After completing a large wire removal job, I've decided to take the BX wire from the last day and do an analysis on it to see what it really is worth. I'm going to use prices from the yard I have been using that are given to normal people walking thru the door. These are the lowest tier prices.
Today I looked at Steel BX wire. I will note that there are many different types. Todays BX wire contains THHN wire. Older BX wire would probably have TIN coated wire in it. So far, I have only looked at newer Steel BX Wire. The first one that I did had 3 wires in it (Black, White and Green). The THHN wire accounted for about 49% of the weight. The second wire I did had 4 wires in it (same as before, plus a red wire). The THHN wire accounted for about 60% of the weight.
Current prices are:
Steel BX $0.12 per pound
THHN $1.38 per pound
Bare Bright $2.49 per pound
One pound of the 1st wire, as is, would be $0.12. If the THHN is removed and sold as THHN, it would be $0.68, plus I could get about $0.04 for the steel (total $0.72). If the THHN is removed and stripped and sold as Bare Bright (assumes 82% recovery on THHN), I would get $1.00 for the wire and $0.04 for the steel (total $1.04)
One pound of the 2nd wire, as is, would be $0.12. If the THHN is removed and sold as THHN, it would be $0.83, plus I could get about $0.03 for the steel (total $0.86). If the THHN is removed and stripped and sold as Bare Bright (assumes 82% recovery on THHN), I would get $1.22 for the wire and $0.03 for the steel (total $1.25)
Next week, I will look into the Aluminum BX Wire and possibly the older Steel BX Wire.
Removing the metal armor on the newer wire is fairly easy if there is no damage to the armor. I have recently seen a nice stripper from Coppermine Tools that does BX cable, but the price is up there.
Edit: After doing research, this cable is referred to as Type MC or Metal Clad cable. I believe that at least the 2nd wire was either 10 or 12 gauge.
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