What to do with 1/2 mile of telephone wire?

thebugguy · #1 12/06/05, 05:18 PM

Folks-

I just had the electric co-op take down about a dozen old poles leading out to a 30 year old cabin (long since burnt down) at the far end of my property. They are taking their wire, but leaving the poles and the telephone wire for me. I'm sure this stuff has a technical name, but I can't find one for it- it appears to be two unbraided strands of copper wire separated by about 1/8" of relatively stiff plastic insulation. All told, there is about 1/2 mile of the stuff, but it has been snipped into 200' to 300' foot lengths.

What can I possibly use this for? We have no landline connection to our house (which we might regret)- the trench for the water and electric service has already been filled, so I don't need it for that. Is there a market value for this stuff? Should I sit there with a jackknife and whittle off the insulation to sell the copper as scrap? Weave baskets out of it?

Any ideas?

Thanks,

tbg

uncle Will in In. · #2 12/06/05, 05:40 PM

How about burning off the insulation, then sell the copper?

skruzich · #3 12/06/05, 05:47 PM

build a fire and burn off insulation and sell it as number one copper.

agmantoo · #4 12/06/05, 06:18 PM

Put a magnet to the wire. I think it is copper clad only and therefore has no recycle value.

TnAndy · #5 12/06/05, 06:35 PM

Start your own really local phone company ?

Alex · #6 12/06/05, 06:52 PM

We were in Encinitas, CA two weeks ago, at a street fair. It was hot. I was sweating just standing there. They blocked off Pacific Highway (Highway 1) through the town of Encinitas.

One of the booths or stands were selling handmade baskets woven in Africa. They were multicolored and made from fine telephone wire. They were strong and beautiful, and all different shapes and sizes.

Good Luck and happy weaving,

Alex

Evan Fryman · #7 12/06/05, 08:10 PM

Use it for wiring L.E.D. Lighting ? Inside or outside Lighting drive way ?
Make a Long Wire Antenna for Radio Reciever / Crystal Radio ?
Use it for Bean or Grape runners ?

tobo6 · #8 12/06/05, 08:35 PM

lol, our phone service was out on Sunday because some thieves dug up 100 ft of telephone cable. They thought it was some dead cable, but I hear they hit some live cable. The paper said people do that to get money from the copper they turn in.

I have no idea how thick the copper is in the wire, but I see copper yard decorations all the time. Just an idea!

tikaani · #9 12/06/05, 09:32 PM

its twisted pair. It is all copper.

thebugguy · #10 12/06/05, 10:32 PM

Uncle and Skruzich-

I'd never thought about burning the plastic off- I only ever used a knife as a kid. However, I would be concerned about burning off what must amount to tens of pounds of plastic in my back yard- can you say "dioxin"? Apparently, "low temperature" burning is illegal in many places because of the potential toxin production. Have to think about that a little more...

Alex-

Thanks for the encouragement, but this is external, pole-to-pole type cable, not the multicolored fine wire inside the house. I could probably make a nifty hammock after a few dozen tries...

Evan-

Thanks for your suggestions as well- knowing me, I'll probably keep a big old spool of it around forever, just waiting for the right project...

And lastly, I sure hope it's solid copper- if not, I'll wind up having to pay to take it to the landfill- bummer! I'l check it out the next opportunity I have...

cheers, tbg

Mastiff · #11 12/07/05, 01:13 AM

don't burn it that is a bad idea.. not healthy...

You should be able to sell it as is... Though a 1/2 mile of one pair may not weigh that much...
I have rewired a few large data centers and sold the old cable for scrap....
Though we were usually selling 1000 lbs plus...

woolyfluff · #12 12/07/05, 07:00 AM

I was given a spool of telephone wire boy the useage I have found ouver the years I would just hangon to it you never what you can use it for

skruzich · #13 12/07/05, 08:11 AM

LOL, put it in a burn barrel and burn it. Geee, i dont know how much i have burned off in my years and thats how they remove the insulation anyway. If you sell it that will make the difference in 50-75% of the money you get.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebugguy

Uncle and Skruzich-

I'd never thought about burning the plastic off- I only ever used a knife as a kid. However, I would be concerned about burning off what must amount to tens of pounds of plastic in my back yard- can you say "dioxin"? Apparently, "low temperature" burning is illegal in many places because of the potential toxin production. Have to think about that a little more...

Alex-

Thanks for the encouragement, but this is external, pole-to-pole type cable, not the multicolored fine wire inside the house. I could probably make a nifty hammock after a few dozen tries...

Evan-

Thanks for your suggestions as well- knowing me, I'll probably keep a big old spool of it around forever, just waiting for the right project...

And lastly, I sure hope it's solid copper- if not, I'll wind up having to pay to take it to the landfill- bummer! I'l check it out the next opportunity I have...

cheers, tbg

skruzich · #14 12/07/05, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mastiff

don't burn it that is a bad idea.. not healthy...

You should be able to sell it as is... Though a 1/2 mile of one pair may not weigh that much...
I have rewired a few large data centers and sold the old cable for scrap....
Though we were usually selling 1000 lbs plus...

Yeah you can sell it for 15 -25% of what you would get if it is bare number one copper. Totally worth burning the case off!

thebugguy · #15 12/07/05, 10:39 AM

Skruzich-

It's true that industrial recycling outfits just burn the insulation off as well, but they don't do it in a 55 gallon drum- they use high-temperature incinerators as a means to combust the petrochemicals as fully as possible before releasing them.

I'm sure we can go around and around regarding the idea of environmental contaminants, but let's not. I just have to weigh the potential returns ($25-$50- $100 worth of copper?) against the costs (potentially creating and releasing compounds toxic to me, my neighbors, and whoever else might use the land after me). I just don't think it's worth it.

Thanks, though, all of you, for your suggestions.

bob clark · #16 12/07/05, 10:59 AM

you may ask yourself if burning the plastic off would cause more damage to the enviriment than the copper is worth? I know cost to the envierment would be spread to all of us and the money from the copper would be yours alone. I hope you can find a use for it other than burning.god bless the earth.

bgak47 · #17 12/07/05, 11:04 AM

You have about 1/2 mile of this wire in 200' to 300' lengths? The wire is not suitable for modern comunications. I would think that you could use it for fencing, or maybe low voltage lighting. It's free!

bob clark · #18 12/07/05, 11:08 AM

plant some grapes . dont just sit around and whine about it, sit around and wine about it

beaglady · #19 12/07/05, 12:07 PM

If it has many different colors of insuation, give it to your kids to play with. When I was around 10, my friend's dad got a bunch of it and we spent an entire summer making jewelry, baskets, you name it.

thebugguy · #20 12/07/05, 01:33 PM

Bob-

Believe me, I've thought about planting grapes loooong before this wire plopped in my lap. In fact, there is a wine-producing vineyard just a couple miles from me as the crow flies. DW will give me the hairy eyeball for sure, but saving it for trellises sounds like a good idea...

cheers, tbg