To Strip or not to Strip? Is it worth stripping copper cables?? Electrician

[@djbreal87]

During deployment, we were allowed to mail home anything we wanted up to 500lbs free of charge once a week. I was in a Signal unit, doing IT. We had TONS of copper wire. During my second deployment, we were tearing down a FOB as it was being shut down, and the process of which was removing all the cabling. We also would tear out any copper power cabling. Massive 0 and 00 gauge copper cables. My friends and I spent months gathering, stripping, and mailing, 500lbs batches each, home that we later turned into recycling and scrap yards. I think in total I mailed home around 3,000lbs of copper across a 8 month span. This was 2011. I made close to 8k after turning it all in.

[@tomitstube]

and i imagine you got to ship all that on the gov'ts dime? back in the 1990's i worked for an electrician who got a lot of commercial work, i remember one huge department store he got a contract for, AND he got all the existing cable in the building, we filled his dump truck full, he later told me around 2000 lbs of copper cable.

[@farmersteve129]

Cable stripping should be a "rainy day"/between jobs type thing that fills time that would otherwise probably end up not being utilised. Minor point, but you ought to factor in the cost of disposing of the PVC/Insulation.

[@inputimmersion9577]

Where i live the tip is free.

[@mistervelux]

Am sure the PVC/Insulation is recyclable... a local scrap yard used to get money for a tonne bag at a time...

[@collcolin]

@@inputimmersion9577 Not to the trade

[@inputimmersion9577]

@@collcolin What you do is, you drive in and they go 'are you domestic' and you go 'yeah, it's from my house'. Easy game.

[@BigBadBardz]

The scrap i use use takes the PVC for free

[@chrisryan3770]

Top Tip: The little chrome knob on top of your scale allows you to zero the scale with the chain and bucket on so you don’t have to do the maths for weighing copper. 👍

[@artisanelectrics]

I remember my dad getting me to strip the old lead sheathed cables for him when I was a kid! LOL Nowadays I just bin everything, its not worth the time to strip it. Better to use the time to get some work done! Having an account with a scrap merchant is handy for recycling stuff though. Took a load of leftover trunking offcuts in this week. Didn't get any money for them but at least they are properly recycled.

[@neilbridgeman7768]

Exactly 👏

[@garethhodson3896]

Ok if you’re charging £100 per hour 😉 but you’re right - not worth it unless it’s a decent size cable

[@grahamlush7140]

Couldn’t agree more!

[@callumrowley2203]

I'm sad and will sit in my man cave on a Saturday night stripping with big Clive live on KZbin. Never stripped lead either but always keep a bit. The guy I did my time with was actually putting power into houses for the first time when he was an apprentice. As good as my super rods are he taught me to strip a couple of inches of the outer lead and put builders twine through it, tie a knot and a loop then hammer it flat. Makes the perfect weight for dropping down lath and plaster walls. Here in Scotland they are called a moose. Can't buy anything like it.

[@Bodom1after1midnight]

During my apprenticeship I was late to work (for the first time ever) by maybe 15 minutes, i was told i ruined the entire day and was made to sit in my bosses garden stripping cables by hand in the rain for the entire day. Fun times... I envy Adam for having a boss that isn't a jackass during his apprenticeship.

[@Tinker001]

Wonder what we'd see if Adam had a hidden camera... :P

[@stevepettifer4896]

@@Tinker001 Nick sitting on his arse and playing with his phone? :-D

[@adeladd7638]

A long long time ago,far away in another country and another life,I was in Cardiff nick where we had to strip power cable,three aluminium cores in rubber with a poly sheath. The rubber was the worst part,also the local radio piped in,must have heard Baker Street a million times, (Clue to the year there).Only recently have I been able to enjoy that song.

[@tww5719]

At least you have an apprenticeship,you can always move on when your qualified 👍

[@hardave17]

"Kids - would you like to miss school today to help daddy"

[@matthewimhardbrucelee6995]

“Kids, get Stanley”

[@noahgamingvideos1584]

@@matthewimhardbrucelee6995 Stanley stuff good asf

[@chriscoulthard4947]

To take the outer off twin and earth I clamp the end in a vice and pull the earth to split it. Probably quicker than the machine. Then put it through the machine.

