Tips on how to get more money for your scrap

Copper pipe

Copper is one of the more valuable non-ferrous metals. You would be surprised that a lot of tradesman and public don’t know that with some simple tips and some time can turn their copper into even more money. Scrap copper is split into a number of different grades with each grade having its own value. We want you the customer to get the best possible return.

The most three common grades are clean, heavy and braize. In that order from highest value to lowest. Their maybe a 50p gap per kg from braize to clean. You can turn your braize into more money by simply cutting off all the brass fixtures and putting them to one side. You now have a mixture called heavy copper, which is still 40p a kg more than braize. If you want to take it up a level again if you cut all the soldered fittings off the pipes and remove the pipe work, which is tarnished with paint, you will then be left with a pile of copper pipe classified as clean, which again is worth on average another 10p kg more than heavy copper.

You will now have three piles of scrap metal i.e.

  • Clean Copper
  • Heavy Copper
  • Brass

Spending the time separating your copper will always increase the value of it.

It can be a time consuming process cleaning up your scrap into different grades but all you need is a few sets of pipe slices and a junior hacksaw and an hour or two of spare time and it can be very worthwhile doing so. For more useful tips on how to get more money out of your scrap stay tuned to this page.