Anyone scrap 'Invisible Fence' wire?

I did a few searches on here and couldn't find any info on scraping the copper wire that is used for the underground dog containment systems....Invisible Fence brand etc...

The wire has 45mil poly coating on it

I worked as an electricians helper years ago and was saving 12 and 14 awg wire from jobs and filled my car trunk with it....put it in the 55 gallon drum at the scrap yard and i got $4.....not sure if i got robbed or what....but i have a few hundred pounds of this dog fence wire. still in the casing.

I'd love to hear thoughts on it!

Thought about maybe burning the plastic off....or maybe even melting it down into a bar...

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Originally Posted by smallpeas

I did a few searches on here and couldn't find any info on scraping the copper wire that is used for the underground dog containment systems....Invisible Fence brand etc...

The wire has 45mil poly coating on it

I worked as an electricians helper years ago and was saving 12 and 14 awg wire from jobs and filled my car trunk with it....put it in the 55 gallon drum at the scrap yard and i got $4.....not sure if i got robbed or what....but i have a few hundred pounds of this dog fence wire. still in the casing.

I'd love to hear thoughts on it!

Thought about maybe burning the plastic off....or maybe even melting it down into a bar...

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Burning the plastic off is not the proper way to go about this. Many yards are supposed to follow laws that don't allow you to sell burnt wire. You should be able to sell this wire as #2 insulated. There is a broad range of prices depending on the yard you go to. Call a few to get prices and then decide.

As for you 12 and 14 gauge wire, you didn't say if it was romex, THHN, bare bright, or something different. The specialty yard that I use for certain types of wire is currently paying $1.28 for romex and $1.69 for THHN.

The stuff I have accidentally dug into was #2 insulated. If you have that much of a single wire you might want to sell by the % of recovery.
Burning wire is not condoned on this forum. Melting bars is also not suggested if your selling to a scrapyard.
Me... I would strip it all that was some decent recovery just from eyeballing it.

I had one roll and stripped it.

Might try one of the homemade strippers to clean it up, the instructions are all over youtube and we have had some people posting here with pic;s also. Try the google search here at the top, seems to work well.

I worked as an electricians helper years ago and was saving 12 and 14 awg wire from jobs and filled my car trunk with it....put it in the 55 gallon drum at the scrap yard and i got $4.....not sure if i got robbed or what....but i have a few hundred pounds of this dog fence wire. still in the casing.

Full article at Scrap Metal Forum: http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/scrap...#ixzz3FkU4JJ7e

Do you mean you were paid $4 for a trunk full of wire or $4 per pound? If it was $4 total then yes you got robbed. If you got $4 per pound then please tell us where the yard is so I can make a road trip!!

Yes, i got $4 for the whole trunk full...but this was probably 10 years ago....at least.

The wire i have now has a 45 mil plastic coating on it....its a huuuuuge pile......sections of of it...some are 5', some are 50'+....skinning the wire would be insaneeeeeee

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Originally Posted by smallpeas

Yes, i got $4 for the whole trunk full...but this was probably 10 years ago....at least.

The wire i have now has a 45 mil plastic coating on it....its a huuuuuge pile......sections of of it...some are 5', some are 50'+....skinning the wire would be insaneeeeeee

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If it's a small gauge then it should go for #2 insulated. Price anywhere from about .80 to 1.20 a lb.

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

If it's a small gauge then it should go for #2 insulated. Price anywhere from about .80 to 1.20 a lb.

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what is considered 'small gauge'? its mostly 14 and some 16

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Originally Posted by smallpeas

what is considered 'small gauge'? its mostly 14 and some 16

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You'll have to see what your yard actually classafies it as. The 14 could be #1 but I'll bet it all goes as #2.
Usually 12ga and bigger is #1

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Might try one of the homemade strippers to clean it up, the instructions are all over youtube and we have had some people posting here with pic;s also. Try the google search here at the top, seems to work well.

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Yeah I pay her with wire!

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

You'll have to see what your yard actually classafies it as. The 14 could be #1 but I'll bet it all goes as #2.
Usually 12ga and bigger is #1

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Since i have a vast mix of 16 gauge and 14 gauge can i assume they'll pay me for it as all #2....its all mixed up, huge pile....can barely tell the difference in the two gauges...there might even be some 18 gauge in there...should i pick that out???

So, if i dont skin it, which i seroiusly doubt i will...its sooooo much....i can still get around $1 per pound?

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So, if i dont skin it, which i seroiusly doubt i will...its sooooo much....i can still get around $1 per pound?

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.80 - 1.25 a lb depends on your yard.

I called a local yard...the answering machine told me these prices...

#1 $2.20/pound
#1 insulated $1.37
#2 1.91
#2 insulated .85


so basically, forgive my ignorance, if i don't strip the wire...i would basically have .85 cents per pound.

You all do not condone burning??

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Originally Posted by smallpeas

I called a local yard...the answering machine told me these prices...

#1 $2.20/pound
#1 insulated $1.37
#2 1.91
#2 insulated .85


so basically, forgive my ignorance, if i don't strip the wire...i would basically have .85 cents per pound.

You all do not condone burning??

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Some states have a state law on the books disallowing burning, and the yards won't accept it. Don't know the policy at your yard.

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Some states have a state law on the books disallowing burning, and the yards won't accept it. Don't know the policy at your yard.

