I feel most of the complaints people have about Micro Scrapping is, Is it worth your time? My answer is I enjoy what I do with my time, it gives me Pleasure and because I enjoy it, It is Priceless. Some people pay out wads of cash on watching Football which I find boring. At least you are making money rather than spending it on 22 grown men kick a ball around a field. You do what you enjoy and that comes across in your videos.
I’ve scrapped ever since I was a kid. Cans, copper, aluminum, brass… the one investment I don’t regret getting recently was a $100 drill powered wire stripper from Amazon. I started stripping my pile of copper on Christmas Day . I have over 100 pounds of 16 to 20 gauge wire completed so far. That’s pretty small. It is a pain with the small diameter wire but definitely worth the extra $330 I will get for it.
In Australia it is worth stripping as the price difference is much larges ($2.20-$8.40) . Mostly depends on how much time you want to put into it and how much wire you get . Always good to hear what other people have to say and thanks for offering your experience
Did you do the math? Because it's almost the same ratio. 4.80/1.30=3.69. 8.40/2.20=3.81. A few extra pennies for you. I wouldn't call that difference much "larges" specially since "larges" isn't even a word.
Ian's example was flex wire which in this case 3 insulated wires incased in an outer layer of pvc/insulation. So i agree with him on this example. However 16 gauge or bigger is worth stripping so if its as thick as the lead in a pencil and you have a lot of it then id say it be worth it. Its much easier to strip plus the percentage of copper to insulation is higher = more copper less waste. The value or scrap payout of insulated is also determined by the percentage of copper versus pvc or any other foreign materials that aren't copper
Easiest way to strip that kind of wire is use a hand planer. Set the depth and press against the work bench and run the planer down the wire. Super easy
I like the cube wire stripper you have that is neat. I like stripping wire myself it’s a mess with the copper strands poking but it’s always worth it to me. But to each there own they say. Making money is what is about any way so you can’t loose stripped or not. Gonna sub up I liked this vid and sure I’ll dig the rest.
I got told at scrap yard, small cables are what they call 38%, where copper is around 38% of the weight, of course this changes on larger cable diameter, but most household cables are 38%. The price is 3x here, 9.90 kr pr kilo insulated, 32 kr pr kilo raw copper, but if the small cables are 38%, its hardly worth it to scrap, but big cables are worth it.
In 2004ish Ian we were given household wire by an electrician. Spent ages with someone stripping it.....was worth it...free money. However they soon realized it was their 'bonus' so the source dried up. Even make my own stripping machine. As you may know, nowadays strip it for the wire to make copper chain lol.
Copper wire is pure copper the best money is not selling it for scrap but casting it into bullion copper bars. It doesnt matter if #1 or #2 and depending on how well its polished and decoratively stamped can bring as much as $15 a pound. It is also a great way to stockpile it as a currency hedge as copper gets scarce prices will go up. Like alot of other metals new copper is getting harder to mine and more costly. Its a matter of time before prices start jumping.
Any insulated wire will be ether #1 or #2 insulated copper wire. #1 insulated only has plastic jacket "plastic cover'" 1 plastic cover then copper wire. #2 is considered double insulated wire plastic jacket "plastic covers", one plastic jacket will copper wire. then the other plastic jacket. Any insulated ether #1 or #2 insulated copper wire that has #2 size pencil size lead or bigger will be concerted a #1 copper. keep in mind cable wire isn't copper wire it's a single steel wire, if you mix it with your copper wire and they see it they will your price for the whole batch. Now Christmas lights with the lights will only give anywhere from $.09- $.14 cents a pound so cut all the lights out and make more money by $.30 cents or more Phone wire recovery is very low so keep that separate. If you have time take strip down the #2 double insulated copper wire to #1 insulated and and make more money. FYI all this insulated #1 and #2 insulated copper wire will be less then to $.80-$.38 or less cents a pound. The big bucks is where you strip all the insulated off the copper wire to where its clean wire all copper wire bare wire, #1 copper wire its a non insulated can be worth $2.65-$2.85 cents a pound if its bare bright copper #2 copper wire its a non insulated can be worth $2.15--$2.35 cents a pound. #1 copper tubing has to be clean no paint, solder, or brass will bring you more money. #2 copper tubing can have paint, solder on it but take off the brass or they will lower the price, keep the brass by its self. Yes their are 2 types of brass red brass and yellow brass, Check your local scrap yards to see who will give you the better price Good luck and happy scraping
Every scrap yard I have ever been to takes 80% of every pound you turn in unstripped, I literally strip everything because as an example: say copper is worth a dollar a pound unstripped it's 20¢ of that dollar you actually get paid for unstripped copper but if you're stripping it you get that whole dollar so for me it's worth it to strip it...also I'm a commercial and residential electrician and stripping all that is no problem with a razor knife just get the right angle and pull as fast as you can lol or what I do is put a board on my leg and get one of the kids to run with one end and I keep the angle and wire steady over the board as it's being pulled across I can strip a 500 foot roll as quick as they run but I've been scrapping since before I became an electrician at least a decade get a emptyrollon a piece of all thread and roll all that up with the drill
Nichole Crouch Is that solid core. What we call twin and earth , that IS a dream to strip. Yep prices across the world differ so much, I do tend to strip everything but the very small gauge
I would strip it down to bright copper and coil it up tightly. If nothing else it's easier to carry to the scrap yard in my small car. The insulation goes into my rubbish sack an little at a time so that's not a problem for me. However, I only get a fairly small amount of scrap wire so I just weigh-in 2 or 3 times a year. Not even close to an industrial size operation...
