Reminder about whether to strip wire or not

On the other hand if you take say the wire running from the condenser motor, on a ac unit, to the contactor you have a heavy gauge wire with a somewhat thin insulation.
These types of wire yield about 66% copper and 33% waste. So at a 1.35 for insulated comes up to $2.20 worth of #2 copper, based on your figures.
This comes up to 61% profit from the same wire less your time and labor! One pound don't seem to be worth the effort but when the numbers go up so does the profit margin!

Originally Posted by injunjoe

On the other hand if you take say the wire running from the condenser motor, on a ac unit, to the contactor you have a heavy gauge wire with a somewhat thin insulation.
These types of wire yield about 66% copper and 33% waste. So at a 1.35 for insulated comes up to $2.20 worth of #2 copper, based on your figures.
This comes up to 61% profit from the same wire less your time and labor! One pound don't seem to be worth the effort but when the numbers go up so does the profit margin!

Technically, i think the margin stays the same, but the gross increases.

I'd SWAG, that 10 pounds
unstripped is $13.50 (1.35 for insulated)
and stripped is worth $14.52 (#2 copper @ $2.20)

If you can do 10 pounds in an hour it looks promising.

Originally Posted by Rusty Nuts

Technically, i think the margin stays the same, but the gross increases.

I'd SWAG, that 10 pounds
unstripped is $13.50 (1.35 for insulated)
and stripped is worth $14.52 (#2 copper @ $2.20)

If you can do 10 pounds in an hour it looks promising.

You are figuring #2 @ $2.20, at that rate it would not be worth the effort, but @$3.50 a pound we get profit.

We take 10 pounds of insulated wire @ 1.35 = #13.50

Now we take insulated wire and clean it. Ending up with 6.66 pounds of #2 copper.
6.66 pounds of #2 @ $3.50 = $23.31
A profit of $9.81. Stripping by hand my not be worth the effort, but with enough wire and a machine, it is a different story.

Originally Posted by injunjoe

A profit of $9.81. Stripping by hand my not be worth the effort, but with enough wire and a machine, it is a different story.

I am just a college student that roams out twice a week....get a few lbs of wire, but mostly thin stuff in electronics or lamp/computer cords. Not worth it to me.....especially when the ratio is so low, I would actually be losing money on most of it.