work 40 hour job or strip #1 wire for the same time?

Originally Posted by KC-SF

It’s not worth it

Do the math:

It’s best to prepare for the worst then to expect that you’ll always be doing your best.

Let’s say it’s a near worst case scenario:

Your goal is to earn $450.
You are buying insulated wire at $1.50 per lb.
The insulated wire nets a ratio of 65% copper.
The market is near bottoming out and is only paying $2.00 per lb. for #1 copper.
You are processing 14 gauge wires.

You will need to net 225 lbs. of bare copper wire to earn $450.
You will need to purchase 350 lbs. of insulated wire to net 227.5 lbs of bare copper (65% net).
350 lbs. of insulated wire @ $1.50 per lb. = $525 paid out by you.
You will end up with 122.5 lbs. of insulation that you paid $1.50 per lb. ($183.75)

14 gauge wire yields 80 feet of wire per 1 lb. of copper.
You will need to process 18,200 feet of wire.
(Based on a 8 hour work day & a 5 day work week)
You will need to process 455 feet of wire per hour.
You will need to process 7.59 feet of wire per minute.
(Based on the $2.00 per lb. market payout)
You will be earning $5.69 per hour.



Net result:
You are paying out $525 to get a return of $450.
I have a bridge for sale, want to buy it?

And that right there is why its a good idea to run the numbers on any business plan.

I didn't realize the ratio of insulation vs copper was so high?!