Buyers & Sellers Of Non-Ferrous & Ferrous Metals
NOTE: If you have questions regarding the various metals listed below, pricing, services, and/or C&C Metals, we are available Monday through Thursday from 7:00 AM to 4:15 PM and Friday's 7:00 Am to 1:00 PM.
Steel
Description
Steel is any material that sticks to a magnet. That is your go-to sign that the material you are handling is steel. Other signs that the material may be steel will be the existence of rust on the surface of the material. More ways in which to determine whether or not the material is steel would be by taking a grinder to the surface of the material and examining whether or not sparks are made. If so, the material is either stainless or steel. If it sticks to a magnet, you are once again back at square one, and it is steel.
#1 Insulated (Over 92% Copper)
Description
Identifying #1 insulated is quite simple. #1 insulated will be a bit heavier than your normal insulated wire. It will be sturdy and contain a single jacket. The copper inside will make up more than 92% of the insulated wire. Furthermore, the copper within the jacket is bare bright. A pure, single-stranded form of copper. Closely resembling the image above. It can not be tin-coated.
#1 Insulated(78-92% Copper)
Description
Spaghetti is a nickname given to THHN wire. It is used by many contractors and electricians in different industries. It can vary from 10 to 14 gauge and can not be tin-coated. THHN wire is a single solid strand of copper wrapped in a single layer of plastic/insulation. In some cases, multiple strands of single solid copper inside a single jacket of insulation can make spaghetti.
#1 Insulated (#1 65-78% Copper)
Description:
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Identifying #1 insulated is also simple. It has a stiff feature to it. It contains two layers of insulation. The copper is bare bright and single-stranded. Most of the time, there will be 2-3 strands of bare bright per jacket. The recovery rate is about 65%-78%. The wire can not be tin-coated.
#2 Insulated Wire (30%-70% Copper)
Description
#2 insulated is smaller than 16 gauge. If you are looking at recovery, the percentages can fluctuate from 30% to 70%. To identify your wire, take a blade, or a grinder, and test the surface of the cord to check whether or not it is tin-coated. If it is tin-coated then automatically you have #2 insulated wire on your hands (most of the time). If you do not have a tin-coating on your wire, then examine either end of the cord. #2 insulated will consist of multiple insulated strands inside a larger jacket. Your cord will be flimsy and loose. Also, removing the ends from your chord will decrease the handling of the wire and increase the price that we will pay for your #2 insulated wire. Examples of #2 insulated include but are not limited to drop cords, outlet cords, and extension cords.
Bare Bright Copper
Description
Bare Bright is easy to identify. It is usually stripped wire that does not have any kind of coating. It should be at least a 22 gauge or larger. It is clean and without any solder residue. MCM, Romex, Spaghetti, and other insulated wires contain bare bright. It is important that your Bare Bright be cleanly separated and without other miscellaneous metals. It is common to strip insulated wiring to recover bare bright when dealing with large amounts. It is best to only consider stripping your wire when the price per pound difference is substantial enough. For example, stripping MCM would yield more than attempting to strip spaghetti wire.
#1 Copper
Description
#1 copper is cleaner than #2 copper. #1 copper has very little oxidation, and it cannot be tin-coated. It consists of clean copper clippings, busbars, and other tubings. It also can not have solder on any areas of the piping. When dealing with a large amount of #2 copper, especially piping, it is always in your best interest to clean (cut) contaminated areas of your copper pipe. Areas with solder for example. By doing this, your #2 copper now becomes #1 and is bought at a better price. A tip when dealing with #1 or #2 copper would be to run a magnet over your fine-stranded copper. If the magnet sticks to any of the metals, it is not copper but actually steel. For customers who sell copper plating, please be sure to remove steel nails from the plating.
#2 Copper
Description
#2 copper shares similar qualities with #1 copper. It is tubing for instance. However, there are differences. #2 copper has solder on its surface. It can have small amounts of brass and other metals such as iron. It is also more brittle than #1 copper. #2 copper may have burnt insulation on its surface and wire ends. It can contain small amounts of oil. #2 copper is very oxidized. Providing a magnet, it is always advised that the #2 copper be checked for any steel wire. It can easily go unnoticed when handling #2 copper. To put it into a numerical form, you could say that when dealing with #2 copper you have about 95% copper and 5% other. Providing a magnet, it is always advised that the #2 copper be checked for any steel wire. It can easily go unnoticed when handling #2 copper.
