Power Cord Cutters
 

I was talking to zenithfan1 (Mark) yesterday night telling him about this early B/W Admiral combo that i picked up for him during my cities annual spring cleanup. I told him that the chassis seemed complete, but the power cord was cut. Power cord cutting seems to be the newest trend in my area. If you find any electronics thrown away with a power cord still intact its a plus! This act has been happening in my area the last couple of years. It makes me furious!

The cords can become brittle and shed their insulation, or the unit couls have displayed some pyrotechnics. A cut cord should be an implicit "AS IS" sign and a bargaining chip.

It's only a real shame if an unusual original molded plug was still on the end...which there's no way of knowing once the cord is cut. Other than that it's actually a blessing--assuming the power transformer wasn't fried prior to (and was the reason for) the cutting of the cord.

They are cut and sold for the copper in the cord beleive it or not.

This happens all the time here on bulk trash days -- there are metal scrappers that look out for any electrical appliances left out on the curb, and cut the power cord. From what I heard from one such 'scrapper' I encountered one day, a full large-size trash bag full of electric cords will net about $50 worth of copper. Frankly, it seems like it would take a lot of time and labor to get that fifty bucks, but hey. Anyway, it rather annoys me sometimes, because the "Clipper People" are just as fond of cutting up special hard-to-replace and/or expensive muliti-conductor cables found on various computer and A/V equipment, often rendering such items useless. But, hey, it was thrown out in the *trash*, so it's not like anyone has any more 'claim' to it than anyone else.

The scrap-metal collectors also love to dismantle discarded gas barbecue grills; apparently most of them are made of cast aluminum, which is easy to sell as scrap.

I used to get ticked when the cord would be cut off a TV (or stereo) that I picked up. Many times, a new cord would bring the item back to life. Many people do this to keep someone from getting instant use out of their discarded item. As strange as it is, there's people out there that don't want anyone getting any good out of their garbage.

After the "CRT bashers & yoke snatchers" came along, cord cutting bothered me less. Now, I fell blessed if a cut cord is ALL that has been done!

My neighbor tossed out a microwave oven last week. It was gone in less than an hour. When I scrap out old locks for the brass, I put out the pot metal. They pick up that, too. Some of us must have vast fortunes in copper in our collections.
Kevin

It's scary how much copper will fetch at the scrap dealers. A friend of mine remodeled his house and moved the bathroom and utility room of his house. he cut out the copper water pipe and replaced it with pvc. He gave me the scrap, I sold only 30 pounds for $90 at the scrap yard. I couldn't believe it. I think burned wire sells for 2.70 a pound. Logan

there has been some hooligans around where I live who cut (steal) the copper propane gas lines from hunting cabins to sell for scrap...stupid on so many levels...

I recycle gas barbeque grills myself, and made over 200 dollars recycling profit last year from them. About 27 grills i think. Its a messy job, but its an easy recycling profit.

Seems like a lot of work for $200.

An amazing number of folks have gotten into this. They'll grab anything that isn't tied down, and some of them will just take plain anything. I have always given away my scrap (I generate tons of junk sheetmetal over the course of a year) but have been thinking I should start selling it myself.

I was talking to a fellow a few days ago about the old TV hobby; he mentioned that he is constantly parting out sets for the wire. (but luckily he has only had one tube set come his way) Said he wraps all the wire up in a ball and then sells it. He told me about getting zapped by the HV line on a TV so I brought him inside and showed him how to discharge them. I was also generous enough to give him a bucket of old unidentified yokes. In return, I told him I expect all future tube sets he comes across to be left on my doorstep!

I will also note that I have several buckets full of cheater cords and pigtails, all thanks to sets I junked over the years. I would never throw anything out without saving the good cord.

The grilles a lot of work for $200? I don't know. What would a weeks wages at McDonalds get you? I guess it depends on what you, personally, charge an hour! I have met some hard working, honest scrap haulers, old men who really appreciated what they got. They would really work hard for their money but given the skill set they had it wasn't like they could go play doctor or lawyer.

I worked in the construction field for many years, and I can't recall the number of times I've walked on to jobs sites, only to find new construction homes stripped of copper pipe and wire.

If there's a spike in scrap metal prices, it seems to coincide with a spike in theft of metal supplies as well... Who woulda thunk it?

Then there was the one time (in Greensboro NC) that two thieves who hadn't realized the house they were cannibalizing had been hooked up to temp power that very day... Suprise, surprise! The Police didn't have much trouble finding those guys.

Vacant houses in urban areas, Detroit especially, are being stripped of copper and aluminum, plumbing, wiring, gutters, and all. Because of the damage done by the scroungers, the houses are not worth repairing and are simply torn down. It's beginning to happen in suburban areas too.

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