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Newb question Different grades of wire

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    gravygrabber started this thread.
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    Newb question Different grades of wire

    Is automotive braided strained wire #1 or #2? I've stripped auto wiring harnesses down to bare copper and I get #2 for it even big wires and they always say because it's not solid it's #2. Are they correct ? Doesn't seem right to me. There is nothing but 100% copper who cares what size it is.



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    Automotive wire insulated is #2 by me. Stripped automotive wire is #2 copper by me. If insulated is larger than a lead pencil it is #1 insulated. Stripped it goes as #1 copper. As a side note I get #1 insulated for Romex wire at 62% recoverable, but they pay me #2 insulated for THHN wire with 85% recoverable.

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    KzScrapper's Avatar
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    Size does matter...Thin wimpy stuff can vaporize to a certain extent instead of melt when dumped in the pot.
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    "Give them enough so they can do something with it, but not too much that they won't do nothing."

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    Think i should separate my power cord wire from my ribbon cable and other misc? last bucket i brought it got all categorized as #2...

    I want to try a different yard anyways, so I guess I'll just separate it and see what they say/what it gets graded as.

    is there a point at which it is more worthwhile to strip the wire? I'll do a little hunting and see for myself.

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    waredu's Avatar
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    Power cord wire is stranded. Even stripped it is #2.

    #1 copper wire pretty much has to be solid and thicker than a pencil lead, or stranded with each strand being thicker than a pencil lead. Anything less than that and it will be #2. Even if it is thick enough, if it is varnished, it will be #2.

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    lousypirate....If you're getting #2 for that mix, keep it the same. Some yards put the ribbon cable and other small wire into a "comm wire" category. I think this means communication wire, like telephone, cat 5, Ethernet, and others. It's all thin wire and goes for much less than #2 price. If you separate yours, you could get a lower price for the ribbon cable and others and still only get #2 for your power cord wire.

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    We'll see how this next yard takes it, as the first yard I tried since I relocated screwed me over a bit. mainly on my aluminum and low/mid grade board (lesson learned)

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    No.1 Bare Bright Copper Wire
    No.1 Bare Bright Copper Wire shall consist of bare, uncoated, unalloyed copper wire, not smaller than 16 gauge

    No.1 Copper Wire Scrap
    No.1 Copper Wire shall consist of clean, uncoated, unalloyed copper wire, not smaller than 16 gauge

    No.2 Copper Wire Scrap
    No.2 Copper Wire shall consist of clean unalloyed copper wire, free of hair wire, brittle burnt wire and excessive oils minimum copper content of 94% remelt recovery rate.

    No.1 Insulated Copper Wire Scrap
    No.1 Insulated Copper Wire shall consist of plastic insulated unalloyed, uncoated (plated) copper wire, with the copper wire not smaller than 16 gauge (B&S).

    No.2 Insulated Copper Wire Scrap
    No.2 Insulated Copper Wire shall consist of assorted plastic insulated, unalloyed copper wire, free of heavy or double insulation.

    No.3 Insulated Copper Wire Scrap
    No.3 Insulated Copper Wire shall consist of assorted plastic insulated, unalloyed copper wire, includes heavy or double insulation, plastic insulated telephone cable.

    Copper/Aluminum BX Cable Scrap
    Copper/Aluminum BX Cable shall consist of plastic insulated copper wire, armor coated with an Aluminum casing.

    Copper/Steel BX Cable Scrap
    Copper/Steel BX Cable shall consist of plastic insulated copper wire, armor coated with an steel casing.

    Scrap Bare Aluminum Wire
    Bare Aluminum Wire shall consist of clean aluminum wire free of iron or insulation.

    Scrap Insulated Aluminum Wire
    Insulated Aluminum Wire shall include plastic insulated aluminum wire, must be free of iron.

    Scrap Supported Aluminum Cable
    Supported Aluminum Cables shall include multi strand heavy gauge aluminum wire twisted around a single stand of steel wire.

    http://www.recycle.net/Metal-N/Coppe...affilid=100029
    Last edited by hobo finds; 12-18-2013 at 12:19 PM.

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    MattInTheHat's Avatar
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    I sell my harness wire to a core buyer for between $1 and $1.4 lb depending on the market and how I prep it.


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