Copper, Brass & Bronze Scrap We Buy
Manufacturers, fabricators, and demolition and construction contractors generate copper, brass, and bronze as solids, turnings, and wire, plus motors, radiators, and other copper-bearing items. We buy copper and all of its alloys. Tell us the grade if you know it, or tell us it's mixed. Our minimum is generally 1,000–3,000 lb per load, depending on grade.
Copper, brass, and bronze we buy
#1 vs. #2 copper: For copper, the difference between #1 and #2 is that #2 normally has a plating or contamination in the form of nickel, silver, tin, solder, etc.
We buy these metals and their alloys. Open a section for the full list.
Copper
Bare bright, #1 and #2 copper, bus bar, pipe, foil, coil, turnings, and insulated copper wire.
Copper scrap we buy (full list)
- Copper Bare Bright
- Copper Bare Bright Wire
- 110 Cu Bus Bar (C110, C11000)
- 110 Cu Clip (C110, C11000)
- #1 Copper Clip
- #1 Copper Pipe
- #1 Copper Wire - Bare
- #2 Copper Clip
- #2 Copper Pipe
- #2 Copper Wire - Bare
- Copper # 1 Wire
- Insulated Copper Wire #1 – Also known as ICW #1 (MCM, High Voltage, Machine Wire, Romex, THHN)
- Insulated Copper Wire #2 – Also known as ICW #2 (MCM, High Voltage, Machine Wire, Romex, THHN, Armored Cable, Communication, Cat 5, Welding Cable, Steel BX, Aluminum BX, Heliax, Harness Wire, Computer Cables, Data Cables, )
- Copper Foil
- Copper Coil
- Copper Turnings
- Copper Radiators - Clean
- Light copper (sheet, flashing, and gutter copper from construction, demolition, and building-renovation jobs)
- Copper welding tips and electrodes (chrome copper, C18200)
- Lead-covered copper cable
- Beryllium copper (solids only)
Brass & bronze
Yellow, red and specialty brasses, bronzes, copper nickel, and nickel silver.
Brass and bronze scrap we buy (full list)
- Naval Brass
- Yellow Brass
- Cartridge Brass
- Semi Red Brass
- Red Brass (C230, C23000, C23030, C23400)
- Silicon Red Brass (C694, C69400)
- Machine Brass
- Hard Brass
- Leaded Brass
- Leaded Red Brass (C320, C32000)
- Tin Brass
- Commercial Bronze (C220, C22000)
- Silicon Bronze
- Phosphor Bronze
- Bronze Bushings
- Admiral Brass
- Aluminum Bronze
- Aluminum Silicon Bronze
- Copper Nickel
- Cooper Nickel
- Nickel Silver (C735, C73500, C743, C745, Nickel Silver 65-10, Nickel Silver 65-18, Nickel Silver 65-15, Nickel Silver 65-12, Nickel Silver 55-18)
- Leaded Nickel Silver
- CuNi Tubes (70/30 CuNi, 90/10 CuNi)
- Brass Meters
- Brass Water Meters
- EDM Wire
- EDM Chops
- Manganese bronze
- 360 brass (free-cutting brass) rod and rod ends
- Muntz metal (C280)
- Bearing bronze (C932)
Copper-bearing items
Motors, transformers, radiators, heat exchangers, and other items that carry copper. Our minimum for copper-bearing items is generally 1,000–3,000 lb per load, the same as copper.
Copper-bearing items we buy (full list)
- Aluminum Copper Radiators (ACR)
- Large Copper Transformers
- Small Copper Transformers
- Alternators
- Aluminum Nosed Starters
- Fe Nosed Starters
- Electric Motors – Cu (Large, Medium, Small, Meatballs and Micro)
- Traction Motors
- Generators
- Sealed Units (refrigerant must be properly recovered before delivery)
- Copper Radiators w/FE
- Copper Heat Exchangers
Forms we buy
All copper, brass and bronze come as solids or turnings:
- Solids: sheet, plate, clip, bar, rod, tube, wire, punchings, and assemblies
- Turnings: turnings, borings, and chips
Prepared copper, brass, and bronze solids are under 4 ft in length, width, and height, under 2,000 lb per piece, and clean. See prepared or unprepared.
We don't buy metal in dust form.
Our don't-buy list applies to copper-bearing items too, including items containing CFCs/Freon, PCBs (50 ppm or more), or mercury, and antifreeze or oil. See what we don't buy.
How to describe your material
The more you tell us, the faster we can quote:
- Grade: bare bright, #1 or #2 copper, or the brass or bronze alloy if you know it (for example, C110, C230, or C694). "Unknown" or "mixed" is a fine answer.
- Plating or solder on copper, since it decides #1 vs. #2.
- Wire: bare or insulated. For insulated copper wire, the type helps (for example, MCM, THHN, machine wire, armored cable, or data cables).
- Copper-bearing items: what they are, roughly how big (for example, large, medium, or small electric motors), and whether iron is attached, as with copper radiators w/FE.
- Form: solids or turnings. Beryllium copper is solids only.
- Prepared or unprepared (solids), using our standard.
- Oil or coolant on turnings.
Keep it separate to protect its value
- Keep #1 copper apart from #2 copper, and bare bright apart from both.
- Keep insulated copper wire apart from bare copper, and ICW #1 apart from ICW #2.
- Keep brass and bronze grades apart where you can, for example yellow brass apart from red brass.
- Keep copper-bearing items (motors, transformers, radiators) apart from clean copper.
- Keep beryllium copper apart from other copper alloys.
Frequently asked questions
Do you buy insulated copper wire?
Yes, as ICW #1 and ICW #2, from MCM and THHN to communication, data, and welding cable. Tell us the type and email photos to sales@arrmetals.com.
Do you buy electric motors?
Yes. Electric motors (large, medium, small, meatballs, and micro), traction motors, and generators are on our copper-bearing list. Oil stays on our don't-buy list.
Do you buy beryllium copper?
Yes, solids only.
Do you buy EDM wire?
Yes. EDM wire and EDM chops are on our brass and bronze list.
Have copper, brass, or bronze to sell? Get a quote.
Tell us the grade, the approximate weight, and where it is. Photos help us quote faster.
Alloy and product names on this page may be trademarks of their respective owners and are used only to identify the scrap we buy. Arrow Metals (a division of Arrow Industrial Inc.) is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of these companies.