Ec wire vs extrusion

**mike1** · 05-21-2022, 07:06 PM

I was wondering why extrusion is .80c and ec wire is .75c isn't the wire as pure as extrusion?. Are other factors involved?. I do know that insulated aluminum is .30c vs .75c of you strip it.

**hills** · 05-21-2022, 09:54 PM

There's aluminum sheet

There's cast aluminum

There's extruded

There's EC wire

All four are just different kinds of aluminum. Some kinds have more value than others.

**JJinLV** · 05-21-2022, 11:36 PM

What hills said. Different aluminum alloys have different compositions and their prices are set by a number of different factors including supply, cost and more. So the 6000 series aluminums that are most of what you'll see as extrusion aren't the same composition as the 8000 series alloys that are aluminum wire. This wikipedia article is a good primer on different aluminum alloys to help learn the difference.

**mike1** · 05-22-2022, 04:38 PM

I bet you could turn the aluminum wire into the other types of aluminum if it was melted down. I thought of something I wonder if aluminum wire melts down easier than say aluminum cans?.

**JJinLV** · 05-22-2022, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by mike1

I bet you could turn the aluminum wire into the other types of aluminum if it was melted down. I thought of something I wonder if aluminum wire melts down easier than say aluminum cans?.

In the sense of "you" as a general term meaning "someone" yes, you can change the kind of aluminum in a furnace which is how alloys are made in the first place. But it would require resources and technical expertise that neither of us have.

**CopperMiner** · 05-22-2022, 10:55 PM

It also depend on which buyers the scrap yards got. There are the international/national market prices, but they don't always reflect what's paid locally. Our shred price we got is usually half what are the national average prices even if we have a large foundry right here. Many of you can get around 40 to 50¢ / lbs for UBCs, but some yards here won't even buy them for what they're nor accept them in mixed aluminum and the ones who buy them pay about 15¢ /lbs. Maybe they can get better prices for EC wires rather than extrusion.

**mike1** · 05-28-2022, 11:03 AM

True. So does anyone get insulated aluminum wire often? What about the 16 gauge stranded if it's aluminum does it count as ec or does it have to be big to be counted as ec wire? By big I mean 4/0 to 1gauge? I'm going to be getting 100lbs or so of insulated aluminum wire mostly 4/0 so that should be fun good thing I have a stripper.

**JJinLV** · 05-28-2022, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by mike1

True. So does anyone get insulated aluminum wire often? What about the 16 gauge stranded if it's aluminum does it count as ec or does it have to be big to be counted as ec wire? By big I mean 4/0 to 1gauge? I'm going to be getting 100lbs or so of insulated aluminum wire mostly 4/0 so that should be fun good thing I have a stripper.

Any insulated aluminum wire you're likely to find - with the exception of aluminum degaussing wire - is going to be EC wire when stripped.

**CopperMiner** · 05-29-2022, 11:37 PM

Is that include the aluminum wire from transformers as well?

**mike1** · 06-04-2022, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by CopperMiner

Is that include the aluminum wire from transformers as well?

Good question I wonder that also.

**JJinLV** · 06-04-2022, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by CopperMiner

Is that include the aluminum wire from transformers as well?

If it's not enamelled it *should* be fine with EC but that really depends on if the yard will buy it that way. My guess is they won't for reasons of unfamiliarity.