zwodubber

This was the excess 600MCM the boss gave me last week. After working late all week I made sure to get some done each night for three days. Propane torch and utility knife worked pretty good although it took a while to get my technique down.

Now I just have to try not to spend it on tools

joe cool

So, what did you learn about technique. I've got at least a trash can full of old wire with insulation. Is it worth my time to strip it and how? I live in the country, I could burn it, but that seems environmentally incorrect?

zwodubber

the wire I had was in 8 to 16' lengths. I ran the torch along the wire around 12" then cut off the heated part in one swipe of the blade down the wire. repeat as many times as needed until you get to the end. The jacket simply peeled off the entire length of the cable. I threw the insulation in contractor bags.

Also burning it is not pocket friendly here. Price drops by about half for burned vs. shiny bright. MDShunk did have a suggestion for cleaning burned wire. He posted in a similar thread

chewy

Mmmm... Mill Berry....

erics37

I've always pondered this.

Bare bright & shiny copper is worth more per pound than copper still covered with insulation, right? Well, the insulated stuff still has some value, and furthermore, the wire insulation itself adds some weight (not much of course, but still some amount).

So my question is, if you algebraically graphed a linear function of the total value of bare copper over a large range of weight, and then superimposed a similar function of the total value of insulated copper over the same weight range, would there be some point where those two functions crossed, and at what weight would that intersection point occur?

The idea is that although insulated copper wire is worth less, it weighs more than the same amount of bare copper (by linear footage), so at some point, if you had saved up enough, it would theoretically be worth it NOT to strip the wire.

Anyone have any data I might be able to work this up with? The only unknown here is how much the insulation weighs. Maybe if someone can go measure out a 10 or 20 foot piece of 1/0 THHN, weigh it, then strip the insulation off and weigh the copper by itself. That should be enough to extrapolate from.

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- Eric

mnelectrician

Maybe weigh a foot of the 600 insulated then weigh a foot stripped and do some figuring from there. I've actually wondered the same thing.

zwodubber

Here is a chart of bare copper weights


http://www.alanwire.com/awscripts/ma...cgi?ntype=BARE

Big John

Maybe I don't follow the math, but it seems to me that a smart scrapper would realize that the insulation weight is a fixed percentage, based on that reduce the payment for insulated wire far enough below bare that it would never be more profitable to turn in insulated.

-John

jrannis

We have a guy here that will pay the stripped price for insulated if you have more than 200 or 300 lbs.
The machine they have strips it really fast

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Stab&Shoot

Ive done it both ways. I think Eric's theory is correct. I no longer strip it. The .20c per lb more that you get for stripping it yourself is not worth the hassle. Unless of course you have A LOT of extra time on your hands.

jbfan

Good luck with the scrap.
GA is on a campaign to regulate the sale of scrap.
The major change wanted is to wait two weeks before being paid.

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Going_Commando

Last time we scrapped wire, insulated larger than 1/0 was 2.35/lb or so and bare bright was 3.48/lb. Definitely paid off to strip it. Lately, I just wrap the wire around a bumper, pull tight with one hand, and run a sharp utility knife blade down it, and then the insulation will peel right off unless it is really old wire.

HARRY304E

Always scamming to take the money away from the little guy...

Having a 2 week waiting period does nothing but punish the little guy.


If a guy show's up with a 1,000' roll of 750's copper then that should be a red flag.

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Hippie

If its bigger than #2 ill strip it otherwise its too much trouble. I would rather not risk cutting myself stripping out some #10, def not worth it lol

mcclary's electrical

It's not .20 more. It's normally at least a dollar a pound more.

jbfan

Last time I scraped wire, I had an option of a check that day, or coming back the next business day for cash.
My son scraped a van that day and received cash.

__________________
Water and women are in short supply! There's not enough dope for us all to get high! Jimmy Buffett!

farlsincharge

Looks like the price of copper has risen pretty good over the last month. I took a beating on some stuff took in around November.
What prices have you guys been seeing lately?

Podagrower

Around here we have bare bright, insulated, and covered. Covered is thhn or such, and insulated is NM types. Smaller than #4, I will strip if I have time, smaller than #8 I almost never strip. It's pretty easy to up your income on 2 wire romex by grabbing the ground and using it to rip the sheath, gets you 1 bare bright, and 2 covered, as opposed to insulated.
I took in several hundred feet of control cable that was 7 conductor 14 gauge, with an outer jacket. No way was I going to strip it, but getting paid for the insulation on it was probably worth it.

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Fibes

Actually thieves will cut short pieces off of a roll of large size wire as fast as they will try to steal the whole roll.

I think a waiting period is a great deterent, (not that it will solve all theft problems) most crack and meth heads won't bother if they have to wait a couple weeks. On the other hand, the little guy that's legal can put the new toy on lay a way and pick it up later.

crazymurph

A draw knife works great for stripping large wire. Put one end of wire in vice (or other secure means), have a partner stand behind you and hold wire taught. Pull draw knife towards you to strip wire. You and partner keep working away from vice.