copper clarification and grading

in planning my first trip ever to the scrap yard this week and i need some guidance on how sort my copper. i have a bunch of clean little copper tubes (out of window a/c units), a bunch of stripped braided wire, a bunch of stripped solid strand wire, stripped motor windings, and a few other clean copper pieces. do i have to keep it all sorted separately when i take it in? i just want to do it the right and get the most i can out of it. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

i have two yard i go to
one says anything thats wire and bright is bare bright, the other yard says it has to be thicker then a pencil lead to be bare bright. so make sure u call around. every yard has there own little rules
tho pretty much any copper that has tin on it, or is coated is gonna be #2

hope that helps

so if it is smaller than a pencil lead what do they consider it? #2?

Keep it separate and bring it to the scrap yard and tell them this is your first time bringing in copper and they will show you what is what. Most yards want your busness so they don't mind showing how they want things done.

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

My yard says 14 ga and smaller is #2 and 12ga and bigger is #1

That's very good to know. I have some heavy gauge copper(6 or 4ga. bare but not bright). I was under the impression that a dull green/brown color is #2. I'm gonna check into that. Maybe they've just been rippin' me off!
Hey kenleypeck, You hear about that guy over in Lansing near Cayuga Lake that got electrocuted and killed while stealing metal? What a bum! Although it is unfortunate.

Sounds like you have mostley different grads of number two copper,the thickness of the wire will determine the grades of number one and also bare bright if you have any.

These are the specs straight from ISRI that I am always touting. Use these as a jumping off point because even though they are industry wide standards, different yards may buy it differently. For instance, my yard usually buys #1 Copper as 12 gauge and up as some have mentioned.

Barley No. 1 COPPER WIRE

Shall consist of No. 1 bare, uncoated, unalloyed copper
wire, not smaller than No. 16 B & S wire gauge.
Green copper wire and hydraulically compacted
material to be subject to agreement between buyer
and seller.

Berry No. 1 COPPER WIRE

Shall consist of clean, untinned, uncoated, unalloyed
copper wire and cable, not smaller than No. 16 B
& S wire gauge, free of burnt wire which is brittle.
Hydraulically briquetted copper subject to agreement.

Birch No. 2 COPPER WIRE

Shall consist of miscellaneous, unalloyed copper
wire having a nominal 96% copper content (minimum
94%) as determined by electrolytic assay.
Should be free of the following: Excessively leaded,
tinned, soldered copper wire; brass and bronze wire;
excessive oil content, iron, and non-metallics; copper
wire from burning, containing insulation; hair wire;
burnt wire which is brittle; and should be reasonably
free of ash. Hydraulically briquetted copper subject
to agreement.

Candy No. 1 HEAVY COPPER

Shall consist of clean, unalloyed, uncoated copper
clippings, punchings, bus bars, commutator segments,
and wire not less than 1/16 of an inch thick, free of
burnt wire which is brittle; but may include clean copper
tubing. Hydraulically briquetted copper subject to
agreement.

Cliff No. 2 COPPER

Shall consist of miscellaneous, unalloyed copper
scrap having a nominal 96% copper content (minimum
94%) as determined by electrolytic assay.
Should be free of the following: Excessively leaded,
tinned, soldered copper scrap; brasses and bronzes;
excessive oil content, iron and non-metallics; copper
tubing with other than copper connections or
with sediment; copper wire from burning, containing
insulation; hair wire; burnt wire which is brittle; and
should be reasonably free of ash. Hydraulically briquetted
copper subject to agreement.

Cliff, candy, birch, berry, barley..never heard of any yard classifying these..i do recallthe classifications though..i also know you own your own yard bohemian, but I doubt most places classify like this..this guy is new n asking a basic question, not a masters degree in diff grades of CU..just sayin

I appreciate all the info for im learning as well. At my yard i only recall seeing #1 and #2 on the pay board even thouugh i have yet to get enough copper to turn in. **** strppin them motors gets crazy after a while lol. Anyway its nice reading everything to try and prep me for the day im finally about to get double digit weight worth of copper or tired of looking at it.

