Author Topic: Thieves are SCUM! (Read 933 times)

BlckMgk · « **Reply #15 on:** November 30, 2006, 01:45:16 PM »

My guess you should look at the electricians in the area looking for work.

Not the same but similar instance, There was a body repair shop who did work for a dealership in the area and what was happening was people were targeting new cars bought from the delearship stealing their headlights etc. So what would happen is the dealership would refer them to that body shop to get work done and they'd pretty much resale you the parts and the labor for the work.

They eventually got caught but they said they could have done more than 5,000 cars.

-B

cav58d · « **Reply #16 on:** November 30, 2006, 02:26:49 PM »

Call me ignorant, but what is the alure of copper to criminals?????

Vudak · « **Reply #17 on:** November 30, 2006, 02:33:20 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by cav58d
Call me ignorant, but what is the alure of copper to criminals?????

You can pawn it at various places for cash and it's much more "clean" then appliances with serial numbers.

Airscrew · « **Reply #18 on:** November 30, 2006, 02:41:38 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by cav58d
Call me ignorant, but what is the alure of copper to criminals?????

just some info

Where does the recycled copper come from?

There are two types of copper scrap:
Old scrap comes from the public. It is collected from discarded, dismantled or obsolete products at the end of their lives. For example: copper pipes from old buildings, old taps from a bathroom renovation, old hot water cylinders or disused electrical cable.

New scrap comes from factories which make articles from copper, brass or bronze. Their machines will produce offcuts and shavings that can be collected and returned for recycling.

Copper is made with different purities depending on the application. The highest grade copper is electrical grade. It is 99.99% pure and is used for electrical cables because it has the best electrical conductivity. Electrical grade scrap must never be mixed with any of the lower purity grades such as plumbing tube scrap. This contains too much phosphorus which drastically reduces the electrical conductivity.

Shipping Pt. / Location: USA, QUEENS NEW YORK
Quantity Units Frequency
minimum 40,000 lbs Ongoing
Price Per Unit Funds
1.52 lbs USD $
No.2 Scrap Copper - 50%-55% Network wires and Coax cables. Buying 50%-55% insul copper network wires and coax cables. Price: $1.52 per pounds. Terms: More than 42,000 lbs / FAS. We paid before the materials leave the yard. Pick up is available, contact us for more information.

Shipping Pt. / Location: SAUDI ARABIA, DAMMAM PORT
Quantity Units Frequency
1000 MT Monthly
Price Per Unit Funds
3.02 lbs USD $
No.2 Scrap Copper - Copper Cathodes. Copper Cathodes 99.99% purity, and No.1 Heavy Scrap Copper Shall consist of clean unalloyed copper solids and must be uncoated.May include copper clippings, punchings, bus bars, commutator segments clean copper pipe or tubing and Copper wire over 1/16'' thick but free of burnt or brittle wire. This grade is equivalent to the ISRI code CANDY

Average U.S. Refiners Buying
Prices for No. 2 Copper Scrap

Aug02 55.48 cents
Sept 55.68 cents
Oct 56.70 cents
Nov 60.50 cents
Dec 61.33 cents
Jan03 62.38 cents
Feb 64.11 cents
Mar 64.26 cents
Apr 61.80 cents
May 65.43 cents
June 67.36 cents
July 68.23 cents
Aug 69.43 cents

(per pound, monthly average)
Source: American Metal Market

nirvana · « **Reply #19 on:** November 30, 2006, 03:15:50 PM »

Sorry to hear, there have been reports of hobos breaking into the little power stations (technical name escapes me). Anyway, they start going for the copper and BAM fried hobo.

Airscrew · « **Reply #20 on:** November 30, 2006, 03:53:03 PM »

ok, heading home, electrician started about 1:30 putting in the new loop, he thinks he can get it done before the end of the day.

Airscrew · « **Reply #21 on:** November 30, 2006, 08:58:14 PM »

ok, we got partial power now, lights in living room and my bedroom, some outlets also. in process of trenching though they cut the water line

so the choice was, finish the power or fix the water line. We voted power, and they'll come back tomorrow and finishup with wiring job and fix the water line. I think I'll just take a day off.

Maverick · « **Reply #22 on:** November 30, 2006, 09:16:06 PM »

Well nuts, a heck of a week there. I'm glad you got power back so you have heat again. It ought to be rather cold there right now. I hope it's all back in operation tomorrow.

Airscrew · « **Reply #23 on:** November 30, 2006, 09:40:42 PM »

Yes heat is working, just gonna take a few hours to get the temp up in the house, luckly with the extra insulation in the walls, even though the outside temp was 34-35 with 26 degree wind chill, house temp didnt fall below 58 degrees so it was still comfortable.

I also found out talking to the electricians and the power guy that came to turn the power back on the going rates for salvaged copper like this is anywhere from $3 to $5 a pound. They estimate that the thieves got away with about 150 pounds of copper just from my house. They also hit the next door neighbor and they said they heard a few houses got hit last weekend a few miles down the road from us.

flakbait · « **Reply #24 on:** November 30, 2006, 09:55:43 PM »

There is divine justice, however! Not a month ago one meth head tried breaking into a substation out in the boonies near here. Reason? Copper. Several PFD firecaps (brass covers on the fire hydrants around buildings) were swiped by a pair of junkies. Turns out this dweeb was one of 'em; they located two dozen firecaps in his truck along with receipts for three different scrap yards. How did they catch his sorry rear? The easy way: he zapped himself trying to use bolt cutters on a length of 2" copper cable. Not just any copper cable, though. This cable had 22,000 volts and several hundred amps running through it!

Methkabob anyone?

-----------------------
Flakbait [Delta6]

FiLtH · « **Reply #25 on:** December 01, 2006, 12:19:16 AM »

And to think, with a little ambition, they could be putting wires in, instead of yanking them out.

You should try leaving a few hundred feet of copper tubing lying on a jobsite before rough.

Sixpence · « **Reply #26 on:** December 01, 2006, 01:36:17 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Airscrew
Sixpence, I have no idea how they setup meter loops where you are from but in my particular case, the main braker is mounted on the bottom of the pole about 4 feet from the ground. Conduit with cable runs from the main breaker, underground about a foot or so, and then runs about 35 feet to the house, we have a manufactured house (euphenism for mobile home), then up the floor and into the breaker box in the house.

Yeah, up here the lines run from high up the pole across to the house, then down to the meter. There is nothing near the bottom of the poles. New developments have the lines run underground.