Is it Worth Clipping Cords and Wires for Scrap Metal?
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- čas přidán 27. 09. 2022
- Strange question, but seriously! How many times have you let the wire bin fill up, only to spend all afternoon clipping the ends off and cleaning it up? It's happened too many times to me, and I'm wondering; Is it worth it? Is it worth spending the time clipping a whole bin of wires? how much is this actually making? Well i did the math, so you don't have to! Make more money scrapping!
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I feel like snipping the ends off is best to clip them when you first get them.
Annnnnnnnd you said it as I finished typing
True!
I do this and it helps a lot
True, but sometimes I wait till I have a a ton fun pass time to do and is always fun to get brass out of the ends and the little copper shells that are inside of the computer boxes
I always cut cord ends for brass and I feel like a responsible scrapper in doing so. 👍
I've done this same experiment with CAT5/6 and clipped cords. I've found I get higher value for the wire and aluminum breakage for the cut ends. If you stay ahead of it, it pays off.
Clipping the ends off as you go is the best way to stay ahead. Then on a dead day. Pull the brass off the clipped ends. I do that during the time I am watching TV. So it is like I am getting paid to watch.
I don't watch TV and I get no such thing as a dead day so my plugs just pile up for retirement work 😆
Update : I
The other problem with having a large amount to clip is sore hands! Definitely clip as I go here - and not necessarily everything, just the better stuff. There's no rule that says you have to do all or nothing! Nice vid Thub 👍😊
My scrap yard doesn't take the wire unless you have taken off the ends. So I never let them build up. Plus the brass plugs are much thicker here in the UK. I have a steady supply of electric appliances wire, so I definitely need to cut the ends off as I get them otherwise I end up with approx 100kg a month. A nightmare task if not completed as I get them.
Great analysis
Love when you do these videos figuring out total profit. Great job once again.
Thanks making my no power during Hurricaine Ian much better on my phone just a better day!!!; )
Midweek Thub! Sweet!
Greetings and well wishes from the Kingdom of Fife.
Always love the breakdowns thank you
Hey dude.
I work at a local dump/refuse centre and collect precious metals and process in a shed. With cables I can get 600$ for a cubic meter/300kg. These cables are all of a similar copper content.....vacuum, washing machine, extension type/size cables. I never ever touch data cables or coax or any other inferior grade. I chop the ends off as i go and collect 2 x bags worth 600$ yearly. I find it worth it. This is a small portion of what precious metal i collect. I mainly focus on copper, brass, stainless and easy alloy. Processing and selling 20k yearly. This is a perk done mainly during work time. If you ever come to New Zealand i would love for you to visit me and stay.
Very useful thanks, it’s a rainy day job.
Great video as always, keep them coming!
Absolutely yes!!! 💯💯💯
my yard thankfully always gives me number 2 for extension, super great video!
The information you provide is invaluable. Wish there was more resources out there. Some just get it, others have a gift. Wish I could repay you with one million subs. I super appreciate the wisdom. Keep the is it worth it vids coming. Some can do the same but truly representing the straight forward variables, is a gift. Thanks much.
Australia has basically 2 grades. Insulated, appliance wire and bigger with plugs off. Low grade insulated, cat, computer cords, Xmas lights etc and I cut big plugs off, otherwise I leave untouched
Last trip $3.20 kg for insulated and $1.30 kg for low grade 👍
So about 1.60/lb for insulated and about 0.65$/lb for the small stuff..??? (Sorry I’m from the US) .. but that’s about 0.30$ more/lb than what I get - but we have insulated #2 & #3 ..#3 being the Christmas lights - getting $1.25/lb for insulated #2
@@spangdeez498 yeah mate, roughly about right.
Prices vary so much atm here. Last month I got 4.20kg and 1.90 for low grade
@@CovidConQuitTheCensorship Brisbane
@@CovidConQuitTheCensorship Yes, my last trip in, which was after the comment, I was told no more Xmas lights ☹
The answer is Yes - always yes!
And prices are down so the potential only goes up!
Thanks for doing the math, this is always good info. I always pull out any brass plugs, but I don't clip the big plastic end off, just pull the blades out. It can add up in the brass bin!
You need a foot-actuated sheer. So, like, aviation snips mounted in a vice, tips pointed towards you. And a stomp pedal on a simple linkage that closes them. That way you can manipulate the wire with two hands, shove it into the mouth, stomp, and have a left and a right drop bin for them to get tossed into. Probably cut your time down to 1/3. Then it's definitely worth it. Also, lots of people scrapping don't have jobs, they have addictions, so, better than minimum wage for taking in garbage ain't so bad.
What addiction? Porn Food Gambling? I might be a scrapper and didn't even know it. Lol. You are right better than minimum wage is a good thing 👍
thanks for the info! I'll use that logic for one of my videos :)
Good to know that leaving one cord behind is not going to break the bank! Be safe out there.
I brought in 178 pounds of appliance and mixed wire all clipped and clean my yard gave 1 usd a pound for it. I thought I was going to 55cents a pound. Plus I probably had 10 pounds of clean brass pulled from the clipped ends.
