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Nickelless
Administrator
USA
5580 Posts |
 Posted - 04/17/2009 : 20:57:14
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I was talking to a guy at church tonight and he happened to mention that he'd been selling scrap copper to local scrap dealers but that he wasn't too happy that he was only getting 60 cents per pound. I told him that I'd be happy to buy up to 50 lbs. a week from him for 70 cents a pound, with an eye on holding the copper indefinitely, since I've got plenty of storage space. But I got to wondering, how can I tell the difference between #1 and #2 copper and any other grades? I'm guessing it's not necessarily marked as, say, sterling silver would be.
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Market Harmony
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1274 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 21:13:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Nickelless
I was talking to a guy at church tonight and he happened to mention that he'd been selling scrap copper to local scrap dealers but that he wasn't too happy that he was only getting 60 cents per pound. I told him that I'd be happy to buy up to 50 lbs. a week from him for 70 cents a pound, with an eye on holding the copper indefinitely, since I've got plenty of storage space. But I got to wondering, how can I tell the difference between #1 and #2 copper and any other grades? I'm guessing it's not necessarily marked as, say, sterling silver would be.
Tubing and pipe is usually marked by the producer in ink, but nowhere does it say #1 or #2 or anything like that. #1 copper is first of all "clean copper", without any non-metal stuff on it... just bare copper. Secondly, it is the highest purity. This comes from specific sources: water pipes, some types of heat exchanger tubing, electrical wire, etc. It should be 99.95% pure copper. And that's about it. Just make sure that it does not have any corrosion, paint, plastic, insulation, tin, solder, brass, or other "junk" attached to it. #1 copper is only copper, plain and simple. |
goto the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org |
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 21:22:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Market Harmony
[Tubing and pipe is usually marked by the producer in ink, but nowhere does it say #1 or #2 or anything like that. #1 copper is first of all "clean copper", without any non-metal stuff on it... just bare copper. Secondly, it is the highest purity. This comes from specific sources: water pipes, some types of heat exchanger tubing, electrical wire, etc. It should be 99.95% pure copper. And that's about it. Just make sure that it does not have any corrosion, paint, plastic, insulation, tin, solder, brass, or other "junk" attached to it. #1 copper is only copper, plain and simple.
Summed it up well.
Deal |
Live free or die.
Plain and simple.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your council or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
- Samuel Adams |
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natsb88
Administrator
USA
1850 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 21:22:44
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| 60 cents a pound seems really low. Heck, I collected about 20 pounds of clean scrap from some projects last fall and sold it for $2.50/pound on my website back in December. |
Nate
The Copper Cave
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Nickelless
Administrator
USA
5580 Posts |
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RyanAKL
Penny Pincher Member
USA
224 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2009 : 22:24:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Nickelless
I'm not sure who locally this guy is selling to, but I'm happy to offer him more than the dealer will offer and be able to hold it indefinitely at this point. Is there anything I really need to know about different types of copper or is it usually obvious what's copper as opposed to, say, copper-plated zinc?
Well like MH said, #1 copper is (clean), #2 copper (like copper-plated zinc) has copper with any other metal mixed or attached to it. As far as i know there are no grades of copper, unlike say stainless you have 304-316 and so on. say if you have insulated copper wire thats #2, if you strip the insulation off it makes it #1. And if you are only paying $.70 a pound i would take all he has. |
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Nickelless
Administrator
USA
5580 Posts |
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misteroman
Administrator
USA
2565 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2009 : 07:00:49
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| ^^^^^^^^ Without a doubt |
Buying CU cents!!!! Paying 1.2 unlimited amounts wanted. Can pick up if near Ohio area. |
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bruce hylton
Penny Pincher Member
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2009 : 10:59:36
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| #1 copper is pencil lead and bigger thickness wise, #2 is smaller. Clean means no contaminants and bright means shiney. Tubing is called #1 at some places and #2 at others. Depending on how brazen the dealer is. Silver on stranded wire makes it #2 everywhere. Solder on tubing makes it contamiated and the amount of contamination dictates the price along with the quanity. Insulated #2 wire quote for last week for me was $.50 pound. #1 bright was $1.85 a pound. #2 was $1.55 a pound. I personally have a clean and dirty sort for each grade and a high recovery and a 50% sort for the insulated wire. I market when I think I am close to 500 pounds total and the price is up I hope. I take pride in the product I produce and generally am well compensated for that reason. |
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Nickelless
Administrator
USA
5580 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2009 : 14:01:13
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| I've never before sold any scrap besides aluminum, and that was just cans when I was a kid. Assuming I collect hundreds of pounds of copper in the coming months, at what level might it raise questions about how I have acquired so much copper? I know that scrap yards nowadays check IDs, but how will they know I've obtained everything legitimately? How can they tell what's been stolen and what hasn't? Or do they usually just take people at their word? Like I said, this is new territory for me... |
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---------------
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2009 : 19:07:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Nickelless
I've never before sold any scrap besides aluminum, and that was just cans when I was a kid. Assuming I collect hundreds of pounds of copper in the coming months, at what level might it raise questions about how I have acquired so much copper? I know that scrap yards nowadays check IDs, but how will they know I've obtained everything legitimately? How can they tell what's been stolen and what hasn't? Or do they usually just take people at their word? Like I said, this is new territory for me...
They don't know if it's stolen or not. That's why they take your ID and put you in the "system". Heck, I take in cut up coils all the time. Those are frequently stolen by thieves. Never a problem for me though. You'll be fine.
Deal |
Live free or die.
Plain and simple.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your council or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
- Samuel Adams |
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Cupronickel
Penny Pincher Member
USA
110 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2009 : 19:56:14
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quote:
Originally posted by bruce hylton
#1 copper is pencil lead and bigger thickness wise, #2 is smaller. Clean means no contaminants and bright means shiney. Tubing is called #1 at some places and #2 at others. Depending on how brazen the dealer is. Silver on stranded wire makes it #2 everywhere. Solder on tubing makes it contamiated and the amount of contamination dictates the price along with the quanity. Insulated #2 wire quote for last week for me was $.50 pound. #1 bright was $1.85 a pound. #2 was $1.55 a pound. I personally have a clean and dirty sort for each grade and a high recovery and a 50% sort for the insulated wire. I market when I think I am close to 500 pounds total and the price is up I hope. I take pride in the product I produce and generally am well compensated for that reason.
Your description of #1 copper meets my supplier description for my company. Clean & bright, no foreign contaminants, brass, solder, etc. Bought at $2.18/lb today (5/21/09) cash, 1000 lbs. |
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How to distinguish between #1 and #2 copper?
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