Copper
Bare and insulated copper wire
Bare copper conductor, grounding and bonding wire, and insulated copper building wire. The simplest material to value, and the one most often mis-described as scrap.
Bare copper is not the same as scrap copper
Bare copper conductor has a specification: size, stranding, temper. Grounding and bonding conductors, overhead bare copper, and braided jumpers are all still usable material, and they are bought as wire rather than as scrap metal. Throwing them in the scrap bin is usually a loss.
Insulated copper
Insulated copper covers THHN, XHHW, rubber and lead-cured constructions, welding cable, and the older cloth and rubber insulations that come out of decommissioned plants. Age is not disqualifying — condition and footage are what get priced.
- Grounding and bonding conductors, bare or green
- Bare copper in coils, spools and on reels
- Insulated copper building wire, full or partial reels
- Older rubber and cloth-insulated cable from plant teardowns
What we need to see
Size, stranding, and whether the copper is bare or insulated. For insulated wire, the insulation type tells us how it will be processed. For bare copper, weight and form are enough. A photo with something for scale helps more than a long description.
Sizes
Common sizes we see on Idaho reels
- #14
- #12
- #10
- #8
- #6
- #4
- #2
- #1
- 1/0
- 2/0
- 4/0
- 250
- 500
- 750
Sizes shown as AWG and MCM. Anything between the listed sizes is still worth quoting.
What to send
Details that let us quote it properly
- Bare or insulated, and the insulation type if insulated
- Size and stranding
- Form: coil, spool, reel or loose bundle
- Approximate weight or footage
- Condition, including oxidation or damage
- A photo with the reel or coil in full view
Email photos to saleselectricalbuyers@gmail.com or add them to the form below. Either way, keep the tag and the jacket legend readable.
Do you buy stripped copper?
Send photos. Bare conductor and stripped copper are both quotable, and the form has a field for the condition so we know what we are looking at.
What about old cloth-insulated wire?
It comes out of mills and older plants regularly. It is usually still worth quoting, especially in quantity.
Quote Bare or insulated copper wire
Choose the category that matches your material, then fill in the size, footage and condition as closely as you can.
Keep reading
Related categories and areas
Other wire and cable
Reels in the way? Send the tag photos.
Tell us the type, size, footage and voltage, and send a few photos of the reels, tags and jacket legend. We will review the material and talk through pricing and logistics.