Somebody put some stuff out in my neighborhood last night. There is a bunch of boxes I guess is like alarm or speaker wire,the rest is giant wooden spools of cable TV ,I don't know if I can even do anything with it,but I know all the spools together is probably 500lbs,it is very heavy. That is aluminum rapped around the copper right?
@@Man-in-da-shed It's copper,it has the small outer wire also it's all copper. I don't have anything to strip it with though,I mean it is like 24" wooden spools still has the plastic on them,that's alot of stripping man
@@Man-in-da-shed Oh ya for sure I understand that. But cost of living in Florida is behond rediculous,and I'm poor.Scrap yards in FL don't buy TV cable that's why I have to strip it. Thanks man I appreciate it.
@Grift Be Gone ahhh if you live in Florida then please get in contact with my friend @Shark Scrapper, he will better advise you. ua-cam.com/video/oppp_K24LPA/v-deo.html
I’ll strip those cords from time to time when I need more copper to melt .. I’ll have a bad week street scrapping and I’ve got to get it from some were 🤣
I use Stanley to take outer case off and then I use a $1.50 potato peeler to do the 3 inner wire casings, doesn’t take long once you get the nack of it
I probably would strip it purely because I love doing that and also because I only have a small(ish) car so space and weight play it's part too. Great video though I never tire of watching stripping videos. Where did you get that stripping machine from (not the one you made), I din't think I've seen one like that before. Cheers, Poo
Being in the US and copper being so cheap it is rarely worth the time and effort to strip copper unless you are OK with your time being only worth $2 dollars an hour. My time is far more valuable than that. Even though it reduces the salvage price I just save all my copper wire and then every five or ten years I just burn it to remove all the insulation. Even though it brings less dollars per pound I am getting about a hundred dollars an hour for my time and labor.
Burning the plastic off of your copper is the least responsible thing you could do with it. Serious poisoning of our environment......and yes, you can make the argument that it’s a drop in the bucket compared to big industry, but it’s your drop, and your choice....choose better for the rest of us dude...please.
@@robertevras6577 Not really if you think it through. What do you think happens to all the insulation you strip off? Do you place it in your trash and let your city or county bury? Search for the short documentary "Biosludged" and you'll discover my burning the copper is by far better that what most waste disposal companies or cities do with their garbage and sewage. When I burn it I wait till I have a large burn pile of tree limbs, etc. Since the copper wire is only a small portion of the fire, the intense inferno actually incinerates all the harmful off gases produced by the burning plastics, much like they do in responsible garbage disposal plants. Which is, by the way, the only environmentally responsible way of disposing of industrial, pharmaceutical, and human waste.
Sorry, but thats not 100% true. Its hopeful ut not an accurate statement. If you had a specialized incinerator with a multi phaze burn chamber and the ability to capture small particulates, then you could burn it for energy production and it w ok uld be a useful resource. I have an environmental science degree. Beleiving you are creating a hot enough brush fire to completely consume the poisons you are releasing is just that...whishful thinking. I do agree with you the a landfill is no better. There are sone aces that accept wire steippings as recyclable plastic. Look into a place to drop it off that is not a landfill or a burnpile. Besides, when you burn the plastic off, you are not getting "bare-bright" copper anyway. I cant beleive your scrap yard would give you anyrhing better than #2 copper on that. Depending on diameter, it might be downgraded again...why not just collect it in mass, sell it wrapped? Less work, less time, less pollution, no morale dilemma....good luck...;)
You can clean it soaking it in vinegar water. You have to put a bit of effort into getting chunks off but if your place is like mine they count it clean.
My mates sparky dad used to collect cable from jobs and when he had a couple of sacks full he would chuck it all in an oil drum with a gallon of four star, and chuck in a lit match. Pretty quick way to strip cable but not great for the environment...
Nice video, I never strip cable, as you know its not worth it, How long did it take you to strip 1kg, also i never clean copper or brass keep it mixed, weigh it all in as brazery
oh wow, err that video was quite a wile ago, if I recall less than ten minutes, but as you say unless its bigger stuff weigh it in as cable. as for brazery its 11/11/18 brass is 2.60 a kg coper tube is 3.80 kg to me its worth it, a lot depends on how much you value your time. for me as a part time hobbyst scrapper ( scrap Kingdoms words) time is relatively cheap, I just look at a (yearly) weigh in when prices are high, in between I microscrap, I even take pins of domestic plugs, to me it all adds up thanks for the comment
@@Man-in-da-shed I've thrown so many away, I've only just started scrapping, part time but I really enjoy it, I'm guna start keeping those plugs now for the brass
@@Man-in-da-shed good to know. I do property clearances for my local council and it’s only recently that I’ve started collecting the household cable I wish I’d have done it a few years ago. Everything’s got a cable nowadays 👍🏻
@@almostfamous1685 you have to cut the plugs off as otherwise you will get pluggy cable price, but plugs can be weighed in separate or you can break open for the brass
@@Man-in-da-shed cheers I have been cutting off plugs but throwing them away for the most part some id get the brass pins out of though. How much do you get per kilo for the plugs on there own. I’ve noticed not all plugs have brass pins too some just look like steel or something.
