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I'm ready to recycle some copper - suggestions?

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by Godiva, May 31, 2008.

  1. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    When my electrical was upgraded for the PV I ended up with the old service wire from the street to the house. Maybe...50 feet? There's a bare ground, no problem. But I have two twisted copper wires covered in black plastic coating. The utility guys suggested I strip it before I recycle it as I'll get more money for it. He suggested I cut it into 6-8 foot lengths to make it more manageable. I've done that.

    Now I'm getting ready to strip it.

    Has anyone done this that can offer some tips?

    I bought utility blades for my razor blade knife that have half moon cutting edges. I've also bought a half-moon shaped linoleum knife. I figure one of these tools is bound to make it a little easier.

    So.....any suggestions so that I don't cut myself? Any way to make this job a little easier?

    I'm thinking of putting an eye bolt in the fence, wrapping one end of the wire through it and stripping it, then reversing the wire to finish. Does this sound reasonable? Anyone have a better suggestion?

    I don't know how many pounds I've got or what the going rate is, but I think I recall him saying I might get $30.00 for it, so I'm willing to put in the time to strip it. I've got some copper pipe from a replumb to add to it.
     
    #1 Godiva, May 31, 2008
  2. pewd

    pewd Clarinet Dude

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    wear gloves would be one suggestion ;)
     
    #2 pewd, Jun 1, 2008
  3. bazineta

    bazineta New Member

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    Typically, once you get it started, it'll just tear off by hand.
     
    #3 bazineta, Jun 1, 2008
  4. priusenvy

    priusenvy Senior Member

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    Just throw it on the sidewalk near some new construction. Copper thieves will pick it up, strip the insulation, and recycle it for you.
     
    #4 priusenvy, Jun 1, 2008
  5. chogan2

    chogan2 Senior Member

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    My advice is, sell it with the insulation on and let the recycler strip it. They have machinery for that.

    Barring that, I've never done wire that large. I have stripped some lengths of smaller Romex and tedious does not begin to describe it. Here's what worked for me with smaller wire, you might try it with what you've got.

    For smaller wire, I cut it into pieces short enough that you I can slide the insulation off. Like a foot or a foot and a half -- the largest that will work for you. Use a regular wire stripper to take 1" or so off the end, lock the bare wire in vice grips, and pull the insulation off the wire/the wire out from the insulation. If it slides well, you can skip the "cutting up" step and just work your way down the wire from one end, cutting through the insulation every foot or so (around the circumference of the wire), then sliding off each 1 foot piece of insulation. Don't know if that will work on large stranded cable but I'd at least try that first - cut a ring around the insulation a foot from the end and see if it'll slide off. Beats trying to slit the insulation lengthwise. There are devices made to slit that insulation, specifically for recycling, but the cheapest I see on the 'net would be $150 or so.
     
    #5 chogan2, Jun 1, 2008
  6. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    I'll give it a go.

    From what I've read, $1.50 a lb unstripped, $3.00 a lb. stripped. After all, the recycler has to pay for that fancy machine.
     
    #6 Godiva, Jun 1, 2008
  7. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    There's a cute stripping technique you may be able to make work
    in this case. This may need graphics to describe right... but
    if you angle a linoleum knife style blade so it's slicing in
    through the insulation sort of at a tangent to the round cross-
    section, so that the point is riding just in between the copper
    and the inner surface of the insulation, and just push, it
    may follow the natural channel of that and leave a nice clean
    slit through the insulation behind it. It helps to angle the
    edge so the knifepoint is leading the rest of the blade, so it
    tends to pull itself in rather than falling out. This is apparently
    a common trick electricians use. If you're pulling on the wire
    with your other hand *behind* the knife, you don't nail yourself
    if [when] it slips out.
    .
    _H*
     
    #7 hobbit, Jun 1, 2008
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