Awesome video 👍
Love the short ones
I get a standard size truck bed full of wire that has transformers and cord ends on them. It pays for me to process it. Some of it is Cat wire, and phone cords. It's tangled and has to be sorted. I may have less than 30 hours in it. Still worth it.
Great video
Thanks!! In Sweden, it is required that the cables do not have contacts. It is so that they can put them directly in the separator for copper gravel. If plugt are in its just mixet metal and very little money.
Good video
I always cut the cords the ends and save them from stoves and washers and dryers I get it adds up quick so I just save it and I always clean mine and cut the ends off of mine! New subscriber!
Those are the good cords for sure! I struggle to feel good about picking the brass out of them but I did the math and it really is worth doing, just an annoying chore lol
Like to see a video of your work bench set up. Im looking up ideas to build my own.
Yes! If the prongs are brass its brass price. If its silver color - its " dirty brass". Our Scrapyard gives a lesser price for chords with plug ends.
I love your videos, audio is low, but them coming friend!!!
Gonna need a montage. MONTAGE!!
Thank you for convincing me to not scrap my bins of wire. Seriously, Thank you
I was really surprised! I always thought it was an obvious part of scrapping, and I suppose with real long cords it’s probably still worth it but I’m glad to know when I have a huge bin of mixed cables to go through, it’s fine to just not bother
I usually clip the plug at the same time I cut the cord. If I don't they go into a separate pile, and whenever my nephew wants to buy a new game I pay him $10 an hour to help me out and that's one of the things he can handle.
You just gave me the idea of paying a homeless to do my stripping😂💀
Thanks very much for u
Thanks Thub!
I take the extra second to clip as I collect. I have my cord tote and my end bucket side by side in my truck and take the extra second to cut as I collect instead of letting them build up. plus then I have the ends all ready for processing in the bucket ready for the work. when it's full then it's time to take the time for the brass prongs and box ends processing. thats the long hard part for me.
I do it as I clip it. That way it’s already done. Most of the time I’ll pull the brass plugs at the same time and throw into a bucket. If not they just go into the shred pile
I think you answered your question best at the end of the video, clip the ends off as you find them, that's what I do and as you said yourself you don't built up a huge job.
If you calculate the time it would probably take longer to clip prior to placing in bin then to do all cables once.
And yet we still want more videos
Lol
This is not the bin you will be seeing
This is a tribute.
Sorry. I'll see myself out
Thanks for the video. I have always wondered about that. Is it worth clipping insulated wires.
I don't have a choice. The 3 places around me that buy wires demand the ends cut off.
I haven't been scrapping in a while, it just wasn't worth it but when I was I would clip the ends when I clipped the wires. Even if I wasn't out scrapping and I just saw something electrical I would stop quick and snip snip...
if you were clippng one lead off an appliance yes, clean as you go but if you find a big box or bundle you should just grab it and keep moving, $15 an hour inside and warm will look more attractive in the depths of winter, stack it for the hard times
Nice
Most definitely worth it. I cut the plugs off as I go. So... no real extra time spent messing with it afterwards. To each their own.
Lookit you, you little scamp. A Wednesday video. Thanks!
The regular yard I go to it doesn't matter if you clip them or not they consider it to be the same and it's only .25 to .50 sense a pound on an average rate. They say it doesn't matter because it goes through the same process it goes to a chopper. That's in the US and Cleveland Ohio. That's for regular house chords. They say you're not upgrading by cutting the ends.
A large bucket is always about an hour worth of work - so I put on a few youtube videos and clip while watching. Was going to 'waste' that hour anyways, so why not make a few bucks?
I’ve wasted a lot of time cleaning #2 copper with various copper and brass fittings and valves.. only to be sort of shafted when they just took it as #2 brass despite it being mostly copper , and all separated
i appreciate the promotion from trash enthusiast to trash associate. also what about the diff if you strip the wires completely?
I pull the brass ends off the plugs then snip them. It’s such a small amount but it adds up over time(a long time)😂
I was thinking about saving just the plug in ends after I saw you boil them and get that brass out .. but I doubt they even give me dirty prices at my yard - so I just toss them in my junk bucket /just leave them on the wire
Interesting 🧐
God bless 🙏🏼🇺🇸🇨🇦
I cut the ends off of all my wire and strip it all
interesting numbers
I was doing this w Power cords and Monitor cables. But my yard told me to leave em and theyll pay the same.
Which is currently .50/lb
I cut the CAT5/6 ends bc that ones $1/lb
Hello
Rainy day job, then strip. Melt into bars!!!
Just make sure you have some where that will buy the bars. I would hate for someone to do all that work just to find out the yard won't except them. Laws may also change with the rise of copper theft. They might only be able to accept identifiable copper.
Who knows what they might do.
Think of the jobs that pay that, Amazon stacking boxes, factory work, stripping wire😂
Hey thub does your scrap yard take the ends as brass?