@ian matthews so are you saying basically weigh it in with the plastic sheath still attatched? because even if you strip it your losing the weight of the plastic sheath, even thought it will weigh more,at the end of the day, theres not much in it, is that right?
SP330Y , it is worth more stripped, it depends on what else you do with your time, if time or space is short you can weigh in knowing you have not lost a lot, unlike an electric motor where you will get an extra 2/3rd for stripping it. Ie if u get £1 for a motor you will get £3 if you strip it.
Thanks, got it, so it's worth the effort then,im not scared of working hard :), got loads of motors to strip and cable,and just realised all the empty beer cans i have are worth money too, now i'm officially a bin raider
get yourself some of those finger exercisers or end up like me... crippled for months from squeezing tools and such with my hands. Everyone needs to exercise OPENING their hands to try and balance the muscles out. You can use a rubber band or a finger band/exerciser. If you do this type of work DON'T WAIT until you feel pain. Once you're in pain its inflamed and when it's inflamed it's almost impossible to get the inflamation down because you irritate it every time you work... and it's not like you can just stop working. Repetitive stress injury.
Even though this video is old, I feel the need to add something. I just got a rude awakening at the yard - and want to share. A simple mistake is being made by many video makers. They are over-estimating the value of the finished, stripped copper, thinking it's #1, or even Bright n Shiny. It's not. Now I don't know about elsewhere, but in NA, you would actually lose money stripping extension cords most of the time. The pencil lead rule means it can only be #1 if each STRAND size is thicker than a pencil lead. All extension cords are stranded with fine wires about the thickness of cat hair. Fine-stranded wire will never grade to #1, and therefore, never be B&S. (B&S is bright and shiny #1 grade.) You will get #2 copper prices, because of strand size. Regardless of shine. It's simple physics; in the melting pot, fine wire partly vaporizes. (BTW pencil lead means 16 guage wire roughly. So strip all wire that has cores/strands thick enough to ring a bell with it. Romex is wonderful for this.) Since ian's conclusion at the end is he made "30 pence", is based on ICW vs B&S prices - he actually made a lot less money than estimated. In fact, he likely lost some. You would at N American yards, anyway. The true measurement would be ICW vs #2 price. Usually, with so much weight loss, that's a loss in money too. Turning the product into something worth less than if you left it alone. Plus: You lose plug weight. A person can have a special relationship with a yard...where they appreciate your stripping efforts, and give you #1 price because they want to retain you as a customer - but don't expect that. (And often, the #1 copper price vs ICW isn't high enough for you to break even by stripping.)
You really didn't think about scaling up your calculations 🤦 Extra 30p per kilo stripped. So every 100kg you're earning an extra £30 and so on so forth. If you have a regular inventory of wire, consider Investing in a wire stripping machine. Even an expensive one will have paid itsself off in the first tonne.
I do these all the time when sitting in the car waiting for wife in store kids off school ect use box cutter works easy sitting using knee as platform is the only way could not stand I do a hundred or so lbs a month.
I strongly disagree. You identified how to speed up the process simply by leaving the lengths longer. The time and effort to cut to shorter lengths would be negated. Also, once you are set up, you can fly through that. Just my opinion based on your data. Keep up the good work!
lost in the tundra Thanks. I'm not sure which bit you strongly disagree with, is it the " is it worth doing" as I said it depends on how much time you have, but I appreciate all comments especially constructive comments like your. Thanks for watching
wow. I think your right on about not stripping the wire, I used to strip every wire I had and now I don't. to much time and hard work to do it.i just take it in and sell it nowadays. thanks for getting back to me.
Back in the 90s my crackhead buddy used to steal bundles of wire from his dad's warehouse and he would take it to the back roads and burn the plastic off of it
@@Man-in-da-shed I know it's my birthday on bon fire night I save my wire all year and burn the lot expect whats worth stripping And iv done this for past 5 years
@@BGTech1 so are cars, lorries and aeroplanes I doubt 1 fire per year like I do which burns for 2 hours or so Is hardly going to have a impact on the environment
You are a loony but I like you lol. If you buy a granulator and buy the wire in at the price the scrap yard pays then sell it to them you can make a nice living. Take care.
Hi people I am from India I am planning to start wire stripping business Anybody can suggest me is worth is profitable business ?? Please anybody reply to my question
@@Man-in-da-shed sure bro thanks for your response My Facebook account name is Akash Nv Kumar My profile photo I am wearing white shirt blue jeans & I am seating on rocks and river is passing on my background . And well bro where r u from bro UK ?
