Clean copper-brass radiators were quoted near $4.00 per pound in August 2026, aluminium copper radiators near $3.15, irony copper-brass near $2.91, and all-aluminium units at a fraction of those. A passenger car radiator weighs 8 to 20 pounds, so identifying the grade correctly is worth more than any other step.
Not two grades, four
The usual advice is that old radiators are copper and new ones are aluminium, so check which you have.
That is broadly true and it misses the grade most people are actually holding. Scrap buyers publish four distinct radiator categories, and the spread between them is wide.
- Copper and brass, clean. Copper fins, brass tanks, joined with lead solder. The top grade.
- Aluminium copper radiator, known in the trade as ACR. Copper tubes with aluminium fins. Worth less than full copper-brass, considerably more than aluminium.
- Irony copper and brass. The same material as the top grade but with steel brackets, iron parts or heavy corrosion attached. Discounted.
- All-aluminium. Modern units, priced against aluminium rather than copper.
The ACR grade is the one worth knowing, because it covers the transitional designs and it is the category most sellers have never heard of.
Today's copper-brass vs aluminum spread: the four-grade ladder
Route or component Basis Notes Value today (USD) Measurement What the figure is based on What changes it Computed from the live rate unless marked a reference Copper and brass, clean (ends removed) 8 to 20 lb Top grade, quoted near $4.00 per lb in Aug 2026 $32 to $80 Aluminium copper radiator (ACR) 8 to 20 lb Copper tubes, aluminium fins; quoted near $3.15 per lb $25 to $63 Irony copper and brass (ends on) 8 to 20 lb Steel brackets or ends attached; quoted near $2.91 per lb $23 to $58 All-aluminium radiator 8 to 20 lb Modern cars; priced at the aluminium rate, not copper $6.96 to $17 Heavy truck or tractor copper-brass 25 to 60 lb The heaviest and best-paying units $100 to $240
Those reference figures come from a survey of 112 yards across ten radiator grades in August 2026. Two things are worth noting about them.
The copper radiator price per pound tracks COMEX copper, as does ACR, while aluminium radiators follow the aluminium market. That is why the gap between them widens and narrows rather than staying fixed.
And the category carries a heavy discount to the exchange, averaging around 68 percent below spot. Radiators pay well relative to other scrap, not relative to raw copper.
Year ranges where the good ones hide
The transition happened gradually, and the sources disagree slightly on timing, which is worth knowing rather than glossing over.
- Up to roughly the late 1980s: full copper-brass was standard. This is the old radiator copper value era.
- 1990s through about 2010: transitional designs, with a copper core and aluminium or plastic side tanks. This is ACR territory.
- Roughly 2000 onward, and standard since about 2010: all-aluminium.
One recycler dates the switch to after 2000; another puts full aluminium as standard from around 2010. Both are describing a gradual change rather than a cutoff, so treat any year as a hint and confirm by looking.
How to tell copper radiator from aluminum: the colour and file checks
Three tests, in the order that settles it fastest.
Colour. Copper-brass is dark yellow. Aluminium is silver-grey and never develops the green patina copper does.
A file. Scratch a clean line into the tank. Yellow underneath confirms brass. This is the check the trade itself recommends, because surface corrosion misleads.
Weight in the hand. Copper-brass is much heavier than aluminium for the same size. A passenger car unit runs 8 to 20 pounds; a copper-brass one at the top of that range feels it.
A magnet helps only in one direction. Neither copper, brass nor aluminium is magnetic, so if a magnet sticks you have found steel ends or brackets, which is what pushes a unit into the irony grade.
Heavy trucks and tractors: the jackpot zone
If you want copper-brass in 2026, stop looking at cars.
Copper-brass remains common in heavy-duty trucks, classic cars, agricultural equipment and industrial machinery long after passenger cars moved on. Those units are also far bigger, running well beyond the 8 to 20 pound car range.
A truck copper radiator scrap or tractor radiator scrap value is therefore a different proposition from a car radiator: top grade material and several times the weight. The same applies to a vintage car radiator worth checking before anyone restores or scraps it.
Selling: whole or with the ends cut
Here the published advice genuinely conflicts, and it is better to say so than to pick one.
The radiator ends brass price question is really a grading question. One position: cutting off steel or plastic ends reclassifies the unit as clean, which is reported to gain around $0.10 more per pound. Left on, the radiator is treated as dirty, must be separated by the yard, and is valued lower.
The opposing position: if the radiator is older copper-brass, do not strip it, sell it whole at the brass rate.
Both can be right depending on the yard, which is the practical takeaway. Ask before you cut, because the operation is not reversible and the gain is roughly ten cents a pound rather than a transformation.
What is not disputed: keep radiator grades separated from each other and from general scrap. A copper-brass unit thrown in with aluminium gets paid as the lower grade.
Where radiators sit against everything else
Radiators punch above their weight for a specific reason. They pack a large surface area of conductive metal into a small object, with no plastic body, no steel chassis and minimal contamination, so the buy price stays unusually close to spot.
That makes them one of the better-paying common items in a scrap load, and worth separating properly. The most valuable parts ranking puts the radiator in context against the rest of a vehicle, and the engine block page covers the same clean-versus-contaminated logic on a much heavier part.
Radiator prices around the world
Copper and aluminium settle in US dollars, so the metal in a radiator is worth the same everywhere. Currency and local buyer depth are what change.
