Burnt copper wire, explained.

What burnt copper wire is

Burnt wire is copper wire that had its insulation removed by fire instead of stripping. The flames eat the plastic jacket and leave the copper behind — blackened, brittle, and coated in ash. It usually shows up as dark, crumbly wire with a burnt smell, sometimes with bits of melted jacket still stuck to it. (From the copper wire dictionary.)

Why burning kills the grade

Fire changes the metal. Burnt wire comes out brittle and oxidized — it snaps instead of bending, and the surface is corroded rather than clean. The trade specs say it plainly: the #2 grade (ISRI Birch) is written to be free of “wire from burning containing insulation” and brittle burnt wire, and reasonably free of ash. In practice, burnt wire lands in #2 at best — and ashy, brittle lots can grade lower still. The copper is still copper, but the fire took the premium with it. #2 copper wire · insulated copper wire grades

Burning is illegal and dangerous in most places

This part matters more than the grade. Burning wire insulation releases toxic smoke — jackets are plastics and chemicals you don't want in your lungs or your neighborhood's air. Open burning of insulation is illegal in most places — check your local law — and it carries fines, on top of the burn and fire risk of the act itself. It's not worth it — and as the next section shows, it doesn't even pay.

Sell insulated wire as-is, on recovery

Here's the better move: don't strip it, don't burn it — sell it as-is. Insulated copper wire is bought on a recovery basis: the buyer pays for the copper inside the jacket and handles the stripping safely at scale. You skip the labor, skip the smoke, skip the fines — and the wire grades on what it actually is instead of what the fire did to it. Text a photo of the wire as-is and get a straight answer. Should I strip copper wire?

Burnt wire questions, answered.