Stupid to scrap wire like that it cost 20 Times scrap price if you have to buy a piece to use. Anyone who scraps that must have stolen it because if they had bought it they would not be scraping it.
lance wilson So True. (Not the stealing bit tho). Alas we live in a throw away society, the company I get this off also give me the 110v plugs by the hundreds. I’ve tried to sell the cable I’ve tried to sell the plugs, very little interest, I do keep some for my own & friends use but it just keeps building up, it’s scrap. Sad but true
I think some scrapyards would give you a lower price for burnt copper or maybe not accept it at all because that's what the scumbags used to do with the cables they nicked.
@@Man-in-da-shed I've been an electrician going on 26 yrs and to me, no it's not worth my time. But to someone who has time on their hands I guess it could be. Any wire under 4awg I never skin. I've got every bit of 400lbs of THHN wire in my shed now I need to take in but just holding out for a better price. 👍🏼
I feel most of the complaints people have about Micro Scrapping is, Is it worth your time? My answer is I enjoy what I do with my time, it gives me Pleasure and because I enjoy it, It is Priceless. Some people pay out wads of cash on watching Football which I find boring. At least you are making money rather than spending it on 22 grown men kick a ball around a field. You do what you enjoy and that comes across in your videos.
I normally use Fishing as the analogy. But the sentiment is the same 👍
💯
I’ve scrapped ever since I was a kid. Cans, copper, aluminum, brass… the one investment I don’t regret getting recently was a $100 drill powered wire stripper from Amazon. I started stripping my pile of copper on Christmas Day . I have over 100 pounds of 16 to 20 gauge wire completed so far. That’s pretty small. It is a pain with the small diameter wire but definitely worth the extra $330 I will get for it.
It can be a pain to strip small wire but you do get more money for it
God bless you bro.. ..😎
In Australia it is worth stripping as the price difference is much larges ($2.20-$8.40) . Mostly depends on how much time you want to put into it and how much wire you get . Always good to hear what other people have to say and thanks for offering your experience
Did you do the math? Because it's almost the same ratio. 4.80/1.30=3.69. 8.40/2.20=3.81. A few extra pennies for you. I wouldn't call that difference much "larges" specially since "larges" isn't even a word.
Ian's example was flex wire which in this case 3 insulated wires incased in an outer layer of pvc/insulation. So i agree with him on this example. However 16 gauge or bigger is worth stripping so if its as thick as the lead in a pencil and you have a lot of it then id say it be worth it. Its much easier to strip plus the percentage of copper to insulation is higher = more copper less waste. The value or scrap payout of insulated is also determined by the percentage of copper versus pvc or any other foreign materials that aren't copper
Easiest way to strip that kind of wire is use a hand planer. Set the depth and press against the work bench and run the planer down the wire. Super easy
Great how you show different techniques
I've never seen a wire stripping block
And your handy with a knife.
Bought a wire stripper. Pretty stoked
I don't have the muscle and strength to strip those soft copper wires but I love the way how you making it look so easy!
If you have large quantity, why not choose the cable stripping machine or cable granulator?
Short answer is I don’t get a lot of cable
I like the cube wire stripper you have that is neat. I like stripping wire myself it’s a mess with the copper strands poking but it’s always worth it to me. But to each there own they say. Making money is what is about any way so you can’t loose stripped or not. Gonna sub up I liked this vid and sure I’ll dig the rest.
Dumpster Jerry thanks but a very varied range of videos not all scrap related. But you may enjoy them
I got told at scrap yard, small cables are what they call 38%, where copper is around 38% of the weight, of course this changes on larger cable diameter, but most household cables are 38%.
The price is 3x here, 9.90 kr pr kilo insulated, 32 kr pr kilo raw copper, but if the small cables are 38%, its hardly worth it to scrap, but big cables are worth it.
bmsfx h
I was just talking about stripping my extension cords and then BAM!
This video was in my news feed.
Can't tell me the TV isn't listening to us 😀
Love watching your old videos, how different the space is
George i had to look up a vid from 5 years ago to answer a question, i surprised myself at the space i once had
Worth is subjective. Personal.
But that's 30p per kilo Ian. Some people would say that is worth it.
Whats that metal block u got is it good to strip wire ye mate?
I make $75 an hour of stripping wire like that in larger than that with my friends and I'm doing pretty good with a wire stripper
In 2004ish Ian we were given household wire by an electrician. Spent ages with someone stripping it.....was worth it...free money. However they soon realized it was their 'bonus' so the source dried up. Even make my own stripping machine. As you may know, nowadays strip it for the wire to make copper chain lol.
Copper wire is pure copper the best money is not selling it for scrap but casting it into bullion copper bars. It doesnt matter if #1 or #2 and depending on how well its polished and decoratively stamped can bring as much as $15 a pound. It is also a great way to stockpile it as a currency hedge as copper gets scarce prices will go up. Like alot of other metals new copper is getting harder to mine and more costly. Its a matter of time before prices start jumping.
I totally agree, I am stockpiling mine, sooner or later I will remake my furnace.
@@Man-in-da-shed in one kg
Which grams in copper tell me sir.
Fahad memon after quick recheck of the vid I weighed the copper at 10.35 min
Any insulated wire will be ether #1 or #2 insulated copper wire.