[@hempwick8203]

This makes sense....

[@lurch1005]

Yes start at the vice end u can literally run pulling the earth out no quicker way

[@highpath4776]

Thick stranded cable Ideal for automotive use or home solar instalations where only short lengths needed

[@b3dpc354]

I stayed up till 5am south australian Tim waiting for this to come out your a big inspiration for me thanks

[@b3dpc354]

Time*

[@tentonhammer5469]

@@b3dpc354 you can edit your original comment to correct any mistakes 👍

[@sentradynamics8889]

Once the insulation is cut bend the cable in half and bend it back straight. You'll end up with a little hump in the middle of the copper which pops right out of the insulation and you can pull the insulation off easily. Saves big time on finger/hand fatigue while doing large quantities. Works great on solid strand (romex) wire too

[@garyc4943]

I watch these videos even though I'm not a electrician, I'm actually a joiner. Just enjoy the content.

[@paulunderdown1460]

Well done. This has been very informative. I think something like this is Useful over a period of time and also helps keep the scrap down in your in your workshop and copper is much easier to store and you could weigh it in maybe once a year near Christmas to give bonuses to people or help your own business but well done again thank you

[@erdevon3257]

Hell yeah. If it weighs...it pays. Worked in a house were an old woman had died, lifted the floorboards and previous plumbers had left all the pipes in situe! We even scrapped the old saucepans and her aluminium zimmerframe

[@McplQuebec66]

Much fun your video. I don't think that I'd ever buy a wire stripping machine. I recently spent an hour stripping wires that I got off a little electrical renovation job that we were doing. I wondered if it was worth it. In the end, it certainly was worth having stripped it all. I had 2lbs at $3.65/lb versus $1.10/lb unstripped - a difference of $2.55/lb. As you say, I wouldn't take a day off work but, kicking back in the evening, listening to music with a coffee close at hand? Yep. Worth it.

[@mark90229]

Depends what cable you have i bought a hand crank one off amazon very good it was stripping 120 earth got 600 quid for 2hours work

[@danielgoodman8748]

going to start my sparky course in September love the knowledge you pick up from your videos!🔥

[@alexcampion8529]

We rarely stripped anything under 10mm2 when I was doing my apprenticeship, and was just a filler in the winter when it was quiet. Stripping 240mm2 adds pretty quick though

[@thetruth6693]

I strip all 10mm twin upwards and all 10mm singles and upwards. I don't bother stripping the swa. And all other singles I take in on their own (not stripped) as singles are worth more than normal pvc

[@supersparks9466]

Stripping cable will never be a substitute for the earning power of a qualified electrician,but it’s a nice brucie bonus for evenings and weekend spare time.

[@jonesy1589]

Keep the stuff for another 10 years it might be

[@topanteon]

I own a scrap metal business and I make a helluva lot more money than any electrician I know of. In fact, I've never heard of a rich electrician. But I have heard and seen rich scrapyard owners.

[@carrot3797]

as someone who works at a scrap yard and deals with wire all the time, i say it is 100% worth it because the rubber or plastic coating adds weight and you will not get as much money, if u strip it u will get more money because it just the weight of the copper, there is #1 coppper witch is clean copper #2 copper is corosion or with the coating on it or if it ever caught fire,

[@stuartalexander1933]

Been a while since I scooft cable, used to make a fortune!!!

[@marfnl2]

Golden Ideas!!! an automatic adjustment for the cutters. the outside is nonconductive and we are trying to cut that. so if we make some grips that clamp on the end of the wire and pierce the wire, we can make a loop between the cutting wheels and the wire. if we monitor this, if we lose contact we tighten the cutting wheels, if we have a contact we stay in place and very slowly release until we have no contact and tighten ones more. It will cut the cable slave perfectly no matter the size of the cable.

[@WayneCarolan]

I was trained to bag anything under 6sq and strip anything over. Old sockets and boards have a ball of brass too that’s worth a few more quid and really easy to collect as well.

[@stephencoulthard1718]

Definitely worth some cut level 5 gloves! Very informative video :) Could store the bars and keep an eye on the copper price, you know when scrap is high because drain covers go missing!

