Calculator
Electric Motor Value Estimator
Pick a size class for a copper % estimate, enter weight and your local prices — see whether selling the motor whole or breaking it down for copper pays more.
Your motor
Typical range 8–12%. Under about 1/3 HP. Small appliance and HVAC blower motors — proportionally the most copper of the three classes.
Indicative default — enter your yard's price. Saved for next time.
Indicative default — enter your yard's price. Saved for next time.
Indicative default — enter your yard's price. Saved for next time.
Copper content by motor size
Every electric motor is a trade between two metals: copper winding, which pays well, and a steel housing and laminated core, which pays scrap-iron prices. Smaller motors pack proportionally more copper into their weight; as motors get larger, steel scales up faster than the winding does, so the copper share actually shrinks even though there's more copper in absolute pounds.
| Size class | Copper | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional HP (fans, small pumps, blower motors) | ~10% | 8–12% |
| Small / general purpose (power tools, medium pumps) | ~8% | 6–9% |
| Large / industrial (compressors, industrial pumps, blowers) | ~6% | 4–8% |
Whole vs broken down: reading the result
Selling a motor whole is the fast option — yards buy them by weight at a flat price that already accounts for an average mix of copper and steel. Breaking one down means separating the winding from the housing yourself and selling each at its own price. The calculator compares both totals directly. Breaking down almost always wins on raw dollars for anything with real copper content; the question is whether the tools and time are worth it for the motor in front of you, or better spent once you've collected a pile of them.
DC motors and other exceptions
DC motors — the kind found in golf carts, forklifts, and older automotive starters and alternators — carry more winding relative to their housing, commonly cited around 15–18% copper. If you regularly handle these, use the custom recovery option and check your estimate against a stripped sample; the size-class presets here are tuned for standard AC motors.
Motor value questions
Why does copper % go down as motors get bigger?
Steel housing and laminations scale up faster than the copper winding does, so a bigger motor's weight is proportionally more steel. Small fractional motors run 8–12% copper; large industrial motors often land closer to 4–8%.
How do I know if a motor is copper or aluminum wound?
Copper windings look orange-red where the enamel is scraped away; aluminum looks dull grey-silver. A nameplate marked "CU" or "AL" tells you directly. Aluminum-wound motors are worth far less to break down — usually not worth the effort.
What about DC motors?
DC motors (forklifts, golf carts, older starters and alternators) typically run richer — commonly 15–18% copper — because they use proportionally more winding. Use the custom % option and estimate on the high side of a same-size AC motor.
When is breaking down actually worth it?
When you have enough motors that the setup time pays off, or the copper price makes a single large motor worth the effort. For one or two small motors, selling whole is usually the better use of your time — see the Strip or Sell calculator's labor logic for the same idea applied to wire.
Got the copper out?
If the winding is wire rather than a solid block, the Wire Yield calculator handles stripped vs insulated pricing.