Interested in scrapping copper metal tubing in Jacksonville, Florida? We can help.
Plumbers and others are familiar with copper piping and brass fittings. We buy copper metal. Copper metal pipes are used in a variety of ways but generally can be found in older homes. If you are doing your own bathroom and other renovations to your home, you’ll want to scrap the copper metal. You’ll need to know a few things in order to scrap the copper metal.
Copper metals come in a variety of different types. There are painted copper pipes, and copper pipes with brass fittings still attached. There are copper pipes that are made from 99.99% pure copper. If your copper pipes are old and have contamination then they will be less valuable than newer copper metal pipes. Newer copper metal pipes are typically 99.99% pure.
Why Do We Buy Copper Metal?
Simply put, copper is valuable. Scrap yards such as ours in Jacksonville, Florida will buy copper scrap metal because it is cheaper than refining copper ore out of the ground, and companies that are seeking such metal are looking to purchase it rather than mine it out of the ground.
How Much Can I Get from Scrapping Copper Metal?
That all depends on the amount of copper you are scrapping, and the condition and grade that it is in. Most places will buy scrap metal copper pipes by the pound. Copper is a commodity and the price per pound. The amount that you will be paid for your copper wire and pipe is based on current market rates. Our scrap metal yard fixes the price of copper that we are willing to pay per pound based on its value of it and other market factors. We are a business that buys your scrap metal copper pipes. You must cut off welded, black, or painted tubing and keep this separated.
Grades of Copper Metal Piping
Clean Yellow/Red Brass
This type of copper metal will bring the least amount of money typically per pound. It’s not really copper. You can cut all of the brass fittings off of your copper pipes and those can be scrapped separately. Brass is a different type of metal from copper, but it is found on a lot of copper pipes and tubing.
Red brass or bronze are sometimes used in certain types of fittings and valves. You can get more money if you scrap these separately and have a large quantity of them that isn’t contaminated. This type of metal will appear to be a darker yellow and can appear red in color.
If you leave the brass fittings attached to the copper pipes you will not get paid extra for the copper, it will probably just get lumped and bought together as clean brass.
Scrap Refinery Brass
Refinery brass is a type of brass that has significant copper attached. These could be copper pipes that have some larger brass fittings attached. Refinery brass will typically contain paint, solder, and oxidation. It is allowed in this class. Some scrap yards refer to this as clean brass and will not see this as separate copper and pay you separately for the copper. Some will see this as separate and pay you a higher price simply because it includes the copper content that it does. It really depends on the load and what it is comprised of.
Scrap #2 Copper Pipe and Tube
This type of scrap copper metal is worth more. Scrap yards Jacksonville FL will pay more for this type than the previous types mentioned. Scrap #2 copper metal can be “contaminated” with paint, solder, and oxidation. It shouldn’t be connected to brass, steel, or plastic though. Copper pipes that are in the Scrap #2 category need to be around 96% copper by weight. This percentage is up to the discretion of the scrap yard.
Scrap #1 Copper Pipe and Tube
Scrap #1 copper is essentially clean #2 copper. The word “clean” isn’t meant in the typical sense, in Jacksonville scrapyard language this means that it is not contaminated with any type of solder, paint, or any other types of metal. This type of copper will not have any crud or a lot of discoloration on it. It can be a little bit green from oxidation, but it shouldn’t be excessively green. You will be paid a higher price for this type of copper metal. It is up to the scrap yard to decide if it meets our standard of Scrap #1 copper pipe and tube or if it is Scrap #2 copper. To prepare #1 copper tubing you must cut off any welded pieces, painted pieces, or black tubing. It must be free of foam, glues, or any other material.
How To Clean and Sort Copper Metal
First, you need to move the contaminated pipes separate from the clean pipes. Clean #1 copper pipes should be separated from scrap #2 copper, using your own judgment. Any copper pipes that have attachments and fittings still attached you should separate out from the other groups. Pre-sorting your scrap metal will help us to assess what you have and you may get a higher price for your scrap metal if you do this. If you do not do this and you have brass within the load, we will typically assess it all as brass unless you spend some time sorting it out.
Before bringing it to the scrap yard in Jacksonville, Florida, you should clean the contaminated copper scrap metal. The pieces with bras attachments should be cut off, the soldered joints have to be cut off, and painted sections should also be removed. If you end up finding steel or iron, you can leave it on. You can use a Sawzall to remove these pieces easily as copper is a soft metal.
Our scrap yard in Jacksonville also accepts other metals for recycling. Learn more about How to Prepare Brass Metal and How to Prepare Aluminum Wire metal for recycling.