[@rossbrumby1957]

Gloves make it impossible to get the plastic off. If by bars you mean ingots, scrapyards dont like them because people make them with steel inside to scam them. Leave the wire as wire.

[@bbdgha]

Copper drain covers?

[@Cjrelectrical]

When we were stripping out 250mm 5 core swa it was worth stripping 🤑

[@NBundyElectrical]

All the money 🙌🙌

[@supersparks9466]

I’ve not found I needed to remove the kinks from t&e , major ones of course but seems to work ok without the need for perfectly flat cable.

[@0liver0verson9]

Loving the new industrial unit. It gives a different vibe to your videos.

[@morlamweb]

I've spent some time stripping a few short bits of cable, often 2 meters or less, which I had left over from small jobs. The amount of copper wasn't worth much on it's own, but I had a sizeable amount of copper pipe left over from a plumbing job, and all of it added up to $20 at the scrap yard. I did this by hand with electrician's pliers idly while watching TV. Having a machine for the job is quite the luxury.

[@rossbrumby1957]

Don't cash in small amounts, once stripped, hoard it for a payday- make it your christmas bonus. Ive stripped house wiring first (easiest) now onto power cords and appliance harnesses. So far have 15kg clean (AU$150.) Wil wait till I have a few hundred kilos so I can really perceive a reward!

[@nickmarchant4723]

We’ve got exactly the same cable stripper... had loads of big swa’s 10-35mm off cuts & we made the money back on the first time of using it. We only strip cable close to Xmas now & use the money for a big jolly up

[@Mr.MFuckingYTchangedmyname]

So do loads of other electricians - which is why the price dips just before Christmas.

[@davidelmer2502]

Unfortunately or not depending on your point of view,at the scrap merchants you need your identification, ie driving licence then your vehicle registration, then they pay you by bacs. You get a receipt itemising every detail of what you have just weighed in. Then you are supposed to declare it on your tax return as unearned income. Oh and don't forget your waste carriers licence just in case you get stopped near the scrappy. I'm talking from unfortunate past experience, just be carful out there lads. There are always some people out there ready to pounce even though what your doing is responsible recycling at the end of the day. On the brighter side, your enthusiasm and willingness to take the time to upload this content for the trade is admirable

[@joemason8636]

Love it when you strip and get your cable out 😍

[@cliveramsbotty6077]

LOL KNOB GAG

[@PJOffler]

I’ve got a mate that strips cable for a secondary job so it works out well for me being a spark

[@ConfidentialMeerkat]

While I get that cost and time is a contributing factor, i can't help but feel that there is a moral responsibility to make sure the copper can be reused and not just thrown into a hole in the ground, especially in a time when conserving the natural resources that we have already dug out of the ground couldn't be more important! Thank you for going through the time and effort to do this and I hope more sparkys follow. I know that Thomas nagy has talked about this in many of his videos but for him storage is an issue. I feel the councils should be doing more to make it easier for trade waste to be recycled as after all they're quick on your heals regarding residential waste with their fines (not saying to fine trades people) Like the idea of the ingots also make it a bit easier to store!

[@denisohbrien]

Copper would never get thrown in the ground bud, the comparrison here is whether he extracts the copper to be recycled, or the scrapyard extracts the copper to be recycled. either way, somones saving that copper for another day.

[@jaykoerner]

He's figuring out if his personal time investment is worth removing the jacket on the copper versus the difference compared to what the scrap yard would pay him if he gave it to them "dirty"

[@UKscrapper]

Great machines I've had one for about a year and does a great job on stripping the cable

[@Engines4life]

Where did you get the machine from bud and how much was it

[@bunnywarren]

You also have to take into account that stripped cable will require you to dispose of the PVC sheathing so that's an additional cost.

[@ulfhenarpolymathmilitant6258]

one trash bag ........ twit

[@Pickchore]

Local tip when I drop off the grass and hedge trimmings.

