Copper Recovery Rates by Cable Type: The Master Table
How much copper is actually inside each kind of cable — a sourced, conservative table you can trust, plus a calculator to run your own weights and prices against it.
Know what scrap is worth before you buy it
Free calculators and field-tested guides for metal scrappers. Copper yield from any cable, strip-or-sell math, and lot deal analysis — with your local yard prices, right in your browser.
Calculators
Run the numbers
Enter your local prices once — the tools remember them. Works in pounds and kilograms.
Copper Wire Yield
Pick a cable type (or enter a custom recovery %), add weight and your local prices — get the copper value stripped vs sold insulated.
Strip or Sell?
Compares stripped vs insulated payout including your time and labor — tells you when stripping actually pays.
Deal Analyzer ★
Weigh a lot, estimate its composition, enter the asking price — get estimated value, margin, and your break-even price.
Motor Value
Estimate copper content and scrap value of electric motors by weight and size class.
Appliance Value
Water heater, washer, AC, microwave and more — what each appliance pays broken down or whole.
Board & Component Value
Circuit board grades and component lots (CPUs, RAM, gold fingers) priced per pound — conservative defaults.
Start here
From first magnet test to first payout
Three guide tracks that cover most of what beginners ask.
Getting Started
What pays, where to find scrap legally, and what your first yard trip looks like.
Precious Metals & Microscrapping
The gold, silver, and palladium hiding in e-waste everyone else shreds.
Latest guides
Fresh guides, recovery-rate tables, and worth-it breakdowns.
Your First Trip to the Scrap Yard: What to Expect, Step by Step
The scale, the bins, the ID check, the payout — a walkthrough of exactly what happens on your first yard visit, so you show up prepared instead of intimidated.
Is a Water Heater Worth Scrapping?
Short answer: yes, but not for much unless you break it down — and never with water still in it. Here's what's inside, what it pays, and how to run your own numbers.
Microscrapping 101: Making Money From Components Everyone Else Shreds
The gold, silver, and palladium in e-waste is real — but the money is in harvesting and selling smart, not dangerous backyard chemistry. Here's the honest introduction.
Found a scrap lot for sale?
Weight, composition, asking price — the Deal Analyzer tells you the margin and your break-even offer.