#1 insulated only has plastic jacket "plastic cover'" 1 plastic cover then copper wire.
#2 is considered double insulated wire plastic jacket "plastic covers", one plastic jacket will copper wire.
then the other plastic jacket.
Any insulated ether #1 or #2 insulated copper wire that has #2 size pencil size lead or bigger will be concerted a #1 copper.
keep in mind cable wire isn't copper wire it's a single steel wire, if you mix it with your copper wire
and they see it they will your price for the whole batch.
Now Christmas lights with the lights will only give anywhere from $.09- $.14 cents a pound so cut all the lights out and make more money by $.30 cents or more
Phone wire recovery is very low so keep that separate.
If you have time take strip down the #2 double insulated copper wire to #1 insulated and and make more money.
FYI all this insulated #1 and #2 insulated copper wire will be less then to $.80-$.38 or less cents a pound.
The big bucks is where you strip all the insulated off the copper wire to where its clean wire all copper wire bare wire,
#1 copper wire its a non insulated can be worth $2.65-$2.85 cents a pound if its bare bright copper
#2 copper wire its a non insulated can be worth $2.15--$2.35 cents a pound.
#1 copper tubing has to be clean no paint, solder, or brass will bring you more money.
#2 copper tubing can have paint, solder on it but take off the brass or they will lower the price,
keep the brass by its self.
Yes their are 2 types of brass red brass and yellow brass,
Check your local scrap yards to see who will give you the better price
Good luck and happy scraping
Wolfpack my dude can you write an essay for me
You do not know the difference between number one and 2 you are incorrect.
I’ve always wondered how it would compare stripped.
Brilliant video
Great vid Ian,totally agree,not worth stripping after doing the maths of time vs effort.you explained that perfectly.
Yes it’s worth it but I don’t strip it I’ll leave it just like it is they give me $.95 a pound for it
No it’s not. I get 125 a pound like it is. It’s 50 percent plastic 50 percent copper. You will loose money stripping it not to mention your time😊
Nope. I told you. Not worth it I did the same test
Every scrap yard I have ever been to takes 80% of every pound you turn in unstripped, I literally strip everything because as an example: say copper is worth a dollar a pound unstripped it's 20¢ of that dollar you actually get paid for unstripped copper but if you're stripping it you get that whole dollar so for me it's worth it to strip it...also I'm a commercial and residential electrician and stripping all that is no problem with a razor knife just get the right angle and pull as fast as you can lol or what I do is put a board on my leg and get one of the kids to run with one end and I keep the angle and wire steady over the board as it's being pulled across I can strip a 500 foot roll as quick as they run but I've been scrapping since before I became an electrician at least a decade get a emptyrollon a piece of all thread and roll all that up with the drill
Nichole Crouch Is that solid core. What we call twin and earth , that IS a dream to strip.
Yep prices across the world differ so much, I do tend to strip everything but the very small gauge
I would strip it down to bright copper and coil it up tightly. If nothing else it's easier to carry to the scrap yard in my small car. The insulation goes into my rubbish sack an little at a time so that's not a problem for me. However, I only get a fairly small amount of scrap wire so I just weigh-in 2 or 3 times a year. Not even close to an industrial size operation...
Somebody put some stuff out in my neighborhood last night. There is a bunch of boxes I guess is like alarm or speaker wire,the rest is giant wooden spools of cable TV ,I don't know if I can even do anything with it,but I know all the spools together is probably 500lbs,it is very heavy. That is aluminum rapped around the copper right?
Could easily be. Cut a piece off. But test with a magnet sometimes that type of wire has a steel inner
@@Man-in-da-shed It's copper,it has the small outer wire also it's all copper. I don't have anything to strip it with though,I mean it is like 24" wooden spools still has the plastic on them,that's alot of stripping man
@@mikedoug152 then weigh in as it is, you got it for free,
@@Man-in-da-shed Oh ya for sure I understand that. But cost of living in Florida is behond rediculous,and I'm poor.Scrap yards in FL don't buy TV cable that's why I have to strip it. Thanks man I appreciate it.
@Grift Be Gone ahhh if you live in Florida then please get in contact with my friend @Shark Scrapper, he will better advise you.
ua-cam.com/video/oppp_K24LPA/v-deo.html
I’ll strip those cords from time to time when I need more copper to melt .. I’ll have a bad week street scrapping and I’ve got to get it from some were 🤣
I use Stanley to take outer case off and then I use a $1.50 potato peeler to do the 3 inner wire casings, doesn’t take long once you get the nack of it
Regan Nyhuis I use a spud peeler as well sometimes
What is the name/brand of that stripping tool 3:24 ? Thank you
www.misterworker.com/en-gb/facom/sheath-strippers-98595/5294.html
Is this number two wire, If so you made it look easy to Scrap. Thank you for sharing. I will try to make one.
I probably would strip it purely because I love doing that and also because I only have a small(ish) car so space and weight play it's part too. Great video though I never tire of watching stripping videos. Where did you get that stripping machine from (not the one you made), I din't think I've seen one like that before. Cheers, Poo
You confuse me poo. It's the same block just G clamped to something straight and sturdy
great info cheers mate
Ian, keep your eyes open for some old digital shop scales, you can put in the unit price helps out with the maths !!
