Copper %

Awseome post!!

I LOVE that site. thank you Kris Kringle...you have done good again !!!

Don't ya'll think most yards "fudge" about what they get paid for wire. They won't pay us the better prices "because their buyer doesn't pay them the better prices." If they aren't lying, then their buyers must be lying to them ? Thoughts ?

My yard usually works on tight margins (10%-15%). After you add in overhead like man hours and freight, the margin is even slimmer. If buyers are acting nefarious and screwing you out of money they usually don't last long in this industry because it is so competitive. We shop our material around to mills and smelters just like scrappers shop around their material. If a mill is screwing us, we take our material elsewhere.

FYI- a good yard will gram out large jags of wire and tell you the recovery. If they don't take your business somewhere that will.

I would say that most people on this forum know or have more knowledge than 99% of others scrappers out there. Use it! Knowledge = More $$$

Thanks B Lush...good info....but could you do me a favor and put this ..."a good yard will gram out large jags of wire...." in layman's terms ?? Thanks.

Great post and could use a sticky. Everyone wondering if they should be stripping lamp cord or romex would do good to read this first. Figure up what their yard is paying for un-stripped to stripped and can they increase a grade or not. Mix in their time and work some numbers. I bet alot of people would be shocked to learn they aren't making what they think per hour stripping certain wire types out.....

Originally Posted by KZBell

Figure out the percentage of copper using MDG's posted formula above...Jag meaning load of same wire...I think.

Exactly...I'll try to refrain from using too much jargon.