[@kimmason9935]

I stick mine Infront of a blow heater while I'm stripping it I've got a metal block split down the middle with different size holes in you put a Stanley blade just inside hole then feed cable through its was about £5 off eBay

[@brightspark4817]

i made my own stripping machine. it crushes cables up to 35mm with an adjusting wheel even if its all twisted then it has a slitting wheel that cuts armoured cable down the last lot i took in got 1.000 quid for the scrap cable . the machine cost me 200 quid to build made on milling machine lathe and welder i have

[@Camaronbrandon]

Years ago i done a similar experiment, weighed a meter of 1mm - 10mm twin and earth with sheath on, and then with sheath off to get copper content, anything 4mm and under isn't worth stripping! You get less money per meter with pvc on, but it weighs more, its almost the same price

[@Zephieish]

What are them chairs called mate? They look like they provide decent back support.

[@skooistra1766]

below a certain diameter it's not worth the time and effort if you ask me, if you go above 6mm the bright copper price as you call it is very much worth it (depending on the current copper prizes ofcourse) but this has been my experience in NL

[@Tribsu]

Its rather matter do u wana spend the time doing stripping or "real" work instead. Metal recycling business is at its core a service after all and that's how they price the material too.

[@Bonk-A-Lonk]

Would you say stripoing pyros would be worth it ?

[@rodknee87]

I used to get lots of 16mm and 25mm copper cable scrap, even after getting a big bag of bright copper it's only a couple a quid. Take a year to just get money back for the stripper.

[@jamoma3649]

How does the weight of the chain holding the bucket factor in?

[@capnskiddies]

It didn't change anything. The bucket & chain were weighed together at the start

[@samosa434]

Been waiting for this video for a while.

[@niceverden9313]

Here in Australia it's about 1.50 a kg fpr un stripped and anywhere from 5 to 8.50 a kg for bright copper.

[@mreid6184]

I know this is a older video but for the same price you could have gotten a granulator and put a tub of water under the drop the copper & steel will drop to the bottom everything else will stay on the top run a magnet through it after your done to pull out the steel and your left with just your copper as long as you cut everything a foot long it has no problems just eating it up I run mine about a hour a day and come away with 30-40 pounds but I will say all of mine is pre cut a lot of people in American are using this method now it’s way faster and much more simpler in terms of space management for waste as well as space management for end product as well.

[@charlieecosta5592]

Could be wrong, but I think there are singles hanging out the bottom of that switch at 9:57. Might want to check the terminations!

[@1776Rob2012]

Hey! I'm seeing 56 rolls of 1,5mm 100yds WIRE. Should I invest and buy it? It's only $25 on an auction site.

[@Engines4life]

Have you got the details of where you bought the machine from please bud.

[@neilchapman337]

Hi Nick. Have you found anyway of recycling the PVC installation you stripped off? What can be done with it?

[@daddybear7062]

And how many hours before the blades & bearings need replacement

[@highpath4776]

Copper sheet might be a useful thing to do, now you have your furnace try ali too. Can the PVC chip down and melt out for 3D printing threads ?

[@hempwick8203]

Holy shit bro! Don't stop making videos! These ain't too shabby!! :-) In seriousness, I am definitely watching the copper ignot video right away. I spent a lot of time stripping down an old factory for $7.25/hr USD, the startup failed, but we had about 20 trash cans worth of coiled insulated wire we extracted from an ancient factory. Little did I know at the time how amazing the old vacuum tubes were....

[@GaryNewsom1]

If you just use spare time you don’t mind working, it’s always better to strip. I can do it fairly fast and worked out I was making about 12-13£ per hour. Which is fine if you’re sat watching a movie or something

[@samarchaudhary2899]

Mate need advice I’m going to run cabling got patio tiles.do you run SWA or hi tuf.advice please thanks in advance

[@sampovoas-bates7093]

Nice video! One thing that you might also want to factor in to the calculation is the cost to run the stripping machine, in terms of power usage

[@oldcynic6964]

And an allowance for resharpening the blades periodically, and an allowance for depreciation on the machine (unless you expect it to last forever!)

[@garyfear1242]

Another great video. Keep it up Nick.

[@danielcoward3469]

Also got to factor in the price of disposing the pvc insulation. Probably not worth it after that?