👍👍👍
Can you scrap the ends for anything as well or do they just go to trash/electronics recycling?
it doesn’t take a lot of time if you cut right away without waiting for the pile to build up
What about getting yourself a pair of automatic wire strippers and getting at the copper inside the wire?
I have a bag designated for junk wire I can’t strip
Is there any way to get value from the leftover clippings?
Volume is a little low
Can you still sell the plugs???
How do u classify/ identity the quality of metals, whether it’s no.1, 2, 3 or 4? Much needed knowledge pls help
Well I have a series of videos explaining everything I know about individual types of material, but to put it briefly; the grade refers to the recovery percentage by weight. Contaminants on the material lowers the grade, but so does the thickness of the material such as copper or steel because if it’s very thin it will lose a higher percentage when refined because some of it burns off. Aluminium is different, it has many different grades because it will be alloyed in a number of ways depending on how it will be formed. Cast aluminium is alloyed differently than cold-worked aluminium such as cans and pans.
So the reason for grading can vary depending on the metal, but the buyer may have their own categories depending on who they ship to
Short answer yes it is
I cut the plugs off cords and run the cords through my cable stripping machine and hoard the clean copper wire up to sell when the copper price is good i use copper as a stepping stone metal to buy silver or an odd gram of gold
I would keep the copper, just because it's harder for people to walk off with it. I also think it may preform better than the other two but who really knows.
Good luck to you 👍
@@paulcoenen7918 thanx man
Yes has nothing to do with this video but you can cut those oxygen alumicut those oxygen oxygen tanks with a carbide tip saw blade on a circular Saw just go slow and be sure to have all your skin covered up till they come off for there like 22 Also you can cut the other one around because the limit is fairly cause lemon is very soft metal you just need a car bike tip blade with like 40 Teeth and go slow
I had 12 AIR conditioning units and I took all them apart to get the ACR’s sold them as clean at 1.50$ a LB and only ended up with 400$ worth, haven’t taken the copper pipes in nor cracked open the compressor to get the copper inside there but is that where all the money is? I’m just baffled you got 110$ for 1 air conditioner in your “ how to scrap a AC “ video but for 12 I didn’t end up with anywhere near 1200$, is all the money in the copper pipes and electric motors inside compressor?
My scrapyard won’t let me scrap wire if it has the ends still on it. Good to know though.
Would it be bad to though the clipped ends in with steel shred?
I don't see why not
Mix wire in London ontario $1.20 pound no clipping no sorting no coax.
I clip as I go!!!! I get 1.30 a pound for that!!
I've never heard of #3,#4,#5 wires. I just put all flexible wires including plugs in a bag, & I'm paid #2 price. It's not worth stripping #2 wire & neither most #1 wire with my TNT Tooling hand stripper. (Goggle Imgur → Wire Strippers I've Owned). I do clean all tape, zip ties, loose housing, rubber things, marrettes (fake Cu inside), etc & I take as much steel off of computer wire plugs that I can get off. Steel thumbscrews on computer wires cause severe tangling, so use plyers to pull out asap.
snip the ends get the BRASS!! and leave the too thin cables. i still take the copper out of these cords, if not too thin.. winter has a lot of downtime, good time do get things done. lol or making antler, copper, bone jewellery!!! my other hobby!
Soooo, yes. If you clip as you get small batches. A couple minutes here, five minutes there, easy. And easier on the hands too! Sort as you go!
you get that kind of price cause your in canada here in the states is diffrent price as it is in all other countries.
I’ve heard that, prices vary quite a bit in different areas
How many hours did it take to collect that bin full?
That’s the missing factor for sure. I don’t track all the time for each bin but you’re absolutely correct to point out that scrapping can burn through a lot of time finding the stuff and hauling it around. That’s really why I’m doing this series and going through all types of materials to find out what the time pays out, a scrapper really should be conscious of where the best value is
I make 4 times that for 2x the work by stripping them to bare copper.
Thats $36/hour for anybody following along
Cheating scrap yard scales in my area made me give up scrap game
Clip as you go. An extra 7 seconds adds up to double digits
Hey thub I have a question
What’s the question?
Commantaire en Francais
Clip them as you collect them. It wint be so bad.
It only comes a chore and a bore if you leave it pile up,
Wnds on or not here still is #2 insulated and it's super low .30/lb meh
Ouch!
Where are you Scotty?
@@paulcoenen7918 Windsor Ontario Canada ya it sucks was $1.80 the 1.40 then 1 then .50 then .30 what a kick in the face but I'm hoarding it. I have a small channel but have posted in month's, time to get back at it 🍻
Short answer yes long answer yes it is
I'm #478 on like, cuz. How's the bronze piece looking? Shined it up yet? I finally get the trash Panda gig. Raccoons have a mask like eyes as do a Panda bear. Bot am I dim, 😂.
So, yah, don't change your ideas of the racoon!
BUT! In very broad terms and very rough averages, you gained around 40%. Hmm.
...but,
don't you get paid for the brass plugs as well?