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Falling Scrap Iron prices

Old Doug

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Oct 16, 2013
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I hauled a load to the place i like the best 2 weeks ago . I didn't really understand why they had been closed . I tried to call them this week no answer ? I sure hope they don't stay closed . I hauled 2 loads to the other place one load of shred $120.00 a ton and then Saturday i hauled a small load of copper and aluminum that stuff was in the way easier to load sell than to keep moving it around but the price wasnt the best there.
 

Old Doug

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About a month ago a guy called and wanted me to put a trailer at a building he owns in town to load with scrap. He lives a couple hours away but farms close by the town . I had hauled a lot of stuff from his farm a year ago. Being 30 days had gone by i was wondering about my trailer but i have trailers for this kind of deal so it wasnt that big of a deal. Then i get a call from another scrap hauler asking me if one of my trailers was on a farm. He told me this farm had sold and he was hauling some stuff off. It sold to a Amish guy . I called him and left a message he called me back saying he thought the scrap on the trailer should be his? I told him i didnt care unload it . A week later last night he called and said it was unloaded . What a deal but there are a lot of things that can happen like this in the scrap iron business .
 

Old Doug

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I went to that farm and got my trailer . It was kind of a mess but nothing was torn up. Its hard to go through some of these deals and not want to get out of the business.
 

Old Doug

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I called the yard i like to go to yesterday and they said what they were giving for shred $115.00 if you can dump or $100.00 if you can't a ton. I hope to have a dump load ready to go this weekend.
 

Old Doug

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The price never makes sense . Some times I think its supply and demand then I think other times they are messing with us ?
 

Old Doug

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The price is back up to $150.00 a ton for shred . I hauled a load earlier this week and am going to haul one today. Since I am trying to clean up our farm I don't want to unload anything from any of the clean ups I do. A place I went to yesterday had a lot of wiring . I guess I will save it back thinking maybe I can strip the insulation off it and make more money later on. I really get to thinking about stuff that needs striped or taken apart to get more money out of in the long run is it worth it ?
 

stinky64

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java center ny
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big truck wrench/fixer of things
Know 2 guys that will spend several hours at a time stripping wire for better #1 bright price, both are "semi retired" and have oodles of free time. From the way it sounds you don't have that luxury. How much is shiny copper worth compared to time spent stressing about it? You could always burn it for #2 and the fire pit will make lovely blue and green flames for years to come.
 

Tatersmt

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Nov 26, 2017
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Mt.
Know 2 guys that will spend several hours at a time stripping wire for better #1 bright price, both are "semi retired" and have oodles of free time. From the way it sounds you don't have that luxury. How much is shiny copper worth compared to time spent stressing about it? You could always burn it for #2 and the fire pit will make lovely blue and green flames for years to come.
I don't think the scrap yards will take burnt wire anymore.
 

Old Doug

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Know 2 guys that will spend several hours at a time stripping wire for better #1 bright price, both are "semi retired" and have oodles of free time. From the way it sounds you don't have that luxury. How much is shiny copper worth compared to time spent stressing about it? You could always burn it for #2 and the fire pit will make lovely blue and green flames for years to come.
I just got back . I was going to check on prices and forgot. It looks like around $2.00 less a pound.
I don't think the scrap yards will take burnt wire anymore.
I have heard that before but I see that they still have a price for it. I don't like burning it and haven't burned any for years.
 

Tatersmt

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Mt.
I just got back . I was going to check on prices and forgot. It looks like around $2.00 less a pound.

I have heard that before but I see that they still have a price for it. I don't like burning it and haven't burned any for years.
I haven't burned any either in years, I think the neighbors are glad too!:p
 

Old Doug

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I was looking into a machine buy or build to strip wire ? That would not make it real easy but it would be Easier . Its been several years but a place I sold some stuff to bought a machine I think they didn't use it a lot wasn't worth it.
 

stinky64

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java center ny
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One of the cats I mentioned earlier has a vevor chinesium unit. He says it was cheap and works amazingly well. He's a sparky by trade and saves everything he can scrap.
 

colson04

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Apr 11, 2016
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Delton, Michigan
I was "advised" by the local scrap yard that my wire would have done better prisewise if it had accidentally fallen into a fire and burned clean to bare copper prior to me bringing it in. There was air quotes, a couple winks, and a generous nod given.
 

