I'm going to this place - http://mannmetals.com/?gclid=CM72lf2jsZMCFQ3_sgod6iO0oQ

$2.60 - $3.20 lb for copper. It must have been awhile since you went .

 

My father used to work for a phone company and when they would pull old wires out of a building to install a new system he'd keep all the junk and haul it in. It adds up over time and you can make quite a bit.

I just replaced my patio recently and took down and stripped all the old aluminum and I probably got a couple hundred bucks for the whole thing.

Now I always keep my eye out for good scrap metal laying around somewhere.

 

i went a few weeks ago. the place i went too didnt seem very legit but wat eva they gave me money for my crap lol

 

A few months ago some private contractor was using a ditch witch to bury a new phone cable for a trailer on our field. Cut across our power wire (copper) going to the well about 100 yards away. They yanked it and began rolling in a good 300-400 feet of 22-gau copper wire in when I got home and noticed guys pulling wire out of our well. I told me dad, one thing led to another, ended with 4 Crown Vics arriving and those guys writing a $500 check AND re-burying the wire they tried to steal because I recorded it all with my video camera and we invited the cops in to sit down and watch The company only made like $250 to bury the phone line they were orginally sent out to bury, so the ultimately ended in SPENDING money and time instead of making money when they tried to run off with our cable. Goes to show stealers WILL get caught.

 

In this area Dear camps and house in remote locations are losing wire as fast as cut be put up.
The ones getting caught are trying to sell it localy and getting caught.
The police wacth the scrapyards and them follow them to where they buy their crack and meth and boost'em all at the same time.

The meth and crack are a huge problem here. It seems to be getting to a point where you have to deputize your family and work in shifts just to protect your property.

 

we had several nearly finished homes ruined. a guy would back up to the garage tie a chain to the cables at the breaker box and driving away nearly taking down the house in the process they have don this at least 15 times between here and nogales. and their also ripping the copper ac lines out. It has gotten so bad here they passed a ordnance, the scrap yards here will not pay you cash for scrap now you have to have a check mailed to you at the address on your state issued ID, and they send a monthly report to the sheriff dept.

 

If you steel, you'll get caught, plain and simple. That's freakin DIRT BAG way that never works. There's truly much better ways to capitalize on scrap

I don't care if they mail me a check - as long as I GET ONE lol - Well , I'm prolly stuck with these Dell computers - Oh well, dumb move. BUT! I picked up three old Pepsi Machines/ A solid Aluminum/Brass TEA machine/ Industrial Coffee bean grinder and 1/2 a truck load of stainless steal or aluminum (prolly aluminum) pressurized 5 gallon syrup containers. This stuff is loaded / all the machines have at least 70% copper radiators and HUGE aluminum tanks. The aluminum tanks are rapped in 1/4 " copper coils.

I'm learning that anything "Food grade" , especially the OLDER machines have to use quality materials by law.

The only parts I don't know what to do with is the condensers. ?? I pinched the lines for now and got them sitting outside the shop. Also picked up 2 dryers and washing Machine - there still in the truck

This is kinduh fun - get to work at home - it is work tho , taking that stuff apart. Since this state is so F^cked up, I have to find something else to do to pay the bills.

Well, I hope this works for me as much as it does the environment to recycle.

 

I think you mentioned earlier that you and a few of your friends stripped the insulation off the wires before you cashed it in. Well, I talked to a few people and finally found out how that works.

If you strip the wire casing/insulation off the wires before your visit to the salvage yard - That degrades your wire down a notch. Bare electrical wire is considered "Grade No 2" (Copper).

Grade No. 1 = Copper still in it's casing. You'll get more cash leaving it on there. Wire is figured by AWG and Length , then calculated. - It's best to keep your wire SIZE separate from one another .

 

jbrew.. you need to watch canabilizing those pepsi machines. depending on who knows you have them, and who you sell the scrap to, you could stand a chance of becoming liable for the freon disposal of those units.

 

Well - Not sure what you mean , compressor,condensers are crimped. The machines weren't cannibalized , they were dismantled for recycle. I guess some people see recycling as a bad thing. I was attempting it as a side business and going to report how it goes , since I've belonged to this site for awhile - others might benefit from it. Well - Screw that I guess lol .

 

Somewhere, I came across a picture of a copper thief who cut a very high power (and live) line with a pair of wire cutters. He was very dead and missing a few of his parts as well ... a little karma if you ask me.

 

they wrote the stuff we took the plastic off as Grade No. 1. they said with the plastic on it its Grade No.2 because theres crap on the wire addin weight when its just plastic.

 

Damn ,they told me not to remove the insulation or it's actually worth less. Otherwise I would have. Well I'll find out tomorrow. I know there's different categories of grade one Copper tho.

Quoted, For insulated copper from Mann's metals (that's close to you) 2.90 lb

Haggerty metals - $3.20 lb

I have a bunch of electric motors - Both companies quoted me $4.00 lb even for those. Transformers, alternator's starters - Same.

 

No one said recycling was a bad thing. I think Gipraw was just trying to point out that there can be bad consequences if you get caught intentionally releasing freon while dismantling components. New York is getting sued over a similar refraction.
Crimping the ends off would probably not fly with the EPA watchdogs. Not only is it highly unlikely that it would actually prevent the escape of refrigerant, but how is it supposed to be recovered after the ends are crimped?
I'm not saying you should rush out and spend a couple thousand bucks on a refrigerant recovery machine, I'm just saying you might want to look over your shoulder now and then if you are going to recycle a lot of these.

 

Last year around here someone found the maps to all the old de-comissioned nuclear missle site cable plans.

My buddy got ahold of one and he has a backhoe so he begain going around to all the farmers and asking them if he could dig up the cable and pay them for it.

the cable ranges from 2inches thick to 8 inches thick in some spots.

he dug about 150ft up for my dad then gave him a $1500 dollar check!

I think he made a lot of money this winter when the weather was to crappy to dig basements or fix water lines!

I don't even know how many dump truck loads of cable he took in but i know it was a lot of them.