Selling copper cable?

ian-d

Not sure if anyone can guide me on this, but I run an installation company and after years of trading am left with loads of out-cuts of high quality cable which has copper inside. Would it be worth finding a scrap metal company to buy it or would they just laugh in my face?

I'm unsure how it would be valued given that the majority of the weight will probably be the plastic outer coating and cavities. Any advice?

maninthestreet

Have you contacted a scrap metal dealer to find out?

ormus

they will buy it as is, or as bare copper.
obviously it pays to strip the cables as the price is so much better.
thats why gypos are always burning cables.

zax47

Copper is fetching good money at the moment, hence the rise in cable thefts around the country. I always weigh in my offcuts and stripped out re-wire cables.

Get a cable stripper! You will get a much better price for bare copper than just weighed in cables.

These guys have some nice small units (as well as the bulk & SWA strippers), a bench top one or even a DRILL based one if you only have small gauge (<25mm) cables (even SWA) to strip (I have one!);

http://www.wrightsmachinery.co.uk/category/products/cable-strippers/

Drill powered unit is at the bottom of the page.

http://www.wrightsmachinery.co.uk/2009/01/mini-drill-stripper/

NOTE: I do not have any connection to this company - just a happy customer!

googler

I had a drum of 2.5mm T&E lying around in the garage for years - I had a sparky in last week and asked if it was any use to him - "Naw, it's the wrong colours" - apparently Red & Black no longer in use.....

I took it to the local dump - how much would 30metres or so have fetched at scrap value?

ormus

this weeks bright copper price is 3600 quid per tonne.
insulated cable is about a quarter of the daily price.

so you can work it out roughly, by weight.


http://www.letsrecycle.com/prices/metals

zax47

googler wrote: »

I had a drum of 2.5mm T&E lying around in the garage for years - I had a sparky in last week and asked if it was any use to him - "Naw, it's the wrong colours" - apparently Red & Black no longer in use.....

I took it to the local dump - how much would 30metres or so have fetched at scrap value?

You should have sold it on Ebay - you would be surprised at the demand for "old" coloured twin & earth {allegedly}! At least £1/m to be had there from people wanting to "age" new work to avoid Part P. {or so I'm told....}

keystone

ian-d wrote: »

Not sure if anyone can guide me on this, but I run an installation company and after years of trading am left with loads of out-cuts of high quality cable which has copper inside. Would it be worth finding a scrap metal company to buy it or would they just laugh in my face?

And you don't actually know the answer to this after "years of trading"? What happened to your online business then? Sorry if I'm wrong but I distinctly smell a "bored at the end of the week" wind-up thread!

Cheers

ian-d

keystone wrote: »

And you don't actually know the answer to this after "years of trading"? What happened to your online business then? Sorry if I'm wrong but I distinctly smell a "bored at the end of the week" wind-up thread!

Cheers

Excuse me? I don't know about this because the off-cuts have simply been stored over the years and this is the first time I've approached the subject as they are starting to build up.

Thanks the rest of you for your help.

phill99

I weighed 18 kilos of VIR (Which is what cable is cl;assed as by the scrap dealers and got £18. So its £1000 / tonne or £1/ kilo.

ian-d

phill99 wrote: »

I weighed 18 kilos of VIR (Which is what cable is cl;assed as by the scrap dealers and got £18. So its £1000 / tonne or £1/ kilo.

That is really interesting to know, thanks for that. I think I must have 50kg's worth of offcuts here, maybe more, so might be worth selling indeed.