Spot on Ian, I would never have stripped any cable under 10mm2,
J.
And I am retired with nothing to do with my life except for enjoy it. So at this point I’ll strip it if I can well worth it
I actually remember this video that's when you were doing it by hand
Being in the US and copper being so cheap it is rarely worth the time and effort to strip copper unless you are OK with your time being only worth $2 dollars an hour. My time is far more valuable than that. Even though it reduces the salvage price I just save all my copper wire and then every five or ten years I just burn it to remove all the insulation. Even though it brings less dollars per pound I am getting about a hundred dollars an hour for my time and labor.
Burning the plastic off of your copper is the least responsible thing you could do with it. Serious poisoning of our environment......and yes, you can make the argument that it’s a drop in the bucket compared to big industry, but it’s your drop, and your choice....choose better for the rest of us dude...please.
@@robertevras6577 Not really if you think it through. What do you think happens to all the insulation you strip off? Do you place it in your trash and let your city or county bury? Search for the short documentary "Biosludged" and you'll discover my burning the copper is by far better that what most waste disposal companies or cities do with their garbage and sewage. When I burn it I wait till I have a large burn pile of tree limbs, etc. Since the copper wire is only a small portion of the fire, the intense inferno actually incinerates all the harmful off gases produced by the burning plastics, much like they do in responsible garbage disposal plants. Which is, by the way, the only environmentally responsible way of disposing of industrial, pharmaceutical, and human waste.
Sorry, but thats not 100% true. Its hopeful ut not an accurate statement. If you had a specialized incinerator with a multi phaze burn chamber and the ability to capture small particulates, then you could burn it for energy production and it w ok uld be a useful resource. I have an environmental science degree. Beleiving you are creating a hot enough brush fire to completely consume the poisons you are releasing is just that...whishful thinking. I do agree with you the a landfill is no better. There are sone aces that accept wire steippings as recyclable plastic. Look into a place to drop it off that is not a landfill or a burnpile. Besides, when you burn the plastic off, you are not getting "bare-bright" copper anyway. I cant beleive your scrap yard would give you anyrhing better than #2 copper on that. Depending on diameter, it might be downgraded again...why not just collect it in mass, sell it wrapped? Less work, less time, less pollution, no morale dilemma....good luck...;)
only copper pipe!
You can clean it soaking it in vinegar water. You have to put a bit of effort into getting chunks off but if your place is like mine they count it clean.
My mates sparky dad used to collect cable from jobs and when he had a couple of sacks full he would chuck it all in an oil drum with a gallon of four star, and chuck in a lit match. Pretty quick way to strip cable but not great for the environment...
Nick Davison no the environment police ain’t happy if ya burning it, have to prove it though
Nice video, I never strip cable, as you know its not worth it, How long did it take you to strip 1kg, also i never clean copper or brass keep it mixed, weigh it all in as brazery
oh wow, err that video was quite a wile ago, if I recall less than ten minutes, but as you say unless its bigger stuff weigh it in as cable.
as for brazery its 11/11/18 brass is 2.60 a kg coper tube is 3.80 kg to me its worth it, a lot depends on how much you value your time.
for me as a part time hobbyst scrapper ( scrap Kingdoms words) time is relatively cheap, I just look at a (yearly) weigh in when prices are high, in between I microscrap, I even take pins of domestic plugs, to me it all adds up
thanks for the comment
@@Man-in-da-shed what are the pins if domestic plugs classsed as? Brass?
@@chrismiller9435 yes brass and I don’t need to take the little bit of plastic off them either.
@@Man-in-da-shed I've thrown so many away, I've only just started scrapping, part time but I really enjoy it, I'm guna start keeping those plugs now for the brass
@@chrismiller9435 then watch Snobby scrap pickers video on easy plug scrapping
wouldve been nice to show the weight of stripped wire for deaf ppl i think i heard you say 360 g from 1002 so 640 is plastic?
thats right roughly only a 1/3rd is copper
It’s mad to think that’s household cable is now £1.80 per kilo at my local scrapyard it’s easy money in my line of work!
And if you strip it into singles you will get £3.20 kg.
@@Man-in-da-shed good to know. I do property clearances for my local council and it’s only recently that I’ve started collecting the household cable I wish I’d have done it a few years ago. Everything’s got a cable nowadays 👍🏻
@@almostfamous1685 you have to cut the plugs off as otherwise you will get pluggy cable price, but plugs can be weighed in separate or you can break open for the brass
@@Man-in-da-shed cheers I have been cutting off plugs but throwing them away for the most part some id get the brass pins out of though. How much do you get per kilo for the plugs on there own. I’ve noticed not all plugs have brass pins too some just look like steel or something.
thank you ffor that.
Sir good video
Whats the name of that Hand stripper gadget
str8 stone jokari
@ian matthews so are you saying basically weigh it in with the plastic sheath still attatched? because even if you strip it your losing the weight of the plastic sheath, even thought it will weigh more,at the end of the day, theres not much in it, is that right?
