Hey Truckie, I gots a question fer ya. Maybe you can give me a little insight. I was going to send ya a PM but it was a bit longwinded for the PM message system to handle . Copy and Pasted directly from there. While this was originally for Tuckie, the rest of you feller's comments are welcome too. ---------------------------------------- I had an issue come up at my recent scrap yard visit that I have yet been able to resolve. Since you work at a scrap yard I figured you might be able to shed a little light on the subject. I have been collecting copper wire for several years now. If I come across some wire, I'll ask if I can have it and if the answer is "yes" then I will add it to my pile. I will then strip it by hand, at my convenience, and add it to my 30 gallon barrel. When the barrel is full, I turn it in to the yard. Understand now, that in my wire collecting I am an opportunist; meaning if an opportunity presents itself, I am there to sop up the benefits if I am given permission. I'm picky about what I will take though. Ease of stripping is the main thing. If its a big fat wire with a bunch of little wires, that are also insulated, then I'm likely to turn it down. A big fat wire where I can make one cut and be done is the gravy I seek. This is by no means a major source of income for me...more like a little stash that I can turn in on a rainy day. I'll make around $250 per barrel and I might turn in 2 barrels per year.....see, I don't do this for a living. Now comes the problem.... A couple weeks ago a good friend of mine, who is a welder by trade, had a dozer run over one of his welding leads....effectively cutting it into 3 pieces. Knowing that I collect "easy to strip" copper, he asked me if I wanted it. I told him I would take it and added it to my pile. Well, an air compressor came up for sale at the local hardware store and it was time to turn in my can. I stripped the whole pile within a couple days, stuck it in the can and headed to the scrap yard. When I get there, the guy asked me to put the can on the scale. I obliged and thought I was about to be on my way.......WRONG. The guy said that they didn't take welding lead. When I inquired as to why, I was told "WE JUST DON'T". So I said that I would remove the 3 pieces of lead and turn in the rest of the can. He then told me that everything in the can was welding lead and that they wouldn't take any of it. Now the other wire in the can was stranded wire and looked just like welding lead EXCEPT it was about HALF the size. I explained over and over that I had no problem removing the welding lead but the other wire was not WELDING LEAD. It was actually the main power supply from a huge pond pump that the dairy farmer down the road had given to me. Now I kinda got the feeling that they didn't take welding lead because they had problems with it being stolen. I gathered that from the feeling I got from the guys telling me that. All 5 of them.....yes that was 5 of them.....were now eyeballing me like I had just slapped their mother. To be honest, it got my blood pressure up a little. Not because of the welding lead itself but the fact that they considered everything in the can welding lead, when it wasn't. I kept my cool though and asked to speak with their supervisor. They pointed me in his direction and I proceeded to ask about the policy in question. I was then told "We don't take welding lead....AND THATS JUST THE WAY IT IS". I kindly told all of them I would take my business elsewhere. Walking away to the truck, I felt like I had just been interogated under one of them bright lights. I did everything legally, morally and ethically right but I was made to feel like a criminal. This was definately the feeling I was getting for them guys. Now my question: Could that be the reason why they don't take welding lead....because it might be stolen? Or is there some other logical reason I might of missed. Either way, the way they handled the situation caused me to head down the road, where I turned in my can at another yard, with no incident....to which I recieved a kind "Thank You....Come Again!". When I asked the other yard about the welding lead policy, I was told "I've never heard of anything like that". This was from a yard not even 2 miles from the other one. I'm just in search of an answer that nobody seems to know.....:beatsme FWIW, this incident holds no weight on my impression of the recycling industry.
It's not like you were trying to cheat them or anything. Wonder why they reacted that way??? Truckie?
Threadjacker here...Sounds like a "lack of grey matter between the ears".
C B I never herd such a thing. These boys must have more money than they know what to do with if they can afford to turn down material and anger customers and loose them. I know our yard accepts welding cable . I don’t know why they would have done this. I don’t know of anything different in welding cable. I will ask around and try to find a answer for you. I’m stumped on this one.:beatsme I don’t deal in the non ferrous division. My main job is dismantling building and equipment , and processing it. But like I said I will ask and find a answer for you. Mike
http://www.isri.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=13504&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-copper2407aug24,0,5134992.story http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2004/05/25/public_records/index.shtml The last para http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=624004 http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=7&id=13989 The news is full of it.
