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

2 жыл бұрын

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.

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

@matthewimhardbrucelee6995

3 жыл бұрын

“Kids, get Stanley”

@noahgamingvideos1584

Жыл бұрын

@@matthewimhardbrucelee6995 Stanley stuff good asf

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. 👍

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

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

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

3 жыл бұрын

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

@stevepettifer4896

3 жыл бұрын

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

@adeladd7638

3 жыл бұрын

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

3 жыл бұрын

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

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

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

@b3dpc354

3 жыл бұрын

Time*

@tentonhammer5469

3 жыл бұрын

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

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

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

3 жыл бұрын

Exactly 👏

@garethhodson3896

3 жыл бұрын

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

@grahamlush7140

3 жыл бұрын

Couldn’t agree more!

@callumrowley2203

3 жыл бұрын

I'm sad and will sit in my man cave on a Saturday night stripping with big Clive live on KZread. 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.

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

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

Another great video. Keep it up Nick.

Very useful video thanks guys. I always thought the scrap went towards the apprentices Xmas bonus. 😜 Great idea on the smelting Adam. 👏👌

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

Great video and interesting to see. Thanks for the content take care

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.

Been waiting for this video for a while.

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....

Really interesting video Nick thanks :)

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

@Engines4life

3 жыл бұрын

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

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

2 жыл бұрын

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!

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.

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

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

Жыл бұрын

Copper drain covers?

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

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

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

3 жыл бұрын

Where i live the tip is free.

@mistervelux

3 жыл бұрын

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

@collcolin

3 жыл бұрын

@@inputimmersion9577 Not to the trade

@inputimmersion9577

3 жыл бұрын

@@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

3 жыл бұрын

The scrap i use use takes the PVC for free

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

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.

Love it when you strip and get your cable out 😍

@cliveramsbotty6077

3 жыл бұрын

LOL KNOB GAG

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

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

3 жыл бұрын

Keep the stuff for another 10 years it might be

@topanteon

2 жыл бұрын

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.

Well I called that lol said to the Mrs he's gonna start smelting lol nice one guys I'm looking forward to these!

Good vid guys, very interesting

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

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 ?

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

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

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.

Good video, it's confirmed something I've alway thought

Love the back ground music boys! Spot on

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.

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

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

Brilliant video mate, as a scrapped was toying with the idea of getting 1 of these or similar. But don't think I will now, if the hourly rate works out less than what I would get at a regular job don't really think it's worth it. So would have to be £10ph minimum for me. Also really like that hivi hoodie you have on, where is that from?

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

3 жыл бұрын

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

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

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

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

3 жыл бұрын

This makes sense....

@lurch1005

2 жыл бұрын

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

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,

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

Your the best ever youtuber nick

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

Hi nick noticed in this video you got the bosch 18v 6 battery charger was that on my recommendation great idea 👍😉

Obrigada pelo incentivo

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

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

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

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

Would you say stripoing pyros would be worth it ?

Great idea on the copper bars

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

@NBundyElectrical

3 жыл бұрын

All the money 🙌🙌

Great video 👍🏽

Interesting to see. Could make a little cooperative out of it and let other local sparks utilise it and get a bigger stash of copper. Making ingots is a cool idea, opens up another cash flow. Wonder if you could make small blocks of copper to sell model engineers?

@topanteon

2 жыл бұрын

Making ingots is a horrible idea. Electrical cables have a guaranteed purity to them, thus they yield a better price. Everything else is impure copper and costs a fair bit less.

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

Missed an opportunity with a magic Mike style thumbnail here nick 🤣

@NBundyElectrical

3 жыл бұрын

I know right 😅😅

Oh it’s worth to strip. That’s how we get or nice holiday bonuses lol 👍🏻

And how many hours before the blades & bearings need replacement

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!

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 😉

Nice idea with the Ingots. I'm sure they'll sell well

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

3 жыл бұрын

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

glad your making ingot vids because for some reason, I’m obsessed with watching them videos already 😂😂

Good work

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 ?

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

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.

Great video guys. Just a food for thought - for the twin and earth you could always cut down the middle with some snips grab the earth and drag in a downwards motion to split the cores and outer sheath. Boom you have all the cores exposed and ready with ease and effectiveness. What do you think?

What is the song back ground music? F.,?!g love it

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.

I miss you in People’s houses doing wiring

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

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

It's a good idea nick for using this striping machine cables bu a gain a time consuming.

I used to do this all the time. Working in the exhibition trade I could make a lot of money picking all the wire off the stands at the NEC or Olympia. I would strip the first inch and grip it in a vice. I’d then pull the rubber right off while eating my sandwiches. Easy money 😁👍🏾

Where can u get those pouches

Great video

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

2 жыл бұрын

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

@Pickchore

2 жыл бұрын

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

8 minutes in. . . "WELL, GET ON WITH IT!!" LOL

Do the furnace on electrical Chanel looking forward to it!! 👍🏼

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

3 жыл бұрын

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

2 жыл бұрын

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"

you should fix the cable coming out of the switch to the emergercy stop button on the stripper.

‘Massive bit of armoured’ hahaha