How to strip copper wire for scrap

Bluedog International / March 31st, 2020

When scraping and recycling,  bare bright copper found inside electrical wire and cables is the most sought-after material.   With current copper prices,  you can make a ton of money from selling the scrap copper if you have a good supply.   People working with this material, such as electricians,  manufacturing companies, and individuals scrapers, are searching for the best ways to get top money for their scrap copper wire.

Bluedog wire strippers have put together some of the best tips and tricks to help you get the highest dollar value.

Assess your volume of scrap copper wire before buying any equipment. 

Before you run out to buy an Industrial Grade Wire stripping machine to remove the insulation from the copper core, make sure you work out a plan of how much scrap copper you will actually be dealing with on a regular basis.

If you’re only going to be scrapping copper wire as a one time deal because you’ve recently installed new electrics or got lucky and pulled out a ton of scrap copper wire from a retrofit, there’s no point investing a lot of money in a tool that you won’t use again.

Consider buying a BWS-38-MOTOR – Very handy machine for those looking to scrap copper wire with low volumes.

However, if you’re going to be scrapping copper wire regularly you might want to invest in high-quality Bluedog Wire Stripping Machine to strip your scrap wire.  Take note the more expensive a wire stripping machines are heavy-duty industrial grade and include many more features compared to the cheaper machines.    You can find out more details our wire stripping machines by going:  here

Warning when Copper wire stripping:

First things first, the one piece of information we want to you take away from this article is that you should never strip the insulation off scrap wire by burning it or excessively heating up the insulation to remove it from the copper.

Not only does this pollute the environment with the exhaust fumes, the act of heating the insulation means that it may mark the copper and downgrade the copper and reduce the selling price due to the plastic residue.

The same goes for stripping by scrap copper wire by hand.  The amounts of cuts and sores you will get from stripping copper this way is dangerous and not good for your overall health and safety.

Considering getting an electric wire stripping machine.  These machines work fast and strip of the insulation safely and in no time flat, so you won’t have to worry about cuts, bruises stitches let alone workmen compensation claims!

Make copper wire stripping easier

If you are dealing with large volumes of copper wire, it may be prudent to invest in an electric wire stripping machine, such as a BWS-80 HD Wire Stripper, to make the process much simpler.  If you do buy a machine, you should be aware of the sizes and types of copper wire it is able to strip so that you can work efficiently.  Since the wire stripping machine will speeds up the process, having a few containers to store the copper and the insulation scrap will make it easier to avoid loose rubbish.

What wire stripping tool should I use for the quantity of wire I have?

Once you have figured out how much copper wire you will be scrapping per month, it is much easier for you to figure out which wire stripping tool you should be using or invest in. When you’re collecting your copper wire to strip, we recommend stripping every size you have in order to maximize your profits.  With current market prices of copper wire, you would be surprised how quickly you can pay off the initial investment of a wire stripping machine.

Volumes less than 100 lbs a month

If you’re dealing with small quantities of the copper wire per month, the most effective and appropriate tool to be using is BWS-38-Motor since it can save you time.

Even a low volume per month can pay off over the course of a year.

12 months/yr x $ 300 / month = $ 3,600 Dollars.

Why wouldn’t you consider stripping this volume of scrap wire based on current scrap copper prices?    Every dollar counts!

Between 100 lbs to 1000 lbs  a month

When dealing with a larger volume of scrap copper wire, a BWS-50 SAR wire stripper would be the best tool to use.  This is a time to talk to other scrappers to find out what machine they use since many have more experience with a particular brand.  Note:  you will find Bluedog wire strippers one of the most popular brands in the field because of the quality and reliability of our machines.  We have machines that are over 15 years old and have processed hundreds of thousands of lbs.

Volumes over 1000 lbs a month

If you’re scraping and stripping a large bulk of copper wire, it is a good idea to invest in an Electric wire stripping machine.

A  Industrial motor-powered wire stripper can make the job of stripping wire a lot quicker and easier. While these machines may be more expensive, the amount of copper wire you would be scrapping will pay off the expense in no time flat.

Again, if you’re unsure of the amount of wire you will be dealing with on a monthly basis we would recommend going with a BWS-38-MOTOR.  If you will be stripping large quantities of wire on a regular basis, depending on the volume then it would definitely be worth it to consider either a BWS-50 SAR or a BWS-80 HD.

So if you need to know how to strip copper wire for scrap, this article should have helped you immensely.

If you need to strip copper wire, you’ll need a good supplier to work with.  Head over to Bluedog wire strippers, we have the largest inventory of the best wire stripping machines in the world at very competitive prices.

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