Question About Copper

Hello,

I have searched the forum but couldn't find anything, so, here goes,

I have recently stripped a load of motors and wires. Now, I know there is all the #1 and #2 business so basically for the two images below can you indicate what one they fall under.

Motor Wire



Stripped Wire



The motor wire is a lot quicker than the thin cable wire.



Any help at all is appreciated

As I understand it, anything less than the thickness of a #2 pencil lead is #2. Roughly 12/14 gauge I believe.

Even if you have a stranded cable an inch thick.

Anything thicker than that would be #1.

Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

As I understand it, anything less than the thickness of a #2 pencil lead is #2. Roughly 12/14 gauge I believe.

Even if you have a stranded cable an inch thick.

Anything thicker than that would be #1.

Thanks for the response so basically in England, anything below a HB is #2

Originally Posted by Mick

Have you scraped a section to make sure it's not coated aluminum?

Do you mean on the motor wire? No I haven't, will now...

Hmmmm,I'm in the same boat as you mate. Scrapyard basically said all my copper wire is only worth the same as if I'd burned it.

Originally Posted by JacksDaddy

Hmmmm,I'm in the same boat as you mate. Scrapyard basically said all my copper wire is only worth the same as if I'd burned it.

Oh no. Was it like the right or left?

I took two samples with me to ask about them. Didn't want to throw them in together if that devalued any of it. I had wire that was in a loose V shape from the coil in the back of a TV. It was reddish in colour. The other bit was off a circuit board that I pulled off and rolled a few small bits into a ball. He said it was coated in something and both were Brazier, the same as if I'd burned the plastic off wire. He also said the thickish cable in the back of TV's would be the same. I assumed that would be bright, like a smaller version of a welding cable.

He said it was coated in something

Yep, the copper off the yoke is varnished and so is the degaussing cable you talked about. Some is clear varnish(which we put in our #1 bucket and some is colored which goes in the #2. The yoke copper always goes in our #2. #2 still goes for $3.35 lb here.

only problem 688, is that the different yards designate them differently.....my advice to Dawsey is to take some to his yard and find out how they separate and what they pay. Dawsey and most of the late July and early Aug. newbies need to spend more time in the archives.

Originally Posted by Dumpster Dee

only problem 688, is that the different yards designate them differently.....my advice to Dawsey is to take some to his yard and find out how they separate and what they pay. Dawsey and most of the late July and early Aug. newbies need to spend more time in the archives.

I spent time searching the site before hand. I will simply take 3 different colours when I next go along with a load and inquire about the different colours. Or of course, my uncle is a electrician, maybe he would know?

# 1 is no mistaking it, it is clean with substance not the thin flimsy , #2 is still good money, any way If you had a 100 pounds of #2 @ $3.35 #1 will be like $10 more dollars . Now if your dismantling motors it will happen but you got lots of motors to go till 100lbs

stripped motors grade out at number one where I go