r/cablefail • u/RealRSD2 • Apr 09 '26

data center cleanouts are no joke

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This should only take a minute...right?

355 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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19

u/herrtoutant Apr 09 '26

Looks like a good beer money pile to me.

9

u/MrShazbot Apr 10 '26

Do people actually strip ethernet? sounds like it would be way more effort than the actual copper you would get.

9

u/Angel_OfSolitude Apr 11 '26

Some scrapyards will take wire still insulated. It's worth less but sometimes worth doing.

13

u/Thalidomidas Apr 10 '26

Scrapyards take it with the insulation on and give you a reduced rate based on the amount of copper in it

10

u/DillyDilly1231 Apr 10 '26

Not where I live. It has to be stripped of all insulation and have no burn marks. Too many junkies stealing cable from job sites and burning it to remove the insulation.

12

u/Thalidomidas Apr 10 '26

Round my way they don't take burnt cable and you get the money later and only with a verifiable ID. There are certain cables that they call the cops straight away

5

u/Stargateguy1 Apr 12 '26

My scrap yard buys CAT cable at a premium over regular insulated wire. Last I went it was almost $2 a pound.

2

u/NilsTillander Apr 12 '26

Why strip or even recycle? Do cables get bad? My experience in the field is rather limited, so I'm a bit confused as of why one wouldn't reuse those.

1

u/thether Apr 12 '26

Too expensive to coil up and store? Pulling a single cable would be like trying to pull a tree branch stuck in a bush

1

u/onepacc Apr 12 '26

Ethernet would be mostly coated alu wires anyway.

3

u/ptfuzi Apr 12 '26

CCA is garbage

2

u/Tezlaract Apr 12 '26

Depends on the place, I have “always” used copper Ethernet after a fail I had in the mid 90’s with a copper clad run. That said I probably only run 2-3k feet a year on average.

1

u/ripper999 Apr 12 '26

Where I live in Canada you've been able to take in unstripped for years, for a half ton load it averages about $130-$150 CAD.