Questions about selling "copper cable"

[MichaelD]

are you sure it's solid copper strand and not copper-clad aluminium?

Why you gotta go and pee in my Cornflakes? Actually, that's a good question. I am assuming it's solid-stranded copper as all the tiny strands are copper-colored. I DID have a few pieces of 8 gauge that were clearly aluminum or steel wire as the wires were silver. I threw those away. There was maybe 10 feet of it total.

Most of the speaker wire I'm trying to sell was sold as "Oxygen Free Copper" so I'm assuming that's OK too. I will find out tomorrow when I hear back from the recycling places. If they tell me "Not interested" then I'll just put the whole box out on CL. Way too heavy to ship anywhere.

Thanks for alerting me to the possibility that I'm hosed...I hate surprises. Now I can be disappointed in advance. LOL!

 

[lxskllr]

I don't think I've ever seen copper clad aluminum. The closest is copper clad grounding rods, but that was over steel, and pretty obvious.

 

[sdifox]

I don't think I've ever seen copper clad aluminum. The closest is copper clad grounding rods, but that was over steel, and pretty obvious.

There are copper clad aluminium wires. Avoid at all cost.

 

[lxskllr]

There are copper clad aluminium wires. Avoid at all cost.

Where would you expect to find them? What applications are they typically used for?

 

[sdifox]

Where would you expect to find them? What applications are they typically used for?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper-clad_aluminium_wire

 

[lxskllr]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper-clad_aluminium_wire

Thanks. It looks like it's mainly in stuff like coil windings, and cheap electric cable. I'll have to keep my eyes open for it.

 

[sdifox]

Thanks. It looks like it's mainly in stuff like coil windings, and cheap electric cable. I'll have to keep my eyes open for it.

There are speaker cables being sold that are CCA or CCS cables. For home user the savings is not worth the fire risk.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper-clad_aluminium_wire

that says rg-6 coax is copper-clad steel, which i very much doubt. in over a decade, i had never seen coax from rg-59 to 1.000" to tree trunk-like broadcast tower cable that wasn't copper-clad aluminium, even the self-supported. perhaps steel core is used in the cheapest of cheap pre-made jumpers.

 

[HeXen]

You'll get more money stripping it. It doesn't have to be done tomorrow. Do a bit at a time when you feel motivated. I use a knife. The redneck method is to burn it off, but that might affect the value. Consider it a public service. You're not only saving resources, but you're getting a bit of money for it too.

No, burning it off doesn't effect value and it's far faster especially if you have a lot of wire.

 

[sdifox]

that says rg-6 coax is copper-clad steel, which i very much doubt. in over a decade, i had never seen coax from rg-59 to 1.000" to tree trunk-like broadcast tower cable that wasn't copper-clad aluminium, even the self-supported. perhaps steel core is used in the cheapest of cheap pre-made jumpers.

http://www.parts-express.com/carol-rg-6-u-coaxial-cable-1000-ft-payout-box-usa--100-382

http://ca.blackbox.com/Store/Detail.aspx/RG-6-Quad-Shielded-Coax-Cable-75-Ohms-PVC-1000-ft-304-8-m/RG6%C4%82QS%C4%82CMR%C4%82CCS

http://www.networkcablesonline.com/bulk-rg6-cable-1000-ft-pull-box-black/



pretty sure all the rg-6 I have seen are steel core. My hand can attest to that for the multiple puncture wounds. RG-6 just penetrates better :awe:

 

[Soundmanred]

Where would you expect to find them? What applications are they typically used for?

Cheap car audio.

 

[TridenT]

Do not burn it off. I'm very skeptical of that being environmentally friendly.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I recently ran some 2 awg cable for my DC power backup setup. I can't imagine how long it would take to strip that insulation all the way though. I would just bring it as is and take the "loss". They probably have a process they use that makes it way faster than it would take you to do by hand.

I suppose you could pass a few thousand amps through it and let the insulation melt off, but at that point that's probably just as bad for the environment as burning it.