Here is the big one: http://www.cellular-news.com/story/24928.php Google for "copper cables scrapmetal"
Thanks Truckie :drinkup but I think Squizzy might've found the answer: I'm kinda suprised they handled it the way they did too. All I needed was an explaination and I would've been on my way. I refuse to be treated like a criminal though, when I legally obtain a certain type of metal that happens to be stolen often. I have been using them for 7 years now and have never had problems up until then. All that means nothing now with the way they treated me. I will say again that I see this as an isolated incident and it doesn't affect my view of the service this industry provides our country. :usa Macon Iron was the yard that I was using. Be aware, if you live in the area and want to turn in welding lead, you WILL NOT recieve a warm welcome. Take your goods down the road to get the service you deserve. Thanks for finding that Squizzy :drinkup . I never would of thought it would be something that big, that you could search for it and find so many instances. I just thought it was an isolated incident. :lmao
THey might have been suspicious because as you ahve already found out, its a highly stolen item. the junk yard could and SHOULD have explained it to you , handled it differently. Aroun dhere any time you bring in copper they write down your name address license plate, and license number for any amount of copper. MANY new home constructions are gettins spools of wire yanked, wire ripped from walls etc etc. Anothe r big deal lately is generators w/220 calbes running off of them they take the cables, and then burn the insulation off. Seems simpler to get a job but lots of copper getting sotlen around here but as I said around here theyll take it, but license nubmer name etc written down, and if a vheicle gets spotted stealing it and it resembles your car or lience nubmer your in deep trouble.
Truckie, you da man. You got all da answers. As always, thanks for the great information to all.
Some more info for you C B. I was talking to my yard boss today and explained this to me. Yes in your area and others there is a high theft rate. Me and the boss also said about the same time if you have been going there for the last 7 years they should know you by now and know you are not stealing this material. This is very poor customer relations. Also just who do they think they are and grouping everyone as a thief ? This just makes my blood boil> Also welding cable is bought a #2 copper due to the fact it is so fine and so many strands and wind like a rope. Hope this helps everyone out. Thanks Wolf. Mike
traffic lights we are having terrible problems with the theft of the leads that control the tempoary traffic lights at roadworks,we have had 6 reels stolen in the city of london in one week ,the cable is 6 strand copper and each reel is 150-180 metres in length,it caused one accident(no injuries)the shopkeeper on the corner said a car pulled up they casualy got out snipped the ends at the light head wound up the reels popped them in the boot and drove off we could no get a radio controled set for over a week as they are in big demand so we just replaced the reels and done the best we could to make it had to steal,but it did not stop them a picture of the job cheers graham
Thanks for the info Truckie. :drinkup Yeah, its only been about twice a year for 7 years but if they had taken it and printed me a ticket, they would've seen how long I've been going there. Being called a thief is one of those things that has happened very rarely in my lifetime, and that was by people who just don't know any better. I take being called that very seriously and consider it a slap in the face when it happens.
Countryboy: Yes, it is a terrible thing to be called a theif, and a real slap in the face. That guy was a jerk, to put in mildly, and he made a mistake. But you should remember, this is about him, not about you . You would be very kind to yourself, and would be doing yourself and your health, a big favor by just letting go of it. I don't mean to preach or give you advice, just the perspective of a disinterested third party. Remember, it's him, not you. You shouldn't have to pay the price, man. So, live and let live. You deserve to take yourself out for a treat, man. You've earned it. (And you taught us all something with your questions in the posts. So thanks for that, man.)
You Stole me Drill!!!! ointhead
Ummm....didn't he put it back eventaully? Therefore, he just borrowed it...
Thats besides the point...the damage was already done
CB...I tried, but there's just no reasoning with this guy...
I rest my case.....:bouncegri Preciate the help EG....but sometimes you just gotta drill it into their heads. :drinkup
I got $2.67 for that there drill at the scrap yard ......hardly worth the trip. :laugh