[@sambarnes2063]

I’ve worked for industrial jobs for the last 12 years. I wouldn’t strip any armoured cable less than 16mm and 10mm singles. Everything else than this goes in the weigh in as is pile. FYI we use to have stripping parties/BBQ’s in the summer 😉

[@mickbrooks8114]

Where can u get those pouches

[@doncodman913]

Hi Nick . i had a clear out of all old taps and copper pipe bits . the copper was a carrier bag weighed about 4 kg but at 8£ per kilo got £32 well chuffed .

[@charliedecker7702]

Stuff me! where`s that I`ll drive down there at that price

[@shellyriggleman7891]

great video I also strip copper and I learn a few things from your video looking for the next video

[@drivewasher]

If you remove the scrap from your clients property, then you need to be registered as a waste carrier by your local authority/council. Obviously they charge extorsionatly for that. If you get a pull by the environment agency or council it's a BIG fine if you don't have one

[@nickc9182]

It's not classed as scrap for an electrician.. as it's waste produced by there work so in theory from the site to there unit it's classed as waste so only a waste carriers license needed. As there not collecting it...

[@Camberwell86]

That just seems long and not really worth it. Plus now you have all the inso to dispose of, at least the scrapyard take the whole lot off your hands. For £4.50/hr you could just make Adam do a couple of paper rounds before work 😅

[@Almonddragon]

It seemed like the scrappers buy the stripped PVC as well.

[@craigg4219]

Like he said get the kids or Mrs involved they earn a bit extra by getting there hands dirty and keeps them off your back. Win win mate

[@SIHRA2]

Love the back ground music boys! Spot on

[@PhilipWillsWorld]

Great little experiment. Thanks for the video. Great GAW.

[@rubbersteve123]

Loved the different type of stripping. Great content as usual.

[@richavic4520]

A year later, and in the States, those prices are pretty close to dollars/pound. I say strip! Additionally, you'll get your moves down, gain productivity. You'll raise the margin.

[@markandrews8437]

I have this machine but with out the motor I can hand crank it or put a drill on it paid for it's self first visit to the scrap yard nice

[@thisismissem]

Kinda wondering if pre-smelted bars/ingots would be more valuable or less?

[@mikenormandy9250]

The answer is YES, I bought a cable stripping machine, Strips up to 250 MCM (I don't mind doing the larger stuff by hand)...The one I have uses a drill to spin it, but you can buy an automatic feeding one. I paid my stripping machine ($250 US) with the first haul of wire I got....I will strip anything that is 8AWG or larger....Anything else, it's NOT worth it...

[@kellybell9235]

I ran medium voltage underground distribution projects for 20 years. Remove the old feeders and pull in new ones. On a $15 million dollar project I would have between $500,000 and $750,000 worth of scrap copper. I never stripped it, instead I sold it to a company that ground up the entire wire into smaller than rice size pieces then used vibration and air to blow away all the insulation and jacketing. Since I was working on prevailing wage projects if I were to strip it on site I would be paying electricians between $60 and $75 dollars an hour to strip it. It simply wasn’t cost effective, the company would drop off lockable containers and I would call them to pick it up when it was full. I only had to move the wire one time. I had a line item in my budget for scrap wire to be fed back into the budget. Taking wire home would get you fired.

[@tomitstube]

excellent video, and breakdown, lots of pertinent information... i think after you've used the machine for a while you'll get much better and faster at it, and even sort your wire/cable as you collect it, saving even more time... over time it should make you a lot of money, granted you move a lot of cable... and that's the key isn't it? getting enough volume to stack up that cash.

[@louishenkel6164]

You should install the stripper into the van then every time you go back to the van just run the stuff quickly through the machine and have all the scored wire land in a bucket to help save some time

[@richardturner8630]

Yes its worth it for 16ga and up. 18ga is marginal, cat5/6/7 not so much. Romex you're faster to just knife and pull the ground wire out by hand. You won't make jobber wages but Sunday afternoon, football on TV beer in hand out in the garage you're still gaining.

[@paultipton743]

Are the old immersion heater and shower elements if removed from their casings worth it?

[@neilcaldwell613]

Did you count the electricity bill in to that

[@caennanu]

Just stumbled upon this, lovely video, not gonna do it myself that's for sure. I am wondering however, you have a cable straightener / flatter on the machine to the left of all the holes, why not use that instead of the bars you're using at 12:09?

