Everyone’s heard of fool’s gold as a kid, where you found a rock that was spray painted and you thought you hit the jackpot, but turns out…it was only a rock. Fool’s Copper typically comes in the form of electrical different pieces of copper. Bare Bright, any scrappers dream, can be mistaken for copper-clad pieces of steel.
What is Fool’s Copper?
Some scrappers may have already seen it and didn’t even know! Some people may have had it and tried to pull a fast one on their scrap yards. Fool’s copper is a copper-clad steel wire that is used for grounding rods or grounding electrical wires. What is a grounding rod or wire? That allows electricity to safely travel to the ground that prevents accidents from dangerous shocks of electricity. They are super important for creating a safe electrical system.
So now that you have an idea of what Fool’s Copper may look like and what it’s used for, it’s time to figure out how to identify it!
How To Identify Fool’s Copper
Always have your magnet handy! That’s why a scrapper’s best friend is always the handy magnet. Using a magnet is the easiest test to determine real copper from the fake. The magnet will stick to the Fool’s Copper because, while there is a thin coating of copper, the majority of the material is going to made out of steel so the magnet will naturally stick to it.
When ‘Fool’s Copper’ is bought by scrap yards, they become the big loser and therefore very unhappy. It is not unlikely for them to go after all the different scrappers who could have sold them this fake copper.
Do you carry a magnet scrapping?
It’s always a good idea for scrap yards to have their employees carry magnets to avoid predicaments like this. It’s in the best interest of both the scrap yard and scrapper to have a magnet present. The scrap yard will quickly be able to tell whether they are being duped or not while scrappers will know going into selling their material that they won’t be cheated.