 

[skyking]

I had a pile of similar cutoffs, Michael. I took it in, they weighed it and mailed me a check. Now that I have been vetted they would pay on the spot.

 

[lxskllr]

I recently ran some 2 awg cable for my DC power backup setup. I can't imagine how long it would take to strip that insulation all the way though. I would just bring it as is and take the "loss". They probably have a process they use that makes it way faster than it would take you to do by hand.

I suppose you could pass a few thousand amps through it and let the insulation melt off, but at that point that's probably just as bad for the environment as burning it.

Stripping wire is easy. Heavy stuff extremely so. It just takes a bit of time. Maybe 10 seconds a foot average. Some go quicker than others. It depends on the insulation. I like it when it comes off in one long strip. It's as satisfying as denuding an orange in one shot :^D

 

[TridenT]

I had a pile of similar cutoffs, Michael. I took it in, they weighed it and mailed me a check. Now that I have been vetted they would pay on the spot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC7Q715LqPA

 

[stormkroe]

I'll give you $50 for your 3k cat5e, if it's in 1000' lengths. I don't usually buy that small of a quantity but if you're scraping up wire money then maybe that would help you out.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

http://www.parts-express.com/carol-rg-6-u-coaxial-cable-1000-ft-payout-box-usa--100-382

http://ca.blackbox.com/Store/Detail.aspx/RG-6-Quad-Shielded-Coax-Cable-75-Ohms-PVC-1000-ft-304-8-m/RG6%C4%82QS%C4%82CMR%C4%82CCS

http://www.networkcablesonline.com/bulk-rg6-cable-1000-ft-pull-box-black/



pretty sure all the rg-6 I have seen are steel core. My hand can attest to that for the multiple puncture wounds. RG-6 just penetrates better :awe:

i've never heard of carol, and the other 2 have no mfg listed. i've gone through miles of water damaged coax, and have only found white-green-white oxidation, never red.

[cable snob]
if it's not times-fiber, it's crap!
[/cable snob]

 

[alangrift]

Yes you could take it to a scrap yard or to a flea market and sell it.

 

[sdifox]

i've never heard of carol, and the other 2 have no mfg listed. i've gone through miles of water damaged coax, and have only found white-green-white oxidation, never red.

[cable snob]
if it's not times-fiber, it's crap!
[/cable snob]

it does have a copper shell, so the rust would be on the surface duh.

Belden big enough name for you?

http://www.belden.com/techdatas/metric/1189A.pdf


http://canada.newark.com/belden/1189a-0101000/coaxial-cable-quad-shield-rg6/dp/05F1782

http://www.parts-express.com/belden...le-18-awg-copper-clad-conductor-100--102-1372

 

[Soundmanred]

Yes you could take it to a scrap yard or to a flea market and sell it.

This post was amazing the captain obvious revelation in it made it spectacular I would give it a five star rating.

 

[edro]

Burning it off is extremely common in the scrap world.
Scrap yards who specialize in wire/cable have machines to strip the larger gauge wires.

Mildly nsfw (bikini devil logo), Diablo Strippers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKKQumdCPp8

 

[roguerower]

I did a job (renovation) in North Dakota and when I wrote the contract for the electrician I put in that all salvaged electrical cable had to be turned over to me. We ended up with a couple thousand pounds of 3 AWG to 4/0 AWG and some smaller stuff as well. We took the time to strip the insulation off of the larger stuff, but left it on the smaller stuff. It was a nice $2500 bonus after we split up the proceeds.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Burning it off is extremely common in the scrap world.
Scrap yards who specialize in wire/cable have machines to strip the larger gauge wires.

Mildly nsfw (bikini devil logo), Diablo Strippers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKKQumdCPp8

All commercials need to be this entertaining. :biggrin:

 

[MichaelD]

I decided to strip it. Took me about 3 hours with nothing but a utility knife. My fingers are killing me.

24.3 pounds of all-copper goodness. I'll be calling around tomorrow to see who will give me the best price.