THHN Wire Scrap Price Today: 75 Percent Copper, and How Yards Weigh It

THHN is single-conductor building wire with a thin nylon-over-PVC jacket. It recovers about 75 percent copper by weight, and yards price it on that recovery. The ReMA code is Druid. It is the insulated grade closest to the stripping break-even, so the decision to strip it is a genuine calculation rather than a rule.

What THHN is

The name is a rating: Thermoplastic High Heat-resistant Nylon-coated. It is the standard conductor pulled through conduit in commercial and residential electrical work across North America, in gauges from 14 up to large feeders.

What matters for scrap is the jacket. THHN has a thin PVC layer with an even thinner nylon skin, so the copper share of total weight is high: about 75 percent. That is well above Romex at 65 and communication wire under 50, and below heavy cable at 90.

How yards price insulated wire

Insulated wire is bought on a recovery percentage: the share of the weight that is actually copper. Yards determine it by stripping a sample, weighing the bare copper and dividing. THHN's published figure is 75 percent, and the recovery rate guide explains how that number becomes a price.

You can measure your own in two minutes. Cut a short length, weigh it, strip it, weigh the copper, divide. If your figure is above the yard's assumption, say so at the scale.

Strip it or sell it insulated?

This is where THHN is interesting, because it sits near the break-even.

The stripping analysis puts the break-even around 48 percent recovery. THHN at 75 percent is well above that, so stripping usually pays in pure arithmetic. But the gain is modest, and THHN in smaller gauges strips slowly by hand.

The practical answer:

Large-gauge THHN, 8 gauge and heavier: strip it. The jacket comes off fast with a stripper and the copper underneath is bare bright.

Small-gauge THHN, 12 and 14 gauge: usually sell it insulated unless you have a powered stripper. The time per pound is high and the copper underneath is number 2 by gauge anyway.

Never burn it. The burning page sets out why it is illegal and why burnt copper is worth less.

THHN against the other wire grades

On the table above, THHN sits at the top of the insulated grades and below all the solid copper grades. The order follows recovery: THHN 75 percent, Romex 65, communication wire under 50.

The Romex page covers the sheathed household cable that is often confused with THHN, and the communication wire page covers the low-recovery end.

Getting the THHN price

Keep it separate from Romex. They look similar on a reel and recover differently. Mixed, the lot is paid at the lower figure.

Keep gauges together where you can. Heavy THHN recovers slightly better than thin, and a sorted lot invites a better sample.

Cut off lugs and terminals. Steel or brass ends drag a lot toward irony.

Measure your recovery. Two minutes with a kitchen scale, and you know whether the yard's figure is fair.

Ask for the price by recovery. A yard quoting one flat insulated rate for everything is not grading THHN properly.

THHN Wire prices around the world

Where thhn wire comes from, market by market

If you are deciding whether to strip this material yourself, the wire stripping machine guide works out which tier of machine your monthly volume justifies, using these live rates.

Questions people actually ask

What is the THHN wire scrap price today?

The live figure is at the top of this page. It is priced on about 75 percent copper recovery, which puts it at the top of the insulated grades.

What is the copper recovery on THHN?

About 75 percent by weight, higher than Romex at 65 and communication wire under 50, lower than heavy cable at 90.

Should I strip THHN?

Heavy gauge, yes. Light gauge, usually not without a powered stripper. The break-even is around 48 percent recovery and THHN is well above it, but small-gauge stripping is slow.

What is Druid copper?

The ReMA code for insulated copper wire of the THHN type.

Is THHN the same as Romex?

No. THHN is single conductors pulled through conduit; Romex is a sheathed cable with several conductors inside. They recover differently and should be sold separately.

Does the colour of the jacket matter?

No. Black, red, white, green and blue THHN all recover the same and grade the same.

What is stripped THHN worth?

Heavy gauge strips to bare bright, the top grade. Thin gauge strips to number 2 by the 16 gauge rule.

Can I measure recovery myself?

Yes. Cut a short piece, weigh it, strip it, weigh the copper, divide. It takes two minutes and settles arguments at the scale.

Frequently asked questions