Copper Wire laying around

I have entire boxes full of copper wire that has been stripped from standard 14/2 UF cables. I also have even more scrap wire that can be stripped.

Anyone have any good ideas on what to do with this? Should I melt it and mold it (is that an option), should I use it as is? Any ideas would be great.

Reply to
neogeo
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sell it for scrap.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus9283

Igor's right. The scrap value of copper is very high right now, and as world copper prices ease off, the scrap value will be coming down. Sell it now.

Grant

Ignoramus9283 wrote:

Reply to
Grant Erwin

Any cheap and easy ways to take the plastic off of wire that has not ben stripped yet? it is all wound up and in small and large pieces. IE, it is not easy to do by hand.

Reply to
NeoGeo

Fire works well. Burning PVC is frowned upon in some circles, but if you don't breathe in the phosgene, or if you have moisture, the HCl... /m

Reply to
Mark F

I have heard of electricians after a big job getting an old box springs & putting all the wire drops on top of the box springs. Light 'er up. Plenty of fumes and plumes of fire and smoke. Do it in the country with fire extinguishers on hand.

Reply to
John L. Weatherly

Jacketed copper scrap is getting pretty good prices right now. Take it to a "secondary metals" company (eg..scrap yard) as is.

Here in Ontario it is illegal to burn the jacket off the wire, and illegal for the scrap dealer to by wire that has had the jacket burned off.

Take care.

Brian Laws>NeoGeo wrote:

Reply to
Brian Lawson

Do not know about cheap and easy, but if you had something like the harbor freight rolling mill

4832-4, you could adjust the distance between the rollers to a bit less than the copper diameter and run the wire thru the rollers. The plastic would be split into two pieces and easily removed.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

On Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:00:34 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, "John L. Weatherly" quickly quoth:

And I hope the fire department and the EPA catch every one so the fidiots can be fined and/or arrested accordingly.

Many metal recyclers are no longer taking wire which has had its insulation melted off in an effort to keep the tweakers from stealing any more wiring out of homes, businesses, streetlights, etc.

-- Smokey the Bear's rules for fire safety should apply to government: Keep it small, keep it in a confined area, and keep an eye on it. --John Stossel in _Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity_

Reply to
Larry Jaques

easy ways to take the plastic off of wire that has not

=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Dan

IF you have over 30# of copper it would pay for the roller mill and then you would have, no argument, #1 copper...sometimes the scrap yard is fussy about how much carbon is left on the wire (oh yah have your copper BBQ at night...) and robs you for #2...I took in a whole bunch of plates from a big pile of old motors I got at an auction and because they saw one spot of solder they tagged the whole pile as #2 (1/2 price at time). I've built a used oil smelter and I'm melting all my stuff now into bricks.

DrO

Reply to
DrO

Clean #1 scrap copper brings the higher price . Burnt copper attracts a lower price.

Reply to
Kevin(Bluey)

On Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:47:09 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, Gunner Asch quickly quoth:

There ya go!

--big snip--

True, and that means more of the same shit for years to come.

Yeah, where 26% of American voters damnear turned this country around. He scared the holy -shit- out of both our thoroughly corrupted parties (Reps and Dems for those of you in Rio Linda) and that likely won't happen again.

-- Smokey the Bear's rules for fire safety should apply to government: Keep it small, keep it in a confined area, and keep an eye on it. --John Stossel in _Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity_

Reply to
Larry Jaques

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