In my analysis, unless you can process a lot of material very quickly, you're wasting your time stripping scrap Romex, or worse, working for China at Chinese labor rates. Here's the breakdown:
== Analysis: NM-B 14-2 Romex solid copper wire ==
Weight with insulation, copper and ziploc bag: 92g
Weight with insulation and ziploc bag (no copper): 38g
Weight of copper: 54g
Recovery rate: 54g/92g = 58.69%
GLE Recycling Prices (27-FEB-2014)
#1 insulated wire: $1.25/#
Bare bright copper $2.80/#
Wire:Copper price ratio: 44.64%
2 minutes to strip 1M of Romex by hand (if you get fast at it) = 30 meters per hour
Approximately 1 Meter of Romex:
54g = .11905# x $2.80/# = $.333 #1 Bare Bright price
92g = .202825# x $1.25/# = $.285 #1 insulated wire price
Difference in price = $.048 increased value over selling as insulated wire
$.048/2 minutes x 30 = $1.44/hour = SLAVE WAGES
How long does it take you guys to strip a meter of Romex? Am I just really slow?
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