Copper size =no1 or no2 not purity?

**coppertop** · 08-17-2013, 09:36 PM

I spent a lot of time last summer scrapping anything I could find with copper in it and had gathered about a 5 gallon bucket of wire and motor windings etc and my father in law decided he wanted to take all the copper wire from his garage and replace it with aluminum wire and get some quick cash.When we got to the scrap yard they said the copper had to be the size of a pencil lead to be considered no1 which he did have,but I did not.I thought that copper grading was decided by purity not size by all the info I found on the web.Is this true of just some places or am I Just screwed in the state of Kentucky or what?Anyone else know of this?

**Mechanic688** · 08-17-2013, 09:52 PM

Yes, that's a fairly common ruler for grading wire. bigger than a pencil lead. But not all yards have the same rules.
The first main rule of scrapping is " There are no hard and fast rules". Find a couple of yards you feel comfortable with, and check out their rules about what they take or not. And what their prices are on different things you'll be scrapping.
You'll find one yard is higher priced on XX and the other yard will be higher on YY. It takes time but most of the answers are already here, just take the time to read them. And let Google be your friend also.

I have 3 main yards I call on a regular basis for regular scrap. It depends on what's on my truck as to which way I'll go.

**billygoat** · 08-17-2013, 09:52 PM

You were told the truth.

**1956** · 08-18-2013, 07:05 AM

Well a little tip about wire,a pencil head thickness is pretty common but what I use and has been proven time after time,hold the wire in your hands put a bend in it if the bend holds its number 1,if it does not hold its number 2.

**grouchyolddude** · 08-18-2013, 10:17 AM

1956
Well a little tip about wire,a pencil head thickness is pretty common but what I use and has been proven time after time,hold the wire in your hands put a bend in it if the bend holds its number 1,if it does not hold its number 2.

Full article at Scrap Metal Forum: http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/newre...#ixzz2cKWS933o

What am I missing here???