SP330Y , it is worth more stripped, it depends on what else you do with your time, if time or space is short you can weigh in knowing you have not lost a lot, unlike an electric motor where you will get an extra 2/3rd for stripping it. Ie if u get £1 for a motor you will get £3 if you strip it.
Thanks, got it, so it's worth the effort then,im not scared of working hard :), got loads of motors to strip and cable,and just realised all the empty beer cans i have are worth money too, now i'm officially a bin raider
SP330Y Watch my last vid Scraplife for young uns. I've a great can crusher
Does that wire weigh in as bright
I thought bare bright had to be a 16 gauge wire and bigger
It’s an old video, my yard then did pay bright if it was shiny no matter the thickness. But not now.
@@Man-in-da-shed so what's grade is it now then
@@bfdmanbfd don’t know, I have been storing all my copper for the last year.
@@Man-in-da-shed no worries
Did you manage to find out what capacitors weigh in as
How much is it worth if you melt it down into solid blocks? 👍
Pizzy Post's I have trouble melting Aluminium. So Copper is well outside my current level
Great video glad I watched it
good vid Ian 😉
Nice
youse burn it too but they say at point it has layer of ash is no longer bare bright
Verl Zick that's true. I have known folk to wash it in vinegar to clean it
Dose Any one knows the name of that cube wire stripper he has or where I could get one?
It is homemade
Very nice video. Perfeckt.
get yourself some of those finger exercisers or end up like me... crippled for months from squeezing tools and such with my hands. Everyone needs to exercise OPENING their hands to try and balance the muscles out. You can use a rubber band or a finger band/exerciser. If you do this type of work DON'T WAIT until you feel pain. Once you're in pain its inflamed and when it's inflamed it's almost impossible to get the inflamation down because you irritate it every time you work... and it's not like you can just stop working. Repetitive stress injury.
Good advice
In which wire is it in 3mm or in some once else
Tabin Wani Im sorry. This video was a long time ago, I would have to find a piece and measure it
Even though this video is old, I feel the need to add something. I just got a rude awakening at the yard - and want to share.
A simple mistake is being made by many video makers. They are over-estimating the value of the finished, stripped copper, thinking it's #1, or even Bright n Shiny. It's not.
Now I don't know about elsewhere, but in NA, you would actually lose money stripping extension cords most of the time.
The pencil lead rule means it can only be #1 if each STRAND size is thicker than a pencil lead. All extension cords are stranded with fine wires about the thickness of cat hair.
Fine-stranded wire will never grade to #1, and therefore, never be B&S. (B&S is bright and shiny #1 grade.) You will get #2 copper prices, because of strand size. Regardless of shine.
It's simple physics; in the melting pot, fine wire partly vaporizes.
(BTW pencil lead means 16 guage wire roughly. So strip all wire that has cores/strands thick enough to ring a bell with it. Romex is wonderful for this.)
Since ian's conclusion at the end is he made "30 pence", is based on ICW vs B&S prices - he actually made a lot less money than estimated. In fact, he likely lost some. You would at N American yards, anyway.
The true measurement would be ICW vs #2 price. Usually, with so much weight loss, that's a loss in money too. Turning the product into something worth less than if you left it alone.
Plus: You lose plug weight.
A person can have a special relationship with a yard...where they appreciate your stripping efforts, and give you #1 price because they want to retain you as a customer - but don't expect that.
(And often, the #1 copper price vs ICW isn't high enough for you to break even by stripping.)
Very well Put, and I stand corrected .
You are 100% wrong
dam i need one of those
You really didn't think about scaling up your calculations 🤦
Extra 30p per kilo stripped. So every 100kg you're earning an extra £30 and so on so forth. If you have a regular inventory of wire, consider Investing in a wire stripping machine. Even an expensive one will have paid itsself off in the first tonne.
So true and here now in May 2021, with bright copper at a record high price of £7 Kg it’s definitely strip it
I do these all the time when sitting in the car waiting for wife in store kids off school ect use box cutter works easy sitting using knee as platform is the only way could not stand I do a hundred or so lbs a month.
I Stab my leg once doing that, once was enough.
jesse wilson m
All you need is a stripmeister cranking tool its helps alot..
Well striping at least give you 3 times more space on your worshop. We win some, we lose some.
Yes. You can bring more to the scrap yard in the basket on your bicycle.
That Heineken is getting warm...better drink it
thats the problem with the short term thinkers! maybe not worth that day, but would be worth a lot now. so just do it for later on
And with Sky high copper prices now in 2021, you are so right.
I strongly disagree. You identified how to speed up the process simply by leaving the lengths longer. The time and effort to cut to shorter lengths would be negated. Also, once you are set up, you can fly through that. Just my opinion based on your data. Keep up the good work!
lost in the tundra Thanks. I'm not sure which bit you strongly disagree with, is it the " is it worth doing" as I said it depends on how much time you have, but I appreciate all comments especially constructive comments like your. Thanks for watching
My hands kill for 3 days after i strip so i do every 4th day of the month
How to buy this product
sorry I don't quite understand, what do you want to buy ?
ian matthews hey Ian make me that stripper you used
"Short as life is, we make it still shorter by the careless waste of time"
Victor Hugo
But what if you enjoy it?
poosmate enjoy what
Stripping!
