Extra income (And saving the earth)
Copper wires are easy to collect and you can sell them for a reasonable price with minimum effort.These copper wires can be found from small light fixtures to major appliances at home.
For example, they can be found inside our electrical appliances like electric cooker, washing machines, televisions, refrigerators, old telephones and lighting wiring.
Once you have snipped off the wires, you can also make the most out of scrapping it by selling off the steel body parts as well. In addition, the small transformer inside major appliances contains copper wiring as well that can be sold for more money.
5 Types of copper wires
We have provided a list below of the types of wire that are commonly used at home that you can scrap for money when they are no longer useful . You can sell your scrap wires for more money if you separate according to the types when you bring down to any recycling yard.
Mixed Wires
Generally a mixture of multiple-cores insulated copper wires. This type of wires can be easily found on your electrical appliances like fridge, oven, microwave, washing machine, multiple plug extensions etc.
Because of its wide use, it is the most common wire you can find in any household.
1.5 mm and 2.5mm colourful wires
Single core PVC wire with 7 strands of copper wire inside . This type of wire can be easily identified by its bright PVC insulation.
It has a better price in the market than the multiple cores wire because of its higher copper content.
Data Cable
This type of data transmission copper wire can be found at your wifi box or lan cables that are used to connect to the internet and printer.
It is slowly becoming obsolete due to the emerging popularity of using fibre optic cables and devices going wireless. Nevertheless, it is still widely used in large data centres.
Flexible single core wires
As the name suggests, this type of copper wire is usually found inside appliances where there is limited space and the wire has to be flexible enough to be bend.
It can be found if you dismantle your washing machines, dryers and other electrical appliances. And if you have the opportunity, it can also be found inside your car .
Single core copper cable
The most valuable type of copper wire in this list, and this type of large copper wire can be found inside your household electrical panel box.
However, we think there is absolutely no reason for you to remove it unless you are a licensed electrical technician or planning to have it replaced by a contractor.
How can I do to increase the scrap value?
1. Remove any other attachments to the copper wires
Copper wires has a layer of insulation and often comes with attachments. These attachments usually bring down their scrap value as it requires additional labor work. . Examples of attachments are the steel armor wires and the 3 pin power plug that can be found at every household.
3. Sell in large quantity
If you have the time and space, start collecting all of your wires and sell them in bulk. The heavier the wires, the better your negotiating power.
2. The bigger the copper, the higher the value
Just like precious stones , the bigger the copper, the higher the price that it can be sold. The ratio of the insulation to the copper in important as well.
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