Copper pipes? Any value

[atlasfever]

Hi folks,

As I'm refurbing my home, there is a lot of copper pipe that i'm removing (terrible previous contractors) as I'm redoing all plumbing from scratch.
So, do you know if my copper piping has any value? I have about 6 large garbage bags full of it. Could I call someone to see if they would be interested in taking it? Is it worth maybe £100 in the end, or perhaps more that would help with finances?
Any feedback appreciated.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Not totally certain but I'd have thought £100 or more. I weighed in a copper immersion heater cylinder and a few big pipes for a back boiler and got around £80 so it's worth doing.

 

[Flyfisher]

Call a local scrapyard and ask them their current price. I think copper scrap is around £3500 per ton at the moment but there are various grades depending on if the pipes are painted or have fittings on them etc.

 

[Feltwell]

Definitely weigh it in at your local scrap metal dealer. That's exactly what plumbers do with any copper they take out - it gets treated as a nice tax-free bonus.

I was quite shocked when I got around £60 for my old hot water cylinder.

 

[philpjuk100]

I would phone the scrapyard first,I took an old hot water cylinder some scrap pipe and fittings and a boiler to my local scrappy a couple of weeks ago after having a new boiler fitted,they would not accept it because they say I need a licence! It will end up with the hardcore in my next bit of concrete sorry! used a bad word!

 

[DJH]

If you take the time to saw, cut or even bend and twist the solder fitting off and then bag them separately you should get more money for the 'clean' copper...

Doug

 

[middi]

If you know where is the nearest travellers site, go there and ask, they know the exact price for lead and copper :wink:

Middi

 

[Zebra]

I always take scrap to my local yard. You don't need a licence, but due to metal theft they do take down your address and vehicle registration number and keep them on file. In some scrap yards they no longer pay in cash (mine do) but will only write a cheque. I'm guessing that six binbags full of copper pipe would be worth going for.

 

[MatthewC]

I would phone the scrapyard first,I took an old hot water cylinder some scrap pipe and fittings and a boiler to my local scrappy a couple of weeks ago after having a new boiler fitted,they would not accept it because they say I need a licence! It will end up with the hardcore in my next bit of concrete sorry! used a bad word!

Sorry, that just isn't right. What sort of licence do they think you need? If it's your own you don't even need the licence to transport scrap by road. Like many others on here I have taken all sorts of scrap to yards and there has never been a problem - if anything that has always concerned me as they never ask for ID or where I got it from, but hopefully this has changed.

I suggest you try again with another yard - call them and see what they say. And as Doug says, you get a better price if you separate the types of copper/brass/contaminated etc

 

[angrybird]

I had £340 for my old copper pipe and £64 for old electric cable, better in my pocket than in the gypsies

 

[philpjuk100]

I would phone the scrapyard first,I took an old hot water cylinder some scrap pipe and fittings and a boiler to my local scrappy a couple of weeks ago after having a new boiler fitted,they would not accept it because they say I need a licence! It will end up with the hardcore in my next bit of concrete sorry! used a bad word!

Sorry, that just isn't right. What sort of licence do they think you need? If it's your own you don't even need the licence to transport scrap by road. Like many others on here I have taken all sorts of scrap to yards and there has never been a problem - if anything that has always concerned me as they never ask for ID or where I got it from, but hopefully this has changed.

I suggest you try again with another yard - call them and see what they say. And as Doug says, you get a better price if you separate the types of copper/brass/contaminated etc

I know it is not right (I looked it up on the net after returning home) but the lad at the yard was not going to give me any money without a licence from the council,he was also not pleased with me taking my copper away with me,I told him it was mine and I had proof of my identity and my car was in view but still no cash! I saw in this weeks local paper that this yard has been prosecuted for having bronze plaques from the war memorial and someone elses railings on site so they were not always so fussy! all the copper flatened and in with the hardcore awaiting lower river levels and better weather before I order the concrete for a slipway!

 

[Flyfisher]

I can understand not wishing to simply give the copper to that dodgy-sounding scrapyard, but is it not possible to take it to another one? It does seem a waste to simply bury it.

 

[wobs]

As others have said, you don't need a waste carriers license to take your own waste to a scrap yard.

The grade of copper varies more than other metals, owing its value (which varies of course), but we've got between £1 to 3.50 per kg. A better grade would probably get more.

Top grade would be shiny clean, down to painted pipes with fittings at the other. With about 4 or 5 grades in between. Ensure its squashed down as much as possible, and as clean as possible with all fittings removed.

Scrap yards can get a bit twitchy about taking any scrap, but its worth phoning up before hand.