You're complaining about someone wasting his time while you're watching a video of him doing something
ian that was fast stripping those copper wires. wow
Plenty of practice . 😉
wow. I think your right on about not stripping the wire, I used to strip every wire I had and now I don't. to much time and hard work to do it.i just take it in and sell it nowadays. thanks for getting back to me.
Back in the 90s my crackhead buddy used to steal bundles of wire from his dad's warehouse and he would take it to the back roads and burn the plastic off of it
Dan and not got the sense to sell the whole reels at a higher price.
@@Man-in-da-shed yeah, crackheads aren't always sensible.
Pollution
Сколько у вас за 1кг меди €?
01/02/2019 1kg = 4 Euro
Currently 6 euro per kg definitely worth it
Burn the lot thats what i do
Burnt wire weighs in at £2.80-£3.00 A kilo
Only thing that's worth stripping is the Grey wire
bfd man Bonfire night is coming around 😉🤫
@@Man-in-da-shed I know it's my birthday on bon fire night
I save my wire all year and burn the lot expect whats worth stripping
And iv done this for past 5 years
Don’t do that it’s bad for the environment
@@BGTech1 so are cars, lorries and aeroplanes
I doubt 1 fire per year like I do which burns for 2 hours or so
Is hardly going to have a impact on the environment
330 gram out of 1 kg
When we were kids we throw it in a fire 😂
Aye. And I would do now but for the environment police
That thin stuff is NOT worth stripping
That weights 6 kg hmm
Nooo. 1kg. If I said 6. I was wrong
Please replie fast
Not worth it .To much time
You are a loony but I like you lol. If you buy a granulator and buy the wire in at the price the scrap yard pays then sell it to them you can make a nice living. Take care.
Submersible PVC less
Przetop kable opal druty aby miedź na nowe buty ;)
Wszelkie Ci źli Polacy...
Thas ok .. I'm retired! :D
I can’t understand anything you said.
Aye. That would be the accent I guess.
I understood Ian perfectly. 😁
Take it outdoor and burn it ,See the result in 20 minute.
Allan Ang no longer can do in the UK, Environment police would have me, unless one does it on Bonfire night
You can't do that in the U.S.A. anymore either. Good vid Thanks.
Ok
No
If your retired and got nowt to do with your life strip flex😂😂😂😂😅😅😅😅👍
Hi people
I am from India
I am planning to start wire stripping business
Anybody can suggest me is worth is profitable business ??
Please anybody reply to my question
Akash Nv Join scrap chat on Facebook UK 🇬🇧. there are professionals in there that can advise
@@Man-in-da-shed bro please tell me how to join scrap chat UK
Or please share link to join
Akash Nv I can invite you but I need your Facebook name to search for
@@Man-in-da-shed sure bro thanks for your response
My Facebook account name is
Akash Nv Kumar
My profile photo I am wearing white shirt blue jeans & I am seating on rocks and river is passing on my background .
And well bro where r u from bro UK ?
Omg buy a machine $200 lousy dollars
I burn mine
Dirty copper
Pollution
You make look so easy there Ian my fingers are slashed to hell 😀
A lifetime of practice.
Ra matirail place kakinada
mujay chaya
Stupid to scrap wire like that it cost 20 Times scrap price if you have to buy a piece to use. Anyone who scraps that must have stolen it because if they had bought it they would not be scraping it.
lance wilson So True. (Not the stealing bit tho). Alas we live in a throw away society, the company I get this off also give me the 110v plugs by the hundreds. I’ve tried to sell the cable I’ve tried to sell the plugs, very little interest, I do keep some for my own & friends use but it just keeps building up, it’s scrap. Sad but true
Actually people threw money away all day in America.
Baustellengold!!!
Carn' you just burn it in an old oil drum in the middle of the night when everyone's in bed asleep...! much easier that way......👍
YEP, But then I would'nt have a video, and if i got caught, whoa big trouble for me.
wait 4 bonfire night , and burn the lot in 1 go
I think some scrapyards would give you a lower price for burnt copper or maybe not accept it at all because that's what the scumbags used to do with the cables they nicked.
that's true , never thought about
hoodie plus its illegal
Pollution
@@BGTech1 true
*WASTE OF TIME MY FRIEND*
Gwar Richmond for Whom ? You ! Although I do appreciate the comment. But my conclusion was also not worth it , if you value your time
@@Man-in-da-shed
I've been an electrician going on 26 yrs and to me, no it's not worth my time. But to someone who has time on their hands I guess it could be. Any wire under 4awg I never skin. I've got every bit of 400lbs of THHN wire in my shed now I need to take in but just holding out for a better price.
👍🏼
To much fucking work pal buy a machine don't be cheap
Perry Lonzello Did you watch it all ? Because that’s is what I say. Not worth stripping by hand.
Stripping wire was worth it when I was homeless ...get a new job leave that for the bums
thelastmanlefthere This is an old vid, i’m sure my conclusion was don’t bother stripping it.
Ass hole . wish you get homeless again , dick head
Michael bruemmer
Neanderthal method.