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It is a Federal law that bans burning the insulation off of wire. So none of the states need to have such laws. So it doesn't really matter what city, town, parish, county, state, or whatever. It's illegal anywhere in the US (and also Canada, for that matter).

Soooo if i strip it, does it become #1?? this is what i've got http://i.imgur.com/PyQiW5P.jpg

Nice beer choice

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Originally Posted by smashing

Nice beer choice

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beer cap was for size comparison :) but thank you lol

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Originally Posted by smallpeas

Soooo if i strip it, does it become #1?? this is what i've got http://i.imgur.com/PyQiW5P.jpg

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No, you would have #2 on your list at 1.91 a lb. Kind of an incentive. Could be #1 (it;s iffy) but every yard classifies different. Might even be different depending on which employee is running the scale that day.

wow...so it would go from .85 to 1.91 after being stripped....sounds like it may be worth it to strip it all. I'll test the waters and see how easy/hard it would be to get it all done. I'd hate to go through the labor of cleaning it to only get robbed again...thats why im asking the pros here ;)

Called another yard near me...they said #2 uninsulated $2.40 /pound and #2 insulated .50 per pound....wow...prices seem to vary wildly!??

stripped, #2, no questions asked. May get #1 if there is no coating (laquer, etc) on the wire, but depends on your yard. doubtful on bare bright as that usually has a guage requirement.

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Originally Posted by smashing

Nice beer choice

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Ew. I dunno what it is but I personally can't stand pretty much any IPA. I can't figure out why but every one I've tried has made me go BLECH!

Gimme a nice stout or lager any day


And I'm still really fuzzy on this wire stuff. What does it mean #1 vs #2 vs #3. Is that all based on recovery %? Or is it size (gauge)?

I'm wondering if its even worth my time to strip this stuff. If i get .80 per pound insulated and say i have 100lbs...thats $80......and then if i strip it....and it turns it into 40 lbs of actual copper and i get like $2.40...that would be $96.......for $16...i'd rather not skin it.

This wire is majority 16 gauge with a 45 mil poly coating on it....

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And I'm still really fuzzy on this wire stuff. What does it mean #1 vs #2 vs #3. Is that all based on recovery %? Or is it size (gauge)?

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For reference only;

Different Grades of Copper Scrap

http://rockawayrecycling.com/scrap-metal-pictures/

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Originally Posted by MattyNoNeck

Ew. I dunno what it is but I personally can't stand pretty much any IPA. I can't figure out why but every one I've tried has made me go BLECH!

Gimme a nice stout or lager any day


And I'm still really fuzzy on this wire stuff. What does it mean #1 vs #2 vs #3. Is that all based on recovery %? Or is it size (gauge)?

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Matty,

Wire can be real fuzzy because different yards grade things differently. My main yard is percentage (as is the port). They don't get much if any of my wire. 30% is basically extension cords, power cords, computer cords and anything small. 50% is romex and THHN. 75% is large gauge single jacketed stuff, probably 2 gauge and larger. In North Adams, everything that I get 30 % or 50% in Pittsfield is # 2 insulated. Not sure if they would grade 4 gauge thru #14 gauge THHN as #1. 2 Gauge and up single jacketed should go as #1. I also have a speciality yard that has numerous other grades, such as alarm, Telco, tin coated (small, med, large) and another speciality yard that does these, plus harness wire and other strange ones like Jelly filled something (can't get there site working right now)

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Originally Posted by mthomasdev

Matty,

Wire can be real fuzzy because different yards grade things differently. My main yard is percentage (as is the port). They don't get much if any of my wire. 30% is basically extension cords, power cords, computer cords and anything small. 50% is romex and THHN. 75% is large gauge single jacketed stuff, probably 2 gauge and larger. In North Adams, everything that I get 30 % or 50% in Pittsfield is # 2 insulated. Not sure if they would grade 4 gauge thru #14 gauge THHN as #1. 2 Gauge and up single jacketed should go as #1. I also have a speciality yard that has numerous other grades, such as alarm, Telco, tin coated (small, med, large) and another speciality yard that does these, plus harness wire and other strange ones like Jelly filled something (can't get there site working right now)

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So, would you say, that in general it's best to strip the 30% stuff? That's mostly what I have as far as wire goes and with winter coming (Brace Yourselves!) I'll have time to strip wire to heart's (dis)content. What about computer wire? I've just been setting it all aside for now until I can figure out what to do with it

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Originally Posted by MattyNoNeck

So, would you say, that in general it's best to strip the 30% stuff? That's mostly what I have as far as wire goes and with winter coming (Brace Yourselves!) I'll have time to strip wire to heart's (dis)content. What about computer wire? I've just been setting it all aside for now until I can figure out what to do with it

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I wouldn't strip the 30%. Like I mentioned, most of the 30% would go as #2 insulated in North Adams. They were paying $1 during the summer, probably went down a little.

How do i find out what % i have??

also...i have a buddy that moved to pittsfield from southern VA ;)

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/disma...very-rate.html

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Originally Posted by mthomasdev

I wouldn't strip the 30%. Like I mentioned, most of the 30% would go as #2 insulated in North Adams. They were paying $1 during the summer, probably went down a little.

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$0.90 in North Adams today. Dropped over 200 pounds of #2 insulated.

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Originally Posted by smallpeas

How do i find out what % i have??

also...i have a buddy that moved to pittsfield from southern VA ;)

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Peas,

you have to check with your yard, they are all at least a little different. Send me a photo and I'll tell you what I can sell it for.