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Hi, was just wondering what you all think would be the best way to sell your wire? I have 7 or 8 pounds of extension cords and I was just thinking about stripping them then packing them together to be melted. Would that be the best way or you suggest i leave them unstripped?
Extention cords are a pain in the butt to strip. That's why I don't strip them. There is too much insulation, and not enough copper. I have about 25 lbs of extention right now, so I would only get about 5-7 lbs of copper out of it if I stripped it. Not worth my time.
In order to make it worth striping the wire has to have a high recovery. Let's say you had 1000 lbs of Romex wire the recovery is 62% so if you striped it you would end up with 620 lbs @ $3. A pound you end up with $1860 but if you don't strip it at 2 a lbs you would get $2000 with no work.
That would work if you get $2 a lb for Insulated. But I just checked and with #1 copper at $3.05; Insulated was $1.20.Quote:
Originally Posted by scraprecycler
What do you mean by that?Quote:
Originally Posted by bjf552
Not all wire is purchased at the same price and if your buyer is doing that you need to get a new buyer. I sold Romex last week and I was paid 1.90 a lb
All the yards in the area have one category - Insulated Copper Wire. I'm not going to drive 200 miles.
Then all the yards are not being fair to there customers. I'm willing to bet that after you leave they sort it out in to its recovery grades. That's what I would do.
looks like the OP ran out of cord ; )
Romex can be categorized as #1 insulated wire which would be worth more.
Extension cords will be #2 insulated wire since they are made with stranded wire that is not big enough to be classified as #1 insulated.
Don't waste your time stripping the extension cords, just sell them as #2 insulated and use the time you will save looking for more scrap that you can sell to make more moeny.
If you don't mind stripping it. (I mean I strip everything I consider useless because it's part of my routine for a long time. I don't look for scrap. It just comes... I'm an electrician!)
Do whatever makes you happy. I recommend making a cheap spring loaded utility knife into a slot perfectly aligned with a hole sized for the wire.
You'll first have to strip the outer jacket with some kind of sharpened up romex casing glide stripper, or squeeze it just right between two long boards using clamps you'll have to keep hoping over as you cut with a knife like dissecting a frog. might take you 2 hours to get them all stripped if you focus. Then the 3 insulated wires will need to get pulled through that simple rig with the razor blade. (drill a hole through it to put a long bolt between two upright boards screwed to a block then attach an extension spring from the top end of the utility-knife handle, pull it enough to have sufficient tension and drill your second bolt there in front of the blade tilting away from you. As the spring pulls on the back it drives the blade down into the slot. You have to first make the slot, then carefully drill the hole to where the tip of the blade can go 60% into the hole path. (a drill press is best) Now fasten the rig to a table or sturdy wall... and feed the wire from the back side away from the spring and blade so it is being pulled through the blade.
You could design a block with multiple slots and sized holes for each kind of wire you encounter and the blade can easily slide when you push it to stretch the spring more, lifting the blade out of the slot.
This would be a low cost efficient way for you to strip the stuff. It will add up. store it in a vacuum bag and tear it open the day you decide to take it all in. (1000 lbs or more and refined, and you can negotiate way better rates). I called them up the other day before taking in 5 tons of purity tested bare bright copper. try to guess how much cash I walked out with and then tell me who the scrap yard is going to sell it to. Betchya can't!
I'm game...How much...?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac789
PS...Welcome to the SMF from Indiana...:cool:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac789
My guess is ~$45,000, and my guess for who its going to is..... china, or someone in china