No. 2 copper
No. 2 copper is unclean copper — still mostly copper, but carrying solder, paint, light tarnish, oxidation or small attachments. Think soldered tube, painted pipe and oxidised wire. It pays less than clean grades, but it's still valuable and should never be mixed in with rubbish.
QUALIFIES AS
- • Soldered or jointed copper tube
- • Painted or coated copper
- • Oxidised or tarnished copper
- • Light gauge or lightly attached copper
NOT NO. 2 — IT'S LOWER
- • Copper still inside its insulation (cable)
- • Brass and bronze (separate alloy grades)
- • Heavily contaminated or part-iron items
- • Burnt cable
Lift some of it up a grade
A surprising amount of No. 2 copper can be upgraded with a few minutes of work. Cutting soldered joints off otherwise-clean tube can move it to No. 1 copper, and stripping insulated cable yields bright & shiny copper. Whatever's left, keep it sorted and separate so it's still paid as copper, not mixed metal.
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