Red Brass
Description
Red brass is easily recognizable by its pink and red coloration. The reason that this kind of brass has the tint that it does is because of the amount of copper within the brass. Around 85% of the red brass is copper along with a smaller amount of zink. It is because of the high copper content that the amount per pound of red brass is higher than yellow brass. The image above provides a fine comparison between the surface of red brass and the surface of yellow brass to the right. Oftentimes, red brass is used for plumbing. If you are unsure whether you have red brass or yellow brass on your hands, taking a grinder to the surface of the metal. This may allow you to better discern what type of brass you are handling.
Yellow Brass
Description
Yellow brass is not magnetic, and it can be quite shiny and it provides more of a reflection than red brass. Yellow brass is a more durable metal. In terms of what yellow brass is made of, it can range from (60% copper 40% zink) to (70% copper and 30% zink). Furthermore, yellow brass is used for many things. For example, you have appliances, plumbing, and keys. Yellow brass, given the lesser copper content, will hold a lesser amount per pound than red brass.
Irony Brass
Description
Brass is commonly comprised of copper and zink. In addition to these basic elements, varying percentages of iron, aluminum, stainless steel are present. It is these other metals that categorize brass as its irony brass. Some examples of irony brass include faucets and water valves. Irony brass will be bought at a lower price due to the contamination of these other metals.
Auto Rad. Brass
Description
Auto brass radiators are most commonly found in automobiles as well as home heating systems. Two different prices are offered for auto brass radiators. The first (higher) price will be offered to clean auto brass radiator. The second (lower) price will be offered to dirty auto brass radiator. If the auto brass radiator has steel or plastic along its surface or side then it is considered dirty.
Auto Rad. Aluminum
Description
Auto aluminum radiators 90% of the time will be 100% aluminum. The inner tubing will be aluminum as well as the exterior vents / fins. In some instances, the auto aluminum radiators will be contaminated by steel. In the ends, you will have a black plastic bracket where the steel can be found. By detaching these black plastic brackets, you can raise the price per pound of the auto aluminum radiator. Otherwise, the price will be lower.
Copper Rad. (ACR)
Description
Aluminum and copper radiators are found in air conditioning units. They consist of copper tubing with aluminum fins. The copper and aluminum radiators will be considered dirty if it has a steel bracket along either end of the radiator. To maximize pricing, it is recommended to remove the steel ends. They can be bought separately as ACR ends.
Exstruded Aluminum
Description
Aluminum extrusion is a process aluminum undergoes to create the metal you see above. It is pushed through a mold or predestined design setting the aluminum to an exact arrangement. Other times, aluminum that is very thick without any contamination such as steel nails or insulation will be sorted into the extruded aluminum category.
Sheet Aluminum
Description
Sheet aluminum is a short and sweet area of metal to go over. It is a sheet of clean aluminum. It does not contain contaminants such as steel, dirt, and other metals. This sheet aluminum can be extruded or shaped into panelling and other aluminum products.
Cast Aluminum
Description
Cast aluminum is used in many everyday machines. A car for example has a cast aluminum engine block as well as cast aluminum pistons. Transmission cases are also made out of cast aluminum. This is done through processes like permanent mold casting or shell molding. It is also used in households. By cracking aluminum you can detect whether the aluminum is cast by the chalky texture inside. Cast aluminum must also contain no more than 5% of contamination. Examples of contamination include plastic, steel or trash.
Old Sheet Aluminum
Description
Old sheet pertains to thin aluminum sheets. These aluminum sheets (guttering) are rolled through a gutter-forming machine and in most instances immediately attached to establishments or houses. Old sheet also may have slight contamination. Examples of this can be small amounts of plastic, rubber, and iron. If you remove any and all contamination from the old sheet, it will then become either clean sheet or extrusion. Old sheet is not simply guttering. Old sheet can be pots, pans, satellite antennas, BX wire, and door/chair frames.
Irony Aluminum
Description
Irony Aluminum is nicknamed "heavy irony." It is much like cast aluminum. Irony aluminum will contain varying percentages of contamination. These percentages can fluctuate from ten percent to thirty percent. Contamination may be a variety of materials like steel, plastic, and/or wood. However, at least 50 percent of the irony aluminum must be aluminum. Examples of it include blowers, mowers, weed eaters, chainsaws, and automobile engines.
