scrap wire is at $1.10 per pound here in dtown 1

[acableconnection]

I was asked to pull out some old cabling and decided to see what it was worth. ive got about a 100 cables with a 100' on them. anyone want to take a guess on the weight?
Ill let you know if i get the go ahead.

 

[lopes1211]

never weighed a 1000' box but would guess 30Lb's. 10000' = 300LB's? $330?

-CL

 

[wires]

24 AWG is 1.22 pounds per 1000 ft.

Assuming 8 wires per cable then you would have about 97.6 lbs or $107.36.

The scrap yard will only pay for the copper, not the jacket. They might not pay $1.10 per pound for insulated wire since getting to the copper is a PITA.

 

[hawks]

wires,
i think that's about 9.76 lbs per box not 97.6. i like the way you think though...

 

[mikeydidit]

We have been pulling out around 850 live connections due to a renovation. (Talk about a PITA) One one the guys in the construction area "volunteered" to haul off all the scrap drops for me. (What a nice guy!) He got mad at me on the last load of the pretty orange wire we pulled out when he went to melt it down. lmao Can you imagine what that MM fiber looked like when he got through??

Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.
Thomas A. Edison

For the best response to a question, read faq690-6594

 

[wires]

i think that's about 9.76 lbs per box not 97.6. i like the way you think though... "

Correct, there is just under 10 pounds of copper in a 1k' box of cat5. Acableconnection said he had "100 cables with a 100' on them" which would be 10,000 feet (10 boxes) or 97.6 pounds. Yes, I left out the step of going from the weight per 1k' box to the entire job.


"when he went to melt it down"

Don't give wire to ANYONE you think might be removing insulation by burning. It is better to landfill the stuff than contribute to to the pollution caused by PVC fires.

There are processes that can separate the copper and jacket without burning. If you are going to recycle seek out firms that serve as a front end for this sort of machinery. Here are some examples:

http://www.rictec.com.sg/cable-wire-recycling/

http://www.jmcrecycling.com/index.php?page=products&selCat=5&selProd=110

http://www.jmcrecycling.com/index.php?page=products&selCat=5&selProd=126

waste.environmental-expert.com/STSE_resulteach_product.aspx?cid=24229&idprofile=11379&idproduct=22948

 

[hawks]

sorry wires, I just did a quick read. Next time I'll slow down a little......still like the way you think though with the recycling.

 

[kwing112000]

Mikey, that is funny........

Kevin Wing
ACA- Implement IP Office
Carousel Industries

 

[wires]

sorry wires, I just did a quick read. Next time I'll slow down a little......still like the way you think though with the recycling."

No problem.

One of the handy small tools have is Pocket Ref, a small reference book by Thomas Glover published by Sequoia Publishing.

http://www.sequoiapublishing.com/pdt_pocketref3ed.htm

This very small volume has many useful tables, formulas and facts needed to make informed decisions. In this case the table "Standard Copper Wire Specifications" on page 113 provided the weight of 24 AWG copper wire.

I highly recommend this book.

 

[MarvO1]

Wires, good point about the Pocket Ref. I keep mine with me always. Mine is 3rd. edition, 12th printing 2005. Wore out an earlier edition. Absolutely an amazing book.

MarvO said it

 

[skip555]

local yard is paying 1.00 a pound with the insulation in place

3.00 a pound bare

 

[jeffmoss26]

I got 80 cents a pound over the summer for my scrap cable...just gave the place a call and they are paying 95 cents a pound now.

jeff moss

 

[TwiztedPair]

When they get the big metal container out just to hold all the cable when they scale out your haul, now thats worth posting .

I use the "eyeball" method when it comes down to how much im thinking my scrap is gonna bring me. Besides, its all gravy at the recycler. Except the hours it took to scrap-out,.........so if it took more time to remove the scrap than what you get at the cashier
{ formula : your worth per hour/est. cable weight at scale/ the energy used for removing}
= net gain at going rates when you take it.

Oh, the weight of the 1000 feet of cat5e is on the box. Brand new i guess 330 but last time i checked the recycler doesnt buy at retail prices. So wow, you made what $15.

So please tell me how the gravy tasted?