Originally Posted by scrappy888

Cliff, candy, birch, berry, barley..never heard of any yard classifying these..i do recallthe classifications though..i also know you own your own yard bohemian, but I doubt most places classify like this..this guy is new n asking a basic question, not a masters degree in diff grades of CU..just sayin

Scrappy...disregard those terms. They are used more when a yard sells to a mill or smelter. As in: "the mill placed an order for 100 tons of birch this month". These words came into being out of necessity, because every yard might have a different meaning for #1 and #2. By giving each individual commodity a name you reduce the ambiguity of what constitutes that commodity.

Kenleypeck asked for a definition of different grades of copper. What better way to respond then showing him/her the exact specifications that nearly every yard/mill/smelter in the world goes by? I was under the assumption that people come to this forum to learn from others in the industry and obtain their "Phd in scrapping"! Scrappy.. if these concepts are too advanced for you, I'm gonna have to send you to summer school to retake scrapping 101.

Bare bright is 12 awg or thicker and needs to be bright and shiny. Any copper with a laquor coating like motor windings, or has a tin coat is #2 no matter how thick. Most bus bars are tinned or coated. #1 needs to be 12AWG or greater as well as with ICW. #1 can have some corrosion on it as long as it isnt excessive. any lead joints or attachments will make it #2. Bare shiny wire that is fine like hair is #2 as well, although most yards can mix a little in with #1.

thank you guys for the info... i called the yard i plan on taking it too and the woman who answered the phone told me that they consider all bare wire as bare bright. i explained to her that i had a bunch of stripped wire and motor windings and such and thats what she told me... i have it all sorted now anyways just to be safe. i have the braided wire in one bag, solid wire in another bag, motor windings in another bag, and copper tubing and solid copper pieces in another bag... figured id rather be safe than sorry... i plan on taking it all in tomorrow so ill let you all know how i make out...

Just out of curiosity..where in Syracuse do you live? I grew up in Lafayette right next to the Onondaga Reservation.

Originally Posted by kenleypeck

thank you guys for the info... i called the yard i plan on taking it too and the woman who answered the phone told me that they consider all bare wire as bare bright. i explained to her that i had a bunch of stripped wire and motor windings and such and thats what she told me... i have it all sorted now anyways just to be safe. i have the braided wire in one bag, solid wire in another bag, motor windings in another bag, and copper tubing and solid copper pieces in another bag... figured id rather be safe than sorry... i plan on taking it all in tomorrow so ill let you all know how i make out...

If you just stripped your wire you should have no problem getting bare and bright price for it as long as it is solid and at least 12 AWG or larger. But I doubt that they will buy your motor windings, stranded (I think what you are calling braided) or any copper wire that is corroded as bare and bright. Your smaller stranded (braided) wire and your motor winding will be #2 copper. Any solid wire 12 AWG and larger that is not bright will be #1 copper.

Copper tubing if clean of solder joints, paint and not to badly corroded will be #1 and with solder joints or paint will be #2.

Some yards will have a separate category for sheet copper or else it is #2. If the sheet copper is brand new then it can go for #1.

Here are a few pictures of each category.

Bare and bright




#1 Copper



#2 Copper

bohemian- i grew up in baldwinsville just outside of syracuse...

i thought what the lady told me was kind of odd because most of what i read said it depended on the size of the wire.... thats why i separated it all anyways just to be safe. i guess i will find out for sure tomorrow... i have a bunch of other stuff i have to take in tomorrow too... is there a secret to quickly determine weather something is tin or steel? i know that normally steel is thinner than tin but some things are hard for me to determine... i know appliances and such are tin, but things like trampoline poles, folding table legs, and a hay ring seem like they could be either or. any tricks of the trade for this?