Insulated Aluminum
Description
Insulated aluminum is very similar to MCM in its appearance. It consists of multiple strands of aluminum. The aluminum strands are wrapped in a single jacket. If the aluminum strands are stripped from the single jacket, the insulated aluminum strands can make extruded aluminum on their own. Extruded aluminum pays a higher price per pound than insulated aluminum.
Aluminum Cans
Description
Thirty-two cans are needed to make a pound (on average). Aluminum cans can not have water, glass bottles, or steel cans mixed in with them. It is requested that the cans be inside bags and not loose. It is not required that the cans be smashed or flattened but preferred to be delivered in large quantities.
Stainless Steel
Description
Stainless steel, like the name, has a very polished and shiny surface. It is heavy in weight and heavier than aluminum. It does not bend easily. If you were to scratch the surface of stainless steel (with a rock) and scratch the surface of aluminum with a rock, the aluminum would leave a much heavier indention. If you were to take an electric grinder to the surface of stainless steel, it would spark. Steel sparks too, however, stainless steel is not magnetic. Steel is magnetic. Prices may vary for clean & dirty stainless.
Electric Motors
Description
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Electric motors come in various shapes and sizes. Copper wound motors and motors free from any attachments, electric bring a considerate amount more than scrap steel. If you cannot determine whether the inside of the motor is copper or not you can scratch the surface of the motor (inside). If it is red in coloration it is copper and if it is grey in coloration, it is another metal.
Starters/ Alternators
Description
Starters and alternators are typically bought as electric motors, however, if it is a sufficient quantity there is a premium paid. Starters and alternators will be found within cars, trucks, and other various automobiles and transportation vehicles. The starters and alternators are great sources of copper and are replaced commonly.
Transformers
Description
Transformers that are copper wound are typically paid a premium to electric motors. "open" type transformers are the best type. The reason that the "open" transformers are the best type is that the copper percentages are higher. You can find transformers in an electrical cabinet within most houses.
Aluminum Rims
Description
Aluminum rims are recycled throughout the world. It is required that the aluminum rim be detached from the tire. This is to maximize the amount of money to be made by the customer. C&C also accepts semi-truck rims. It is requested the semi-truck rims be cleaned. This can be done by removing lead weights and valves.
Battery
Description
Almost all lead-acid base batteries are accepted at C&C. We do not accept rechargeable or lithium-ion batteries.. To determine if your battery is lead-acid based, locate the "PB" label. On the periodic table "PB" means lead. Batteries we accept can come from cars, trucks, forklifts, and other transportation vehicles.
Compressor
Description
Compressors are also called "sealed units." These units garner a lot of weight because of the steel casting inside. It is requested that the sealed units be drained of oil. You can find these compressors within refrigerators and air conditioners.
ACR Ends
Description
Aluminum copper radiators will often time have a steel bracket attached to them. When a customer cleans an ACR, they remove the steel bracket along with a small amount of aluminum fin and copper. These removed ends can be sold separately as ACR ends. In addition to removing the steel brackets, it will raise the price of the ACR itself.
Ballast
Description
Ballasts are very commonly used. Ballasts are found in commercial lighting. C&C accepts copper-based ballasts and not electronic-based ballasts. It is requested that the ballasts be removed from the light fixture and free of any wiring.
Lead
Description
Lead can be found at local ranges. It can also be found within aluminum rims as discussed above. Lead can also be used as a counterweight. In terms of the description of lead, it is very heavy and it is very dense. Despite these qualities lead is also very malleable and bendable. It will remind you of clay but stronger.
Carbide
Description
Carbide is one of the more valuable recycled metals. The price per pound of carbide is closely related to the percentage of Tungsten within the metal. Furthermore, due to the expensiveness of carbide, that means that it is important to know where carbide may be found and recycled. Carbide may be found in machine shops. Many employers or employees of varying businesses or organizations may have carbide from items like drill bits. Carbide may also be found at airports however it is very uncommon and unlikely to attain. Carbides' ability to withstand high temperatures, drillability, and hardness, provides plenty of reason for its use for drills, tools, and aircraft parts.
Catalytic Converters
Description
It is required that the catalytic converter be brought to C&C Metals to be priced. To maximize profit/income it is essential that the interior honeycomb is intact and is inside. All factory and aftermarket catalytic converters are accepted. If the vehicle is not to be sold with the catalytic converter it is required that valid ID titles or registration is presented for the vehicles.