Copper Grading

I made a run to the yard today to get some of the lower grade stuff out of the shop. The aluminum and #2 insulated were starting to pile up. Threw in a little bit of copper just to sweeten the payout.

The service at the yard is really good but i've got a question on the grading at the small scale. The scale guy classed my extruded as sheet so that error was pretty clear cut. I did have some question on what constitutes light copper grade.

I had some copper sheet in the mix. Some was unused but had oxidation. Some was a copper kettle which i had cut all of the ferrous out of. Some motor windings. A solid copper heat exchanger that had paint on it. I would have figured it for being #2 but that bucket full was downgraded to light copper. Seems like kind of an ignorant thing to do but i've sold at this yard before and would like to keep doing business with them.

The problem could be on my end. Could you provide some guidance on the line between #2 and #3 grades light copper ?

I always figured light copper grade as being tearoffs from old copper roofs. You know ... all green with tar on it ?

Well #2 will be copper motor windings or pipe with paint, soder, heavy oxidation, rubber, glue, foam, tar, plastic clips, Stuff like that. and #3 is anything made of sheet like roofing, gutters, watering cans, some old pie pans, wrappings from around some transformers, Stuff like that. But the heat exchanger should be #2 no matter what the condition

I have the same issue and find I need to be right there talking when they take copper small scale. My local yards have a habbit of grading aluminium intake manifolds as iron, and have called entire stripped wiring loads as mixed because they had copper terminals on the end. I've had three occasions where my wiring was considered insulated wiring (windings with some paint or even different shades of copper colored wiring), and when I told them to load it back in my truck they changed it from #2 to Bright copper (2$ difference). I've also had heavily oxidized wiring I was expecting the lowest value for rung in as #1 copper.

I've tried to find a rhyme or reason on the small scale for my local yards, but every trip seems to be slightly different: depends on the mood/knowledge of the employee calling it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WhiteSquirrel

depends on the mood/knowledge of the employee calling it.

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This is true. Ive sold #2 with heavy paint on it, was mostly white and scale guy gave me #1 for it.

Thanks guys.

It was a good day. I learned something new about scrapping. You would think that something made of copper sheet is just as good as pipe or wire but apparently it goes in a different price category. I'll just sort it accordingly before the next run to the yard.

The receipts they give you on the payout there are a bit off standard. They list the weight but not the price per pound or the total.

I totaled everything up manually using their price sheet and even the payout came up 1.05 $ short. Jeez ... i dunno ... that kind of thing makes em' look bad.

A strategy that I use at a new yard or my regular yards has been very successful for me. Since the topic is cooper I will refer to it, but it works for all non ferrous, prepared, unprepared, cast etc. I load any questionable items on top and tell the scale man I assume this is # 2, but if you find anything of less value, lets weigh it first. Before weighing the # 2 I present what I assume is #1 and tell them that anything that does not meet their criteria should be thrown into the #2 pile. This allows me to question any item they recategorize.

Most of the time they accept it as is and I have never had anything classified as #3. The only close call was avoided by playing stupid and not knowing there was a #3 category, assuming it was brass. Some employees love sharing their knowledge and in return will give the greenhorn a break.

Not every place even has a #3 Cu category and copper grading varies. At my recent workplace we bought clean sheet (not foil) as #1 and oxidized sheet as #2. Everything in that bucket sounds like easy #2 to me. They could either be upgrading what they receive in house to get a higher margin or who they sell it to grades it that way.

I'm inclined to think they're upgrading in house seeing as they beat me down on the ali from extruded to sheet and shorted me on the total. Maybe trying to offset the loss in volume due to the lockdown with higher margins.

Finished up the pool heater this morning. Not terrible. A little over 17 lbs of copper from the heat exchanger tubes.

At my yard in NewZealand.

#1 is unvarnished Copper wire, electrical cable with no insulation on it, and Copper pipe clean with no solder etc on it.
#2 is Copper wire with thin varnish on it only.
#3 [ Domestic Copper ] is Copper wire with thick varnish or paint or tape on it. Any other 100% Copper, Copper tube with soldered joints on it.