Should I Strip Copper Wire?
The decision guide: recovery table, the one-pound test, and when stripping pays.
VIEW PAGE →INTERACTIVE TOOL • RECOVERY RANGES • STRIP-OR-SELL DECISION • 8 MIN READ • UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
WIRE STRIPPING CALCULATOR
I am Sonny, and I learned wire recovery the same way you will: with a scale, a pile of Romex, and a lot of questions. This page does the math for you. Pick your wire type, enter the pounds, and get an honest copper range — then decide whether stripping is worth your time.
6 Wire TypesLow–High Ranges100-Lb ChartTime-vs-Value Test
THE SHORT VERSION
TL;DR
Last updated: October 2026
- A calculator beats a guess. Enter your wire type and pounds above to get a low–high copper range — in pounds, never prices.
- The ranges are honest. Heavy insulated wire recovers 70–85% of its weight as copper, Romex runs 60–65%, medium wire 50–55%, light wire and cords 30–40%, and Christmas lights stay under 20%.
- Stripping is a time question. Hand-stripping small wire yields a few pounds of copper per hour, while heavy cable strips fast and pays for the hours.
- The one-pound test settles every argument. Strip one pound, weigh the copper, and scale the math up to your whole pile.
- Burning insulation is off the table. It is illegal in most places, the fumes are toxic, and burnt copper gets graded down.
- Ironcrest buys every wire type on this page, stripped or insulated. Call or text Sonny at 312-880-8174 when you know your copper weight.
THE TOOL
How much copper is in your wire?
Pick the wire type closest to your pile and enter the insulated weight in pounds. The calculator multiplies it by an honest low–high recovery range and shows every step of the math, so you can check it yourself. The output is pounds of copper — the phone call gives you today's number for it.
Recovery ranges are honest estimates from real-world stripping. Jacket thickness varies by brand and year, so treat this as a planning number — the one-pound test below gives you the exact figure for your pile.
THE CHART
Copper recovery by wire type.
The evergreen reference. THHN is the insulated building wire electricians pull through conduit. DLO is diesel locomotive cable — the thick stranded cable you see on welders and generators. Romex (NM-B) is the flat-sheathed cable inside your walls. For the deeper grading system behind these numbers, see the copper wire grades guide and insulated copper wire grades.
| Wire type | Recovery range | 100 lbs of this → |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy insulated wire (large THHN, DLO) | 70–85% | 70–85 lbs copper |
| Romex / NM-B | 60–65% | 60–65 lbs copper |
| Medium insulated wire | 50–55% | 50–55 lbs copper |
| Light wire and cords | 30–40% | 30–40 lbs copper |
| Christmas lights | Under 20% | Under 20 lbs copper |
| Bare bright copper wire | 99%+ | 99–100 lbs copper |
Recovery is the share of the insulated weight that is copper. These are honest ranges from real-world stripping, not lab numbers. Learn to recognize each grade with the copper identification guide.
STRIP OR SELL
The time question, not the price question
- Hand-stripping small wire is slow. Expect a few pounds of recovered copper per hour when you work thin wire by hand — the jacket fights you on every inch.
- Heavy cable is a different job. Thick copper under one jacket strips fast, and this is where your hours earn the most copper per minute.
- A cheap manual stripper changes the math. A tabletop crank stripper turns a weekend job into an evening job once you have steady heavy wire.
- Sell the small stuff as-is. Cords, Christmas lights, and thin mixed wire almost never repay the stripping time — and Ironcrest buys it insulated.
- Sort before you strip. One blade setting per wire size, and strip the heaviest wire first.
- When you are unsure, weigh the pile first. Fifty pounds of light wire holds maybe 15–20 pounds of copper, while fifty pounds of heavy cable holds 35–40.
THE ONE-POUND TEST
Your exact recovery rate in ten minutes
Weigh one pound of your insulated wire. Strip it completely. Weigh the copper that comes out. That ratio is your pile's true recovery rate — multiply it by your total pounds and you know exactly what you are holding. No guessing, no generic chart.
- WEIGH — One pound of the insulated wire, on a kitchen or postal scale.
- STRIP — Strip it the way you would strip the whole pile.
- SCALE — Copper weight ÷ insulated weight = your rate. Multiply by the pile.
SAFETY
Never burn the insulation.
Stripping is a mechanical job, full stop. Burning insulation to get the copper is illegal in most places, the fumes are toxic to breathe, and burnt copper comes out oxidized and discolored — buyers grade it down or turn it away. Score it, peel it, feed it through a stripper, or sell the wire insulated as-is. Those are your options, and all of them are legal. Read why burnt copper wire is the grade nobody wants.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Wire stripping calculator FAQ.
How much copper is in 100 pounds of insulated wire?
It depends on the wire type. Heavy insulated wire like large THHN and DLO yields 70 to 85 pounds, Romex yields 60 to 65, medium insulated wire yields 50 to 55, light wire and cords yield 30 to 40, and Christmas lights stay under 20. For your exact pile, strip one pound and weigh the copper — that is your true recovery rate.
Should I strip my wire before selling it?
Strip heavy wire and sell light wire as-is. Thick cable like feeders, DLO, and large THHN has so much copper under the jacket that a tabletop stripper pays for itself fast. Thin wire, cords, and Christmas lights take so long to strip that the hours beat the copper. When in doubt, run the one-pound test and the time math on this page.
What is the fastest way to find my exact recovery rate?
The one-pound test. Weigh one pound of your insulated wire, strip it completely, and weigh the copper that comes out. That ratio is your exact recovery rate for the whole pile — multiply it by your total pounds and you have your answer.
Do I need to strip bare bright wire?
There is nothing to strip. Bare bright wire is already stripped, uncoated copper — 99 percent or better — so it goes straight to the top grade. Put your stripping time into the insulated piles instead.
Why does this page not show prices?
Copper prices move every day, so any per-pound number printed here would be wrong tomorrow. This calculator works in pounds on purpose. When you know your copper weight, call or text Sonny at 312-880-8174 for today's number on it.
WHY I WROTE THIS
A note from Sonny.
I built this calculator because I wish someone had handed it to me on my first pile of wire. I was guessing at recovery rates, stripping stuff that was not worth the hours, and leaving money on the table without knowing it. The scale does not lie: weigh it, strip one pound, and the math tells you everything.
I buy every wire type on this page — stripped or insulated, by the bucket or by the truckload. When you know your copper weight, you know my number: 312-880-8174. Call or text and I will give you today's number on it.
Suggested next read: How to Strip Copper Wire Fast — the right method for your volume.