Reminder about whether to strip wire or not - Page 2

My yard buys burnt wire, no problem, in fact i never knew anyone stripped wire until i started reading this forum. I still get #1 price as long as its thicker than a pencil.

Originally Posted by Scraphound

My yard buys burnt wire, no problem, in fact i never knew anyone stripped wire until i started reading this forum. I still get #1 price as long as its thicker than a pencil.

Actually all wire is #1 if it isnt burnt its bare bright.

Originally Posted by Mick

Up here, #1 is bigger than a #2 pencil lead. What would you classify as #2?

Tin coat or if its burnt smaller than 14 guage

Originally Posted by Mick

Interesting. I have four yards up here that I deal with. They all have the same criteria for #1, #2 and Light Copper. Never heard of "tin coat" applied to copper wire.

Tin coat meaning plated...older cloth covered wire was where it was used mostly

I had some 444.4 MCM wire that was tin coated. Seems it's used in locomotives. (or was, it was old).

just curious to why you guys dont burn it? i always put mine in a big pile, pour gas and oil mix on it and light it up and let it burn for about 15 minutes. my local scrap yard doesnt seem to have a problem with it.

If you look back at the 3rd page of this thread you will see why mosy dont burn it.

woops, skipped the 3rd page. never knew it was illegal, thank god i live in the middle of nowhere.

I break down a lot of computer monitors and the cord that goes from the monitor to the computer, when you strip it there is a mesh metal that covers the wires underneath. The last time I took some of this mesh in, the guy at the yard told me it was aluminum. I personally thought it was stainless steel, sort of like the stuff that covers the braided washing machine hoses. Anyone have an idea what metal it is?

take a magnet to it. SOME stainless steel is magnetic, and aluminum is not.

Originally Posted by Scrap man

Just a quick tip about certain wire-

I find that some wire is actually worth more unstripped than stripped. The insulation is so thick and/or the copper is so thin that the weight of the insulation actually makes up for the lower price.

I was going to purchase a wire stripper until I did the math. The unstripped wire pays more than the stripped wire...I only did a sample on a a computer type cord. The rate in the Philadelphia area is $1.35 Unstripped and #2 copper scrap is $3.30. Although it is more per lb, the insulation makes the wire heavier thus making the unstripped wire better.

On the other hand if you take say the wire running from the condenser motor, on a ac unit, to the contactor you have a heavy gauge wire with a somewhat thin insulation.
These types of wire yield about 66% copper and 33% waste. So at a 1.35 for insulated comes up to $2.20 worth of #2 copper, based on your figures.
This comes up to 61% profit from the same wire less your time and labor! One pound don't seem to be worth the effort but when the numbers go up so does the profit margin!

Originally Posted by injunjoe

On the other hand if you take say the wire running from the condenser motor, on a ac unit, to the contactor you have a heavy gauge wire with a somewhat thin insulation.
These types of wire yield about 66% copper and 33% waste. So at a 1.35 for insulated comes up to $2.20 worth of #2 copper, based on your figures.
This comes up to 61% profit from the same wire less your time and labor! One pound don't seem to be worth the effort but when the numbers go up so does the profit margin!

Technically, i think the margin stays the same, but the gross increases.

I'd SWAG, that 10 pounds
unstripped is $13.50 (1.35 for insulated)
and stripped is worth $14.52 (#2 copper @ $2.20)

If you can do 10 pounds in an hour it looks promising.

Originally Posted by Rusty Nuts

Technically, i think the margin stays the same, but the gross increases.

I'd SWAG, that 10 pounds
unstripped is $13.50 (1.35 for insulated)
and stripped is worth $14.52 (#2 copper @ $2.20)

If you can do 10 pounds in an hour it looks promising.

You are figuring #2 @ $2.20, at that rate it would not be worth the effort, but @$3.50 a pound we get profit.

We take 10 pounds of insulated wire @ 1.35 = #13.50

Now we take insulated wire and clean it. Ending up with 6.66 pounds of #2 copper.
6.66 pounds of #2 @ $3.50 = $23.31
A profit of $9.81. Stripping by hand my not be worth the effort, but with enough wire and a machine, it is a different story.