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  1. #1
    frankieg079 started this thread.
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    christmas lights and thin wire take in as is or strip, and also

    Does anyone strip Christmas lights? Or how about wires thinner. I got lot of thin thin wires from electronics. I just throw in 5 gal bucket. Time is no bother. But are they worth the stripping. And also. Some of my thin wires have silver color inside. Non magnetic. Still copper???????


  2. #2
    greytruck's Avatar
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    Scratch off the silver color and if its still silver, the wire is alum wire. Also, Please use the search feature as these questions and many more have been answered many times before. Best of luck
    Last edited by greytruck; 04-05-2016 at 12:39 PM.

  3. #3
    bigburtchino's Avatar
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    Wire - To strip or not strip? Does time matter? Do you have a lot of time? Do you want to make more money? Are there better things to do with your time?

    It is not cost effective to strip most wire types a scrapper deals with. With wire spend the time sorting your wire into the scrap classifications that your scrap buyer pays for. Most scrap yards have three classifications for insulated copper wire (some have more or less than 3). My scrap yard has #1 insulated, #2 and #3, with #1 insulated wire paying the most and #3 the least amount of money. #1 insulated wire grade contain no metallic containment's, plugs, receptacles or hardware. #1 wire has a greater than 55% copper content after the insulation is removed. This is the only grade of copper insulated wire that I would spend any time stripping, I personally only strip wire if it has a greater than 70% copper return.

    I would not ever strip Christmas lights, I do cut the lights and connectors off, put it in my #3 insulated wire bucket. When I have over 20+ pounds, I sell it as #3 insulated and go onto bigger and better. Time is money, education is priceless. Greytruck gave you good advise, SMF is a great resource to educate yourself, use the search feature, read about insulated wire as others have learned there's right and wrong ways, more important there's a method that will be "Right" for your needs.



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  5. #4
    StRegis's Avatar
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    There is a reason why Christmas lights are sent to China for recycling. It's because workers there are paid $500 per month to do labor intensive tasks like stripping wire. Even if you don't value your time and consider it a hobby, the wear on your tools to strip the wire can't justify you doing it. Your time would be better spent looking for more material. At least you'll get some exercise moving around.


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