[@highpath4776]

Is cable worth more as re-use or for scrap only. Anyway the PVC becomes as waste which you would have to pay as a trader to dispose of ?

[@paulbackhard6315]

Some scrapyards won’t take stripped cable now as they cannot tell is it’s stolen cables .

[@jamiebourne8047]

How do you dispose of the outer PVC?

[@SLUGGAGE]

Goats 🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐

[@ThePropaneInferno]

I'm in my 4th year and am qualifying this year. I'm thinking of setting up by myself do any you lads have any advice/tips?

[@ToffeenoseToffee]

Don’t burn your bridge with your existing gaffer, be honest, confident and honest.DONT buy work and under price work. Good luck pal🙌

[@samsawyer2145]

Way to soon to go alone. Get more experience

[@ToffeenoseToffee]

@@samsawyer2145 I’m hearing you Sam but not necessarily. At 18 I was made redundant, did last 2 years at college off my own back because I was picking up my own work and worked for myself last 20 years. It’s rare it works out but for the right lad it can. Better doing it young with no dependents in some ways. If it don’t work he can get some sub contracting work or find employment

[@samsawyer2145]

@@ToffeenoseToffee yes no dependants etc is an advantage subcontracting to other electrical firms is ok yes and small domestic works (if that’s what have been primarily doing for the 4 years) is t so much an issue, I’m talking from experience when I say we have had to rectify so much work that has been been done by in experienced electricians straight out of college and shoddy workmanship and lack of knowledge really is t what the electrical industry needs.

[@AndyK.1]

I miss you in People’s houses doing wiring

[@sicknickpoker6774]

Great video 👍. I've always wondered whether it was worth the effort to strip. Thankyou.

[@monteclark1115]

When I’m ready to strip wire, I get a pack of new razor blades for my box cutter. I tie one end to my trailer hitch a just start at that end and Filet it. When the blade starts skipping I put in a new one.

[@Jedi_Scowen]

I spent 10 hours stripping 10mm copper cable by hand once. I got a little hand or drill operated stripper off eBay. I got £5 per kg or £185 for 37kg of shiny. If I'd taken it in unstripped I'd have got £1.40 per KG. I would estimate 50kg unstripped or £70 for the lot. I made £11.50 an hour that Sunday without rushing around and sort of watching T.V. & KZbin all day too. I'll just keep stripping here and there. Just got to stop lettings the pile grow.

[@jonesconrad1]

I used to strip it with a Stanley whilst watching tv in the evening. hands full of nicks by the end of it

[@steveblue161]

Really interesting video Nick thanks :)

[@ojwetc]

In your next few months can you weigh the scrap you pull off jobs and see, based on these calculations how much you’d make in a month, 1/4, 1/2 or a year of collecting scrap as an average. I know some jobs may yield more some may yield less. It seems like an activity for Christmas shut down

[@lewistempleman9752]

Good vid guys, very interesting

[@dhillon555]

Really enjoyed the video!!!! Anyway you could organise all the cable first, then find a way to join that wont ruin the machine? That way you could run through the machine in longer passes. Keep up the good work lads

[@judderzm2252]

It's worth doing earth cable and the big stuff but the smaller stuff easier to weigh in as is

[@ulfhenarpolymathmilitant6258]

US dollars ....... insulated 0.10 -1.00 per pound......... VRS...... burnt as #2 clean $ 3.05 per pound ...........I can turn 100 lbs into $305.00 real easy.......I'd say you're getting shafted on your prices.

[@ianspaintpot]

£4.50 min wage from what decade is that i remember when my was was a cleaner in a small hotel in gosport in the mid 1990's was getting about £4.50ph

[@DoctorElectricYouTube]

good idea melting it all down, I'll look forward to that video and also glad that I don't bother collecting the copper myself

[@davesmith7981]

Great video , good job to do if it’s raining or snowing.

[@cmac178]

Did a plant teardown about a month ago. Got payed to work and I got 13 grand in scrap copper I took out. ;)

[@ChevettesoftheCanadianNorth]

Can't wait to see your copper smelter and what you're going to make out of it

[@cuezed]

There's a guy who leaves wheelie bins in your garden drive for cable and he weighs it on site and pays for the cable. Much easier than weighing it in