Market Equivalent range Local market note United States $6.96 to 240.00 Deepest buyer pool. Even within the US, state to state runs $50 to $60 per ton apart. United Kingdom £4.94 to 170.43 Strong processing capacity. Battery and PGM material reported 20 to 40 percent above thin markets. Canada C$9.34 to 321.98 Similar structure to the US; thinner in the prairies and the north. Australia A$9.18 to 316.39 Good coastal capacity, long hauls inland. Distance is the main discount. Germany €6.11 to 210.79 Dense processing and strict documentation. Good grades pay well; paperwork matters. India ₹605.41 to 20,876 Large volume, but black mass export restrictions have compressed local payables. Bangladesh ৳752.91 to 25,962 Ferrous depth is good. Specialist converter, PGM and battery buyers are scarce. United Arab Emirates AED24.28 to 837.33 Re-export hub with real processing depth. Among the better-paying markets outside the West. Saudi Arabia SAR24.27 to 837.00 Growing capacity; specialist PGM and battery buyers still limited. Turkey ₺350.78 to 12,096 Major ferrous importer, so steel grades hold up better than non-ferrous here. South Africa R94.40 to 3,255 Reported below UAE and UK on battery material; processing infrastructure is the constraint. China CN¥45.83 to 1,580 Aggressive bidder on imported battery material; 2026 recycling rules moved payables down.
Treat these as the metal-value anchor rather than a local quote. Grade names differ by market, so describe what the unit is made of rather than asking for a grade by name.
Questions people actually ask
"It looks yellow but the yard called it dirty."
Check for steel. Steel end tanks, brackets or mounting hardware move a copper-brass unit into the irony grade, which is quoted roughly a dollar a pound below clean.
"My radiator has copper tubes and aluminium fins. Which is it?"
That is ACR, the middle grade. It is worth considerably more than an all-aluminium unit and somewhat less than full copper-brass, and it is what most 1990s and 2000s vehicles carry.
"What is the yellow brass scrap price today compared to a radiator?"
Clean copper-brass radiators are their own grade and are usually quoted above general yellow brass, because the copper content is higher and the material is cleaner.
Common mistakes
- Assuming radiators are only copper or aluminium, when the trade buys four grades and the middle one is the most common.
- Cutting the ends off without asking, since one recycler advises it and another advises selling older copper-brass whole.
- Judging by surface colour alone, when corrosion misleads and a file scratch settles it in seconds.
- Mixing radiator grades in one load, which gets everything paid at the lowest rate present.
- Overlooking heavy truck, tractor and industrial radiators, where copper-brass survived long after cars moved to aluminium.
- Expecting radiator prices to track copper closely, when the category averages roughly 68 percent below exchange.
Figures on this page are indicative buyer references rather than futures-linked rates, drawn from published multi-yard surveys in August 2026. Grade names and rates vary by yard, so confirm locally before cutting or transporting anything.
Frequently asked questions
What is the copper brass radiator scrap price today?
Clean copper-brass radiators were quoted near $4.00 per pound in August 2026 across a survey of 112 yards, with irony copper-brass near $2.91. A passenger car radiator weighs 8 to 20 pounds, so a clean unit lands roughly between $32 and $80.
How do I tell a copper radiator from an aluminium one?
Colour, a file and weight. Copper-brass is dark yellow and much heavier for its size; aluminium is silver-grey, lighter, and never develops copper's green patina. Scratch a clean line with a file, because surface corrosion misleads and yellow underneath confirms brass.
What is an ACR radiator?
Aluminium copper radiator, a trade grade covering units with copper tubes and aluminium fins. It was quoted near $3.15 per pound in August 2026, which places it below clean copper-brass and well above all-aluminium. Most 1990s and 2000s vehicles carry this type.
Which years had copper brass radiators?
Full copper-brass was standard up to roughly the late 1980s. Transitional designs with copper cores and aluminium or plastic tanks ran through the 1990s to about 2010, and all-aluminium became standard from around 2010. Sources differ on exact timing because the change was gradual.
Should I cut the ends off a radiator before selling?
Ask your yard first, because the published advice conflicts. One recycler says removing steel or plastic ends reclassifies the unit as clean and gains around $0.10 more per pound. Another advises selling older copper-brass whole at the brass rate. The cut is not reversible.
What is the old radiator copper value on a vintage car?
Potentially the top grade, since pre-1990s vehicles carried full copper-brass. Check before scrapping though, because a vintage car radiator can be worth more to a restorer than to a yard, particularly for models where replacements are scarce.
Is a truck copper radiator scrap worth more than a car one?
Usually much more. Copper-brass remained standard in heavy-duty trucks, agricultural equipment and industrial machinery long after passenger cars switched to aluminium, and those units run far heavier than the 8 to 20 pound car range.
What makes a radiator dirty or irony at the scrap yard?
Steel brackets, iron parts, steel end tanks or heavy corrosion. Irony copper and brass was quoted near $2.91 per pound against $4.00 for clean, so roughly a dollar a pound turns on what is still bolted to it.
What is a tractor radiator scrap value?
Generally strong, because agricultural equipment kept copper-brass construction long after cars moved on, and the units are large. Weigh it and grade it as you would any copper-brass radiator, checking for steel brackets that would push it into the irony grade.
Why do radiators pay well compared to other scrap?
Because they pack a large surface area of conductive metal into a small object with no plastic body, no steel chassis and minimal contamination, so the buy price stays close to spot. Even so, the category averages roughly 68 percent below the exchange price.