Whats the biggest power cord you have scrapped?

Hi been a while im gona be getting some big wires soon some of these 2/4 ,4/4, 10/4 and 10/3 and some xhhw 2 anyone done percentages on these types of cords do they fair better than a extension cord that is 16 gauge in copper vs weight? Percentage of 6 gauge xhhw 2 percentage? Im sure these have at least 75% recover rate right? I know bigger gauge means more copper.

Hi Mike. Most of those are gonna be, without ends, 45 to a max of 53% recovery. Unless you have a large amount of one of them, most yards will buy it at 45%. 6 gauge xhhw you can sell, if the yard has the category, at 85%, otherwise normal 75-80% as Number 1. Or if you have a good quantity of MCM you can blend a little 85% in

Originally Posted by JJinLV

Hi Mike. Most of those are gonna be, without ends, 45 to a max of 53% recovery. Unless you have a large amount of one of them, most yards will buy it at 45%. 6 gauge xhhw you can sell, if the yard has the category, at 85%, otherwise normal 75-80% as Number 1. Or if you have a good quantity of MCM you can blend a little 85% in

I just got a minimal amount wow that low of percentage huh. I tried to calculate percentage of a cord once got 60% rate mite be wrong though maybe my scale is off? It was 2lbs 9oz whole and i got 1lb 5oz bare i think it was 4/4 not sure but im close to the percentage right? How do you calculate the percentage ? I wonder if its how i do it. Also why would i get 70% for 12 romex and 58% for 10 romex wouldnt 10 gauge have a higher percentage rate? I thought the lower the number gauge like 10,6,4,ect the higher the recovery its not true then?

Calculating the percentage can be done by hand but i like to use an online percentage calculator.

https://www.calculator.net/percent-calculator.html

_____ is what % of _____

Originally Posted by mike1

I just got a minimal amount wow that low of percentage huh. I tried to calculate percentage of a cord once got 60% rate mite be wrong though maybe my scale is off? It was 2lbs 9oz whole and i got 1lb 5oz bare i think it was 4/4 not sure but im close to the percentage right? How do you calculate the percentage ? I wonder if its how i do it. Also why would i get 70% for 12 romex and 58% for 10 romex wouldnt 10 gauge have a higher percentage rate? I thought the lower the number gauge like 10,6,4,ect the higher the recovery its not true then?

The quick answer is that wire gauge is a measurement unrelated to insulation weight. You can ask your yard the reason if you want their answer about the romex. Most yards don't differentiate their romex in my experience

Originally Posted by JJinLV

The quick answer is that wire gauge is a measurement unrelated to insulation weight. You can ask your yard the reason if you want their answer about the romex. Most yards don't differentiate their romex in my experience

Oh wow so gauge isnt important then? Ok have you ever done a full spool of a certain gauge wire and came up with a certain bare copper number ? I found a chart that tells bare wire weight of 1000ft of any gauge was wondering how accurate it was me id never get 1000ft of the same wire lol. Bare Copper Wire Data - Ness Engineering Inc.

Originally Posted by mike1

Oh wow so gauge isnt important then? Ok have you ever done a full spool of a certain gauge wire and came up with a certain bare copper number ? I found a chart that tells bare wire weight of 1000ft of any gauge was wondering how accurate it was me id never get 1000ft of the same wire lol. Bare Copper Wire Data - Ness Engineering Inc.

Gauge is useful for estimating recovery in combination with other data. I've never scrapped a whole spool. When I get whole spools I sell them to electricians as is.

Originally Posted by JJinLV

Gauge is useful for estimating recovery in combination with other data. I've never scrapped a whole spool. When I get whole spools I sell them to electricians as is.

From what i did in percentage wise i found that thhn
Has percentage of 84 that was 4 awg now will the same gauge awg 4 but has rubber insulation will it have 84% rcovery as well or not since the insulation is rubber?

Originally Posted by mike1

I just got a minimal amount wow that low of percentage huh. I tried to calculate percentage of a cord once got 60% rate mite be wrong though maybe my scale is off? It was 2lbs 9oz whole and i got 1lb 5oz bare i think it was 4/4 not sure but im close to the percentage right? How do you calculate the percentage ? I wonder if its how i do it. Also why would i get 70% for 12 romex and 58% for 10 romex wouldnt 10 gauge have a higher percentage rate? I thought the lower the number gauge like 10,6,4,ect the higher the recovery its not true then?

Calculating % is simple math, stripped weight divided by whole weight. (1# 5oz) 21 oz divided by (2# 9oz) 41 oz = .512 or 51.2%. Remember the larger the wire size the heavier the insulation. My yard pays at 45% for cords, sometimes 50% with other wire mixed in. My yard pays for romex as #1 insulated at 70%. I don't strip any wires under battery cable size, my TIME is too valuable. I don't mind getting paid for the weight of the insulation, and not spending any extra time on it !!! You can always do your own test if you get a large quantity of a certain wire, and sell it at whatever % it is.

My yard pays .85 for insulated num 1 so if i have 100lbs of romex mixed gauges id get only 85$ if i strip it i should get a bit more 138$ if its 60% not sure wat peecentage is tho have to get the 100lbs or maybe less not sure its in a barrel lol.

Originally Posted by mike1

Hi been a while im gona be getting some big wires soon some of these 2/4 ,4/4, 10/4 and 10/3 and some xhhw 2 anyone done percentages on these types of cords do they fair better than a extension cord that is 16 gauge in copper vs weight? Percentage of 6 gauge xhhw 2 percentage? Im sure these have at least 75% recover rate right? I know bigger gauge means more copper.

I would have to plead the fifth.

I see a lot of stepping over dollars to make a dime.

Stepping over dollars to make a dime hm. Well since i only get wires from a guy at work my supply isnt super high personally id rather take time to strip it corse if i thought about it i can always do wat the other people do sell my striped wire for super high prices for jewelry or something else maybe copper statues someone can make from the melted copper if they melt it that is.