeves & cut out all of the brass wire connectors, bag it up, burn it off. clean it up, take it to the scrappers.

Most of the stuff thats removed is either plastic ash & acids & Copper Oxides.

The Copper oxides can be reclaimed by electroplating it back out of a acid solution onto a copper cathode(?)
I have about 30Kg of that oxide stuff & intend to do it one day once I have figured out the acid solution.
I did it on a small scale using a solar panel from a garden light decoration thing.
Next step is to work out what the solution is & make a wind powered generator to do the electroplating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlYKUAaFALc

Wait so how would you wrap it around your waist so when you walk backwards there is more wire exposed,

Assuming you are right-handed: Start with the stripped wire end wrapped around a pole; Grab the wire in your right hand; pass it around behind your back and grab with your left hand. Hold the knife (or whatever you're cutting with) in your right hand. Hold the wire tight so you're close to the pole and can start cutting where you left off when you stripped the end for the pole. Holding the wire in your left hand and the knife with your right, let the wire slip through you left hand but keep enough grip so it keeps the wire tight. Lean backwards SLIGHTLY to keep tension on the wire. Walk backwards, cutting as you go. Don't lean back so far as to lose your balance and be able to "catch yourself" in case the wire comes loose from the pole. NOTE: You have not wrapped the wire completely around your body - only around behind your back.

Thank you mick! I just stripped and filled a 5 gallon bucket with #1 with that tip it really saves your hands, I just would strip a foot off and then wrap it around my truck hitch.

Funny, I don't think I saw a comment about the environmental/toxic results from burning wire insulation. Your not reproducing the same effect of a large high temp incinerator by burning it at low temperatures in your back yard. The low temperature burning of the insulation releases all kinds of nasty byproducts into the air/ground/water etc. There is also no way for you to scrub out toxic gasses as a proper facility would.. Its just not worth it in the long run to poison the surroundings you might wish to pass on just to make a few extra bucks now.
And not to mention the inclusion of HCL or Caustic into the cleaning process to "brighten" the copper back up, those metal salts like copper chloride are horrible for not only the environment, but they can wreak havoc on waste water treatment equipment, so in actuality your creating more toxic waste in the process of making a few extra dollars..its not what scrappers of today should be about.

So i run across some good scrap as i work in HVAC. Im wondering ive seen lots of posts on here saying two different things some say strip the wire others say just take it in insulated. Being a single parent i like to get the best for my money but also my time is limited and the wire i have is low ticket compared to coils and motors which also need to be cleaned first. What to do? Thanks

While were on this topic if you dont mind i never take compressors ive heard mixed things as far as the condition they will take them. Any advice on compressors would be greatly appreciated.

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Originally Posted by evolx10

Its just not worth it in the long run to poison the surroundings you might wish to pass on just to make a few extra bucks now.
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Agreed. I aint no bleeding heart but I think its shortsighted to not see the consequences of your actions. You and 10 million third world guys doing this every day, adds up, combined it accumulates. Burning your wire, you're putting nasty chemicals in the air that get into the fish we catch.
Think about this one: Would you feed your pregnant wife shellfish? Why not?