Romex is considered 40% recover because it has 2 coatings. The outside main and the 2 coated wires in. You will get less for unstripped. If your prices are comparable between #1 and #2 coated wire pull the ground and send the rest as #2 (ground will be barebright unless it's tarnished then it's #1 copper)
I just always strip the outer coating off romex. Ground goes with barebright or #1 copper depending on the looks, and the 2 coated wires will go in #1 coated wire.
With romex the wires are normally at least 16g so if you do decide to strip it all (2 coated wires included) it can all go into barebright.
Each yard is different so why not bring some stuff in and ask your scale attendant how they take things?
Romex is considered 60-65% recovery by industry wide, standardized practice. It doesn't matter the number of insulation layers, only the ratio of copper-to-insulation by weight
That's fair that's its industry standard. All the yards in my area classify it as #2 which they call appliance wire and is 40-65% in their eyes. So I always just considered it 40. They do base it off of layers of insulation while taking into acount wire gauge. I just happen to take it to the yard that pays out the most for it.
Western North Carolina
Regardless of if my % is wrong, I do think the rest of my og statement rings true. But please correct me if I'm wrong.
They're ripping you off. Complete Romex (outer insulation, coated hot and neutral legs and bare ground) is #1. Break it down, and the bare ground is BB and the coated legs are #1. Depending on how you value your time, it can be worth it to you to break it down.
Thanks for the input friend. Is 40% recover its own classification, or is that the same as #2 coated?
Basically, they are paying the same rate for the unsheathed coated wires that I took out of the Romex as they are for just straight up Romex, and that seems kinda odd/unfair to me. That being the case, I guess I need to find a new yard, because I’ve got a shit load of that separated #1 coated “spaghetti wire”.
It's the same. Some yards have upwards of 5 different recovery % bins and some have only 2 (3 if you count low yield like Christmas lights)
If they are paying the same price for #1 as romex then i would find a new yard. I take my steel to my local yard and drive 45 minutes to a yard that pays much better for copper and wire.
For retail/peddler customers, my yard had 4 grades. #3, #2, #1, and Cat 5 (catchall for any ethernet cable). We had other grades for commercial/industrial sparkies that brought in high voltage and communication stuff, but we'll ignore that for this conversation. Romex was #1 at my yard. #2 was extension cords and appliance cords with the plugs cut off, and #3 was all the bullshit wire with plugs/bulbs.
This is a good point, and while I do understand the necessity of it when there was a line of cars with trailers full of shit when I got there with my 60lbs of wire, in hindsight it does make me wish I had just kept it all until I found a new yard.
If you bring it all mixed I’d expect the same rate for everything and that being the romex rate.
If you have it separated that’s crap and I’d find a new yard
Yeah, I was pretty bummed out after I went through the trouble of opening up so many pieces of Romex and sorting it all into three bins, only to have the grumpy old bastard at the weigh station dump all my separated #1 wires back in with the Romex that I was too lazy to slice open. Preciate the feedback!
Romex averages 65% copper recovery the the other wire is bought as 75%-80% recovery and there should be a substantial price difference.
Thanks, like I said I’ve only had experience dealing with two scrap yards so I’m not really sure what’s typical.
Romex is considered 40% recover because it has 2 coatings. The outside main and the 2 coated wires in. You will get less for unstripped. If your prices are comparable between #1 and #2 coated wire pull the ground and send the rest as #2 (ground will be barebright unless it's tarnished then it's #1 copper) I just always strip the outer coating off romex. Ground goes with barebright or #1 copper depending on the looks, and the 2 coated wires will go in #1 coated wire. With romex the wires are normally at least 16g so if you do decide to strip it all (2 coated wires included) it can all go into barebright. Each yard is different so why not bring some stuff in and ask your scale attendant how they take things?
Romex is considered 60-65% recovery by industry wide, standardized practice. It doesn't matter the number of insulation layers, only the ratio of copper-to-insulation by weight
This is true. 40% is incorrect.
That's fair that's its industry standard. All the yards in my area classify it as #2 which they call appliance wire and is 40-65% in their eyes. So I always just considered it 40. They do base it off of layers of insulation while taking into acount wire gauge. I just happen to take it to the yard that pays out the most for it. Western North Carolina Regardless of if my % is wrong, I do think the rest of my og statement rings true. But please correct me if I'm wrong.
They're ripping you off. Complete Romex (outer insulation, coated hot and neutral legs and bare ground) is #1. Break it down, and the bare ground is BB and the coated legs are #1. Depending on how you value your time, it can be worth it to you to break it down.
Thanks for the input friend. Is 40% recover its own classification, or is that the same as #2 coated? Basically, they are paying the same rate for the unsheathed coated wires that I took out of the Romex as they are for just straight up Romex, and that seems kinda odd/unfair to me. That being the case, I guess I need to find a new yard, because I’ve got a shit load of that separated #1 coated “spaghetti wire”.
It's the same. Some yards have upwards of 5 different recovery % bins and some have only 2 (3 if you count low yield like Christmas lights) If they are paying the same price for #1 as romex then i would find a new yard. I take my steel to my local yard and drive 45 minutes to a yard that pays much better for copper and wire.
For retail/peddler customers, my yard had 4 grades. #3, #2, #1, and Cat 5 (catchall for any ethernet cable). We had other grades for commercial/industrial sparkies that brought in high voltage and communication stuff, but we'll ignore that for this conversation. Romex was #1 at my yard. #2 was extension cords and appliance cords with the plugs cut off, and #3 was all the bullshit wire with plugs/bulbs.
Omni source is a huge company They only deal with peddlers because they have to. Peddlers are small yards bread and butter
This is a good point, and while I do understand the necessity of it when there was a line of cars with trailers full of shit when I got there with my 60lbs of wire, in hindsight it does make me wish I had just kept it all until I found a new yard.
If you bring it all mixed I’d expect the same rate for everything and that being the romex rate. If you have it separated that’s crap and I’d find a new yard
Yeah, I was pretty bummed out after I went through the trouble of opening up so many pieces of Romex and sorting it all into three bins, only to have the grumpy old bastard at the weigh station dump all my separated #1 wires back in with the Romex that I was too lazy to slice open. Preciate the feedback!