Tatersmt

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Nov 26, 2017
Messages
71
Location
Mt.
I was "advised" by the local scrap yard that my wire would have done better prisewise if it had accidentally fallen into a fire and burned clean to bare copper prior to me bringing it in. There was air quotes, a couple winks, and a generous nod given.
It's defiantly easier to strip it with fire!
 

stinky64

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java center ny
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40 years ago a friend and I "liberated" a bunch of telegraph wire (that good bright green stuff) from the poles along an abandoned rail track, most was already laying on the ground so we just followed up the pole and trimmed 'er off. Took all that perfect, neatly coiled green gold to the local scrap yard that we had taken scrap to many times before. The dude at the yard looked in the back of my truck and started laughing, he informed us that he should be calling the feds (railroad property) but if we burned all the green off on say a tire fire or something he would take all we had. We made a lotta loot that summer...
 

DMiller

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Feb 21, 2010
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Cheap "old" Geezer
As scrapped in the 1970s landed TWO awesome contract jobs, RR Spur abandonment wanted all the Poles, Lines and other assorted gear for five miles removed, gave my partner and I free hand as to Salvage and scrap. Was told the wire would be worthless Copper CLAD steel. Guy that told me that Wanted us to walk away, wire was Solid 6Ga Copper MILES of it, all the glass insulators were Ancient, Cobalt Blue, Deep Green blue, many just the generic White but were 'Different; in that the Wire wrapped around a twist thread slot on the Glass, those that were undamaged sold to Antique dealer in Joplin, nice chunk a change, Copper paid ALL the disposal fees on poles Plus profit. Same old RR set us up for another spur they were abandoning, Same end result.
 

stinky64

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java center ny
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big truck wrench/fixer of things
Did encounter some of the copper clad, probably newer wire used for repair, fortunately all you had to do was the bend test, steel wire not as soft/easily bendable. Found out the hard way when same yard rat stuck a magnet to one of our coils. DOH...
 

Old Doug

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Oct 16, 2013
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Mo
Had a deal today. I had a bumper hitch trailer loaded with scrap and over 1000# of batteries in the bed of my pickup. I called yesterday to make sure the place I like the best would be open today. It was a safe load but heavy enough I didn't want to go any farther than I had to. I got to the place and pulled on the scale . It looked kind of strange around there . A guy came out of the office and said they were not buying shred today??? I told him I called yesterday. He said they had a fire last night and it burnt up a crusher . They would buy the batteries . We got them unloaded I ask if the place in town was steal in business yes they were. I did sell stuff to them years ago but the last time I was there they told me to go down in the yard and throw off the stuff I had buy my self small load but it was muddy and I every thing but got stuck . I hadn't been back. I thought real hard about driving to another place witch would be around a 60 mile extra trip. The place I didn't like doesn't have a scale so you have to weigh at a Grain ,feed store close buy . It's been maybe 20 years since I was there last. I headed there had a little trouble remembering were the place was to weigh at . I found it but the scales were gone place closed up looked like 50 years ago. I tried calling the scrap yard 2 times second time I called the wrong number but they know the yard and said they did have there own scales. I drove over there no scales have to go to a place down the street. I found that place got weighed . Headed back to the yard . One of there workers told me were to go. Got there by a track hoe . He said we would hand unload it? It was muddy and one thing was so heavy we tied a chain to it to the hoe and put the pickup in 4x4 had trouble but got it unloaded. Went back to weigh and had to wait to get anyone to help me but finally paid $5.00 and got a ticket. I had several things going on and need the trailer I was worked up over everything that made it worse. Its over now and I learned a couple things that hopefully make things Easier in the future.
 
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