Copper Prices!!!!!

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Master Plumber Mark

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clean copper vs dirty

clean copper is like rolls of pipe with no
fittings or other types of brass or metals attached
to it...

their are lots of employees stealing copper from
their trucks right now and selling it at the junk yards..


I have seen dozens of brand new bundles
of 3/4 pipe in 10 foot lengths. sold for weight only....
and I have been tempted to buy the stuff from the yard....
but they cant sell it because then they would look like "fences"
it all goes to be melted back down.....

they take ID from the guys who sell it to them but
cant prove its stolen, I suppose.


most of the stuff I got is considered
"plumbers copper" with solder and other
brass valve junk attached to it...


your copper wire is considered cleaner than mine
if it is just copper it is probably worth 20c --30 c more....

I wonder how much do you have.... and
how many vacant houses did
you have to strip out to get it??:D:D



actually we do better with the brass because the
mass bulk of brass bodies like faucets add up real quickly
 
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B

Banned-Rancher

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master plumber mark;127988[SIZE=3 said:
I wonder how much do you have.... and [/SIZE]
how many vacant houses did
you have to strip out to get it??:D:D
Nope I didn't steal it, I used it as a "radio fence" to keep my dogs in, I had about 2000' of single strand 14 AWG laying out in the sun... not realizing the clear coat plastic would deteriorate after a year and the color coat is really a split plastic applied to the bare wire.



Oh Well

Rancher
 
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Ed the Plumber

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Wasn't it just last year guys were going around stealing man hole covers right off the street here in Indy? scrappers stole copper pipe from the refrig unit at the food bank wasting tens of thousands of dollars in donated food!!! A bum was killed because another bum thought he was stealing his scrap!!
 

Dunbar Plumbing

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This means that homes plumbed with copper have a higher value.

Unless of course, you live in an area where theft is common....then that's a geographical problem.


I haven't bought copper pipe or fittings from a plumbing supply house or big box store in years.

Bought my fortune from a scrap yard, thanks to plumbers selling off their leftover fittings/pipe and homeowners getting rid of old stuff. Some of my stuff is dirty, like it's been in buckets or boxes for years with other items.
 

acjensen

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Backup batteries made with lead are also getting more expensive. This is because China is buying it all up for the toys they're sending us.
 

Squ1rrel

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Most retail stores are seeing a higher theft rate of their copper tubing and fittings, than they are of their tools.
 

Jdoll42

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People around here are stealing anything with any metal in it at all. Heard a story a week or so ago about people stealing the metal vases they use at the cemeteries and selling them for scrap. Also heard a story about people stealing manhole covers and selling them for the iron content. The city has considered welding them shut because as soon as they replace one, it's gone again. Crazy....
 

Master Plumber Mark

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doing the copper thing today

The last price I got was 3.40 per pound...

last friday

going to load up the copper today and take
it down to the yard....

probably about 20 -5 gallon buckets worth.....

If I still got room in the van I might try to do the brass too.. ... another 25 buckets

I got to get rid of it before someone breaks in and
steals it all.....
 

Master Plumber Mark

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Wow.....copper really is high

took my copper and brass in today....

had 700 lbs of copper.....

had 1200 lbs of brass......


got a check for $3876.30

Markie gets to splurge on something .....

that is a e350 ford maxi van filled to the gills with brass and copper

It rellly dont look like 3876.30 to me, really just looks like a bunch of junk....

but who am I to argue with the fellow???
 
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FaucetTrev

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MASTER PLUMBER MARK, I think your check is alittle low what were they paying you on brass???? im getting $2.20 per pound on yellow brass and $2.40 for red brass as well as $3.93 for number 1 copper 700 pounds of copper and 1200 pounds of brass lets say yellow should have got you $5,391.00 what alot of people dont realize as well as that brass valves are considered red brass anything chrome plated, faucet, shower head is counted as yellow scrap yards are a rip unless you pay attention and demand a good price.


Trevor
 

Nate R

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Depends. I bet a lot of the scrap in that bin will have to be shredded first. That's another operation it has to go through. Then it has to be moved and sorted by metal with another operation.

I used to work in a metal scrap yard. Seeing a full car engine and all turned into fist sized pieces of steel in about 10 seconds is jaw-dropping. :eek: LOTS of "junk" is worth more than you'd think.

Did you know that about 69% of our steel is recycled? Not bad! :D
 

Cass

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MPM, what did they pay per # ???

When I turn in mine they ding me if the brass has any stainless in it like ball valves or it is plated it is classified as mixed brass, if it is soldered fittings it is classified as #2 copper.
 
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Master Plumber Mark

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mystuff was pretty dirty

perhaps I got screwed......

I settled for 180 per pound on the brass......

because the stuff is not too clean.......look at my pics....


The copper went for 3.40 per pound ......it was pretty bad too

In the past
I have attempted to sort this junk out
before and I found that it is simply not
worth my time to completely clean the stuff up to #1 standards......

cause no matter how much effort I put into it,
it always falls short anyway of the perfect scrap...


Now, If I would have spent the weekend sorting out 50 buckets
of brass and copper I might have made another.....???

your guess is as good as mine...
I suppose an apprentice could have
worked on it all week long and it would have been worth while....


I would rather not spend my weekend getting
close and personal nasty with old brass toilet flanges
 
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FaucetTrev

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Master plumber Mark i would say you did pretty good on the number 2 copper as for the brass i see in the pics alot of it isnt sorted and take apart such as iron handles still on the gate valves etc. They kill you on price as they call it breakage if s dismiliar metal is mixed. They end up paying some guy 8 bucks an hour to sort it thats where scrap companies make most of their money. So Mark next time pay an apprentice lol it will end up paying his wage for the month. Cass that sucks they ding you for the ball inside of a valve as most scrap companies dont ever say anything and will give red brass price for the valve ship them to me and i will turn them in hahhahahaha.


Trevor
 

Cass

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#1 clean copper, is just bare copper with nothing on it. It can be tarnished.

#2 dirty copper, soldered fittings. If you have a 10' piece of copper with 1 fitting soldered on the end they will consider it dirty #2 copper so cut off the fitting

Rancher, you have clean #1 copper if you burned off the insulation.
 
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