Where to Find Copper Scrap: What to Strip, What to Sell As-Is.

That question — asked word-for-word in the scrapping world’s most-upvoted threads, with thousands of votes and hundreds of comments — is the whole game. Stripping turns insulated wire into higher-grade copper, but it costs hours. The community’s answer is a formula every scrapper should know:

(stripped value − unstripped value) ÷ hours of stripping = your labor rate per hour.

If that hourly number beats what your time is worth, strip. If it does not, sell it as-is and move on. One commenter’s real-world result: about $1,000 stripped versus about $700 unstripped on the same pile — worth it only if you are fast at stripping. Keep that formula. It settles every argument below.

• Thicker than your finger? Strip it. Heavy cable rewards stripping; thin wire punishes it.
• Strip #8 and #6 AWG and up. Below that, hand-stripping rarely pays for the hours.
• 250 MCM and up is the machine zone. Thick feeder cable is firmly strip-it territory.
• 14 AWG Romex by hand is slave wages. The community’s verdict on thin branch wire, confirmed by stripping calculators: a few dollars an hour.
• Insulated wire brings a fraction of bare bright. Expect roughly half to two-thirds of what the same copper brings stripped — which is exactly why the thick stuff is worth the effort and the thin stuff is not.
• Motors usually win sold as motors. Breaking a motor down can drop the steel from whole-motor price to shred price and gain you almost nothing.
• Watch for aluminum windings. Dryers and newer microwave transformers sometimes hide aluminum where you expected copper. Cut ends tell the truth: copper is copper-colored all the way through.

The classic scrapper’s prize. Small electric motors — in fans, pumps, power tools, and appliances — hold copper windings around a steel stator. They are worth picking up, and the usual winning move is selling them as motors: whole motors have their own grade, and tearing one down for the copper often nets little once the steel drops to shred price.

Where to look: ceiling fans, furnace blowers, washing machines, power tools, garage door openers, and anything that hums. Heavier is generally better — a big old motor beats a tiny new one.

The microwave oven transformer — the MOT — is the most famous small transformer in scrapping. It holds a real chunk of copper or aluminum windings around a heavy steel core. Two checks before you celebrate: confirm the windings are copper (cut ends don’t lie), and respect the capacitor next to it — more on that in the safety section.

Bigger power transformers are a different game: photograph the nameplate (kVA, voltage, oil-filled or dry) before anything is cut. Some units are worth more as equipment than as scrap, and a photo decides that in minutes.

Sealed compressor motors in refrigerators and window AC units hold copper windings — the community reports roughly 1 to 2 pounds of copper in a typical compressor plus another 1.5 to 2.5 pounds in the coils of a window unit, though it varies by size and age. Condenser and evaporator coils are copper tube on aluminum fin — valuable, but keep them clean and unmixed.

Two hard rules: never vent refrigerant to the atmosphere — federal law requires recovery — and treat compressor oil as hazardous waste, not drain water. The copper is real; the shortcuts are not worth it.

Alternators and starters are copper-rich and grade on their own with buyers — sell them whole and named, not smashed. Wiring harnesses are a volume game: one car’s harness is light, but a pile of them is real insulated copper. Pull them when the car is already apart; do not tear a good parts car down just for wire.

What is inside the common ones:

• Dishwashers and dryers — small motors, wiring, and sometimes heating elements. Check dryer motors for aluminum windings.
• Ceiling fans — a motor plus downrod wiring. Light, but free if you are already removing it.
• Fluorescent ballasts — older magnetic ballasts hold copper windings; newer electronic ones do not. And older ballasts can contain PCBs — know what you are handling.
• Water heaters — mostly steel, with copper and brass fittings worth pulling.

The pattern: motors and windings are the prize, steel is the packaging. Pull the prize, sell the packaging as what it is.

Copper hunting has real hazards. Respect them:

• Microwave capacitors hold a lethal charge. The high-voltage capacitor in a microwave can hold around 2,000 volts after unplugging — a documented fatal hazard. If you do not know how to discharge one safely, do not open a microwave.
• Refrigerant stays in the system. Venting it is illegal under federal law and terrible for the atmosphere. Recovery equipment or a certified tech only.
• Compressor oil is hazardous waste. Drain it into a container, not onto the ground.
• Never burn insulation off wire. It is illegal in many places, it is toxic, and burnt wire gets downgraded by buyers — the opposite of what you wanted.
• Grinder safety on sealed cases. Cutting open compressors and sealed units throws sparks and sharp steel. Face shield, gloves, ventilation.

Finding it is half the job. Getting paid fairly is the other half:

1. Sort it. Bare bright, #1, #2, insulated, motors, transformers — separate piles, separate value.
2. Photograph it. Sorted piles with something for scale, close-ups of cut ends, nameplates on transformers and motors.
3. Sell to a real buyer. Ironcrest buys copper wire, motors, transformers, and mixed copper-bearing material from sellers in every state — send photos with your location for today’s price. See how Ironcrest buys copper →

How much copper is in a microwave?

Less than the videos suggest — the prize is the microwave oven transformer (MOT), which holds a modest amount of copper or aluminum windings around a heavy steel core. Always confirm the windings are copper by checking cut ends, and respect the high-voltage capacitor, which can hold a lethal charge after unplugging.

Are small electric motors worth scrapping?

Yes — small motors are one of the most reliable copper finds in household scrap. The usual winning move is selling them whole as motors rather than tearing them down: breaking a motor apart can drop the steel to shred price and gain almost nothing for the effort.

Should I strip copper wire or sell it insulated?

Use the formula: (stripped value − unstripped value) ÷ hours of stripping = your labor rate per hour. As a rule of thumb, strip wire #8 AWG and thicker; thin wire like 14 AWG Romex rarely pays for hand-stripping time. Thick feeder cable (250 MCM and up) is firmly strip-it territory.

How much copper is in a refrigerator compressor?

Community teardowns report roughly 1 to 2 pounds of copper windings in a typical sealed compressor, varying with size and age. Never vent the refrigerant and treat the compressor oil as hazardous waste — the copper is real but the shortcuts are illegal.

Is it worth stripping a microwave transformer?

Sometimes. Check whether the windings are copper or aluminum first — newer units increasingly use aluminum. If it is copper and you can process it efficiently, it is worth it; if it is aluminum, sell it as what it is.

How do I tell copper windings from aluminum windings?

Weight is the first clue — copper is far denser. Then check a cut end: copper is copper-colored all the way through, aluminum is silver. A magnet does not help here since neither metal is magnetic. When in doubt, cut a small sample before committing hours.

Who buys stripped copper, motors, and transformers?

Ironcrest Industrial Surplus buys copper wire in every grade, electric motors, transformers, and copper-bearing material from sellers nationwide. Send photos of sorted material with your location for today’s price — no load too small to ask about.