Metals

Metals Grading and Classification

If it is metal, then we will buy it. However, separating your material can be intimidating to new comers. We will do our best to help you separate your material to earn the most money, but here is a brief overview to help you get started.

COPPER

Bare Bright Copper: Bare or stripped #1 copper wire and cable that is still shiny, hence the Bare and Bright part of the name. Clean, unalloyed and uncoated, no smaller in size than 1/16" (14 gauge and thicker).
#1 Copper: Copper Pipe with nothing on it... or as we call it in the scrap metal world, it is clean, unalloyed, uncoated, and not insulated. The copper wire is thicker than 1/16" (14 gauge and thicker)and must be free of any burnt wire.
#2 Copper: Copper that contains paint, solder and excessive corrosion and deposits. This category also consists of copper wire that is thinner than 14 gauge wire. Or to get technical, which we do, it shall consist of miscellaneous, unalloyed copper scrap having a nominal 96% copper content. It should be free of the following: Excessively leaded, tinned, soldered copper scrap; brasses and bronzes; excessive oil content, iron and non metallic.
Sheet Copper: Also referred to as Light Copper consists of copper gutters, downspouts, trim coil and other similar scrap.
Insulated Copper Wire: Insulated Copper Wire also referred to as ICW is just what it sounds like, copper wire that is still insulated. Insulated copper is purchased based on the recovery. Confused? The recovery is how much copper will be recovered after the insulation is removed. If you have 100 pounds of insulated wire and you strip it and then weigh the bare copper and come up with 80 pounds, then the wire is considered 80% recovery. To make things even more confusing, the wire is also categorized as #1 or #2. If the individual strands are thicker than 14 gauge then it is #1, if it is smaller than 14 gauge then it is #2. Also, some wire that is thick enough to be #1 has a silver coating on it. If the wire has any type of silver coating on it then it is automatically #2. 

There are two general rules of thumb here to tell the difference between #1 and #2. They aren't 100% but pretty close. If you hold the wire in your hand and bend it, does it hold its shape or is it flimsy? If it held its shape then it is generally going to be #1 granted it is not tin coated. If it is flimsy and did not hold its shape then it is most likely #2. Another general rule is; was the wire in a wall such as romex, or was it outside of the wall like a cord. Typically "in the wall" is going to be #1 and "outside of a wall" is #2.

Common Mistakes: Some of the most common mistakes that we hear on a regular basis are as follows;

Why is my stripped wire not considered bare bright?
Is the wire bright and shiny?
Are the individual strands bigger than 14 gauge? Welding leads as a whole are larger than 14 gauge, however the individual strands are much smaller than 14 gauge. The individual strands need to be larger than a pencil lead.

Why is my pipe considered #2 copper instead of #1?
Is there paint on there?
Is there solder on there? We have seen it a million times where people have taken the time to remove fittings from their pipes thinking it will then be considered #1. Unfortunately if you remove the fittings but there is still solder on there then it is still considered #2.

I burned all of the insulation off of my wire, why isn't it considered #1?
First of all that is illegal and you are lucky that you didn't get caught. Any burnt wire is automatically considered #2.

My copper had one little piece of brass on there, why was it weighed up as brass?
Before any copper is sent to the mills it has to be just copper and cannot contain any other metals. So if there is a copper pipe with even a small piece of brass attached to it, we still have to take the time to cut that brass off before we can send it to the mills. Because labor and equipment is not free the material is classified as the lowest commodity which is present.

Brass

Clean Brass: Any brass scrap that is free of any other material such as metal, plastic or rubber. Common brass items include faucets, fittings and fixtures that have had all other material removed.

Dirty Brass: Any brass scrap that has any other material attached up to 20% contamination. Common dirty brass items include faucets, fittings and fixtures that still contain the handles, screws, gaskets and o rings. 

Clean Brass Radiators: Brass and copper radiators typically found in older cars and equipment. Must be free of any other material such as steel brackets, bolts, plastic, coolant etc.

Dirty Brass Radiators: Brass and copper radiators typically found in older cars and equipment that still have other material attached. Dirty brass radiators must still be free of coolant.

Aluminum

Most folks think that aluminum is aluminum, unfortunately scrap value wise that is not the case. The composition of aluminum products differ greatly. For example aluminum cans are made from bauxite. However, the base of the can is comprised of small amounts of other metals including magnesium, manganese, iron, silicon and copper. Aluminum cans are sent back to can producers that know the exact make up or recipe of the cans to be recycled. If they were to throw foil, or an old aluminum chair into the pot then it would alter the composition of what they are making. Therefore it is important to separate aluminum into what they are; cans with cans, window frames with window frames, siding with siding, etc.

Aluminum Cans: Just as it sounds, they are just aluminum cans. Cans must be free of anything other than used beverage cans also referred to as UBC. Must be free of foil, water, steel caps, cigarette butts, straws and any other trash. 

We buy all kinds of aluminum such as siding, wheels, extrusions, cast, turnings etc. It is important that you keep your different aluminums separated so we can buy them as separate items. 
Share by: