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Scrap Copper

K

kopeck

Member
I've got some copper that I keep tripping over. A good sized roll of old wire and some pipe. I did a bit of googling and I found some prices but I haven't a clue if they're good prices or if this is even a decent time to sell.

I don't do the scrapping thing, this stuff is just in the way and I would like it to go away but don't want to get hosed in the process.

Is copper up, down, steady?

K

Oh to keep it on topic I had to move the roll of wire to get an implement out. :)
 
Last I heard scrap price was down on every thing at least in my area. Last I heard for iron like cars etc was $145 a ton and this past summer it was at least twice that. Copper last I heard was also down by 50% from this summer
 
dependent on grade of copper, bare or coated.
factory bare brings more, coated less. some
scrappers will not take copper that the coating has
been burnt off due to epa and air regulations and
risk of being caught. probably slim though.
 
(quoted from post at 12:02:51 01/14/13) dependent on grade of copper, bare or coated.
factory bare brings more, coated less. some
scrappers will not take copper that the coating has
been burnt off due to epa and air regulations and
risk of being caught. probably slim though.
Click to expand...

A friend said I should burn the wire to get the coating off. This is the old stuff, cloth coating with who knows what in it. I guess it comes down to what kind of hit I would take.

From the sounds of it my timing is a little off.

K
 
I took in some copper wire with insulation on and it was $1.05/#. Think they called it: Copper #2, insulated.
 
Our scrap yard does not complain about coating burned off and EPA. They know I live downwind and could turn them in any time I wanted to. Most of mine that I strip, I cut into about 2' lengths or less. I strip a short end, clamp it in the vice, heat (not burn) the coating with a propane torch and peel the coating off. It is clean, like factory bare.
 
tie one end off to something stretch the wire out and use a shrp utility nife to strip the insulation off
probably 2 bucks a pound difference between stripped and unstripped wire
 
The local yard takes insulated copper, they just give you less per pound than bare copper. If your main goal is cleanup, I wouldn't get too hung up on the price the local yard gives you. Gas and time to find the absolute best price will end up costing you in the long run. If you are expecting someone to come and get it, they have to make time and gas money to.
 
I clean all of the bigger stuff and leave insulation on the smaller dia stuff. The old black insulation will break off when hit with a hammer. Got any Grandkids. Make a few calls around to compare prices but if it isn't alot of wire the closest place is the better option.
SDE
 

I have not sold any copper since last spring. What I do is start calling for the price about 6 months before I sell, that way you can track it and see which way it is going. In my area seems like you can hit high point in a 6 month period.

For the copper pipe if you cut the soldered fittings out it sells for clean copper. Any visible solder sells as dirty copper for a little less..btdt. Not a big deal unless you have a truck load but it seems there is always an excuse to pay you less.

I have never burnt insulation off the wire. I do strip the bigger stuff by hand - wire with insulation does not bring much compared to clean.
 
Last time I had a couple of long rolls of the old overhead power line, I found a hole in the frame of my pickup trailer that was just big enough to pull the wire throught but not the insulation, and hooked the wire on the H and had the wife slowly drive away. Was the easiest way I've found yet to strip the old hard insulation off. And left an easy pile to clean up of the insulation. chris
 
I took some insulated copper wire to the salvage yard and they only offered a few cents per pond. The lady in charge suggested that I burn the insulation off which I did and I got a good price for it. Roy
 
last week in Tenn. I got $2.65 per pound for #2 copper which was house wiring with insulation burnt off.
 
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