Copper prices - worth weighing in scrap cable?
Copper prices - worth weighing in scrap cable?
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Discussion

aww999

Original Poster:

2,078 posts

285 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
Hi guys, I hope this is the correct forum for the question. I have amassed a fairly large amount of cable off-cuts, about four binbags full of CAT5 and two bags full of chunky power cable. No bits are longer than five metres or so, so they are sod all use for wiring anything, but I wondered if it would be worth taking it to the scrappy?

I have about 40kg of CAT5, which is about 50% copper by weight, and roughly the same of the power cable, which is more like 70% copper by weight. Will the scrapyard take it with all the insulation on, or does it all need to be stripped back/burnt off? Any idea on value would be great, I don't want to drive all the way down to the yard and wait about for an hour to end up with a tenner in my pocket!

Laurel Green

31,023 posts

256 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
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I think most waste metal merchants will take it but, will be a lot less than if it were to be clean/burnt.

ShadownINja

79,457 posts

306 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
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It must be worth something if people (insert term of choice) are stripping out BT exchanges.

Laurel Green

31,023 posts

256 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
There's a guide price Here.

tenohfive

6,276 posts

206 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
ShadownINja said:
It must be worth something if people (insert term of choice) are stripping out BT exchanges.
From chatting to one of said persons, its worth a lot more stripped than as is.

JB!

5,255 posts

204 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
big problem on the railway.

"people" stealing copper cable.

netherfield

3,084 posts

208 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
Burning it is a nasty business though.

Some years ago I just pulled in to collect something from a local timber merchants,they where having a large new shed built,during the early hours some pikey/scumbag had started a fire with some of the waste timber and chucked a big coil of steel wired armoured cable on top,the black smoke was unbelievable. The smell lingered around the place for months after.

B17NNS

18,506 posts

271 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
Definitely worth weighing in yes.

An electrician friend of mine weighs his in when he's got a decent bundle. Reckons it works out at about £500 a year for his scrap.

A gas fitter I know averages £150 a week.

aww999

Original Poster:

2,078 posts

285 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
That price guide indicates £900/tonne for 45% insulated wire, that's 90p/kg so my 80kg of cable would be worth £72! What if I strip it all back to make "dry bright wire" at £3600/tonne though (I assume that is what the term means)?

[ (40kg x 50%) + (40kg x 75%) ] x £3.60 = £180

I reckon it would take one man between eleventy and flumpteen hours to strip all that, and he would completely lose his mind during the process . . . so it's totally not worth stripping it. Unless my maths is wrong, it's well worth taking it all down the scrappy as-is though!

Laurel Green

31,023 posts

256 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
aww999 said:
That price guide indicates £900/tonne for 45% insulated wire, that's 90p/kg so my 80kg of cable would be worth £72! What if I strip it all back to make "dry bright wire" at £3600/tonne though (I assume that is what the term means)?
Yup, bright wire.

richyb

4,615 posts

234 months

Thursday 29th July 2010
quotequote all
They'll knock you for the fact its in cable form but its still worth it. I'd rather have £30-£40 quid than not have it.

aww999

Original Poster:

2,078 posts

285 months

Tuesday 3rd August 2010
quotequote all
Well I weighed it in today, 60kg of unstripped cable was worth £60 to them, and four chunky 17" alloys (two with tyres, two without) were £40. I'm off to nick the lead from the church roof now wink

Andy no gooder

371 posts

190 months

Tuesday 3rd August 2010
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I guess im abit late but il let you know anyway for future reference.

Shiny Copper is where you get the money this was back in 2007 but i think it was averaging £2000+ a ton, then it goes down hill black/burnt copper is less and copper (unstripped) wire even less.

I use to work on a recycling site that had a skip full of copper that was filled every week from the sorting belt. 2 of them white paper recycling bags use to net me 100-150 every week.

Dan_The_Man

1,151 posts

263 months

Tuesday 3rd August 2010
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I save all my CAT5 cables and power leads, £1200 / ton is the going rate in Surrey smile or £3200 for pure copper heat sinks etc.

Ricky_M

6,618 posts

243 months

Wednesday 4th August 2010
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Just weighed some in today. A small cylinder and a recycling box full of dirty copper, came to 28KG altogether. I got £95.20 for it. Very happy!

Plotloss

67,280 posts

294 months

Wednesday 4th August 2010
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I would be very very surprised if the copper in Cat5 weighs 50% of the total weight.

Gingerbread Man

9,173 posts

237 months

Wednesday 4th August 2010
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Weighed in a cylinder (insulation removed) and scrap copper tube today for a grand sum of £250. There was also a very small amount of brass that they took into account too.

Trevelyan

729 posts

213 months

Wednesday 4th August 2010
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How did you remove the insulation from the cylinder? I've got an old one in my shed I've been meaning to weigh in but have never attempted to strip the foam from the outside. I'm assuming it's glued on in saome way?

blueg33

45,048 posts

248 months

Wednesday 4th August 2010
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JB! said:
big problem on the railway.

"people" stealing copper cable.
Yep the pikeys keep making me late for work! Last time the delay was 2 hours

JB!

5,255 posts

204 months

Wednesday 4th August 2010
quotequote all
blueg33 said:
JB! said:
big problem on the railway.

"people" stealing copper cable.
Yep the pikeys keep making me late for work! Last time the delay was 2 hours
[tin foil hat]

its gotta be an inside job. 2 lads from liverpool got nicked in MK last winter stealing, and one guy got fried "oop north" but there is so much theft, but no sightings of people doing it...

[/tin foil hat]