Copper content
How much copper is in THHN — heavy gauge?
About 84% of its weight is recoverable copper. Here's what that means for stripping, grading, and what your yard will pay.
What THHN — heavy gauge is
Also sold or searched as heavy THHN/THWN, 4 AWG to 4/0 building wire. Commercial power wire, thin nylon jacket over thick conductor. The scrapper's favorite.
How much copper is inside
The copper recovery rate is the share of a cable's total weight that is actual copper once the insulation and jacket are stripped away. For THHN — heavy gauge that's about 84%, and typically anywhere from 80% to 90% depending on gauge, age, and condition.
In round numbers: 100 lb of THHN — heavy gauge yields roughly 84 lb of bare copper. At an example #1 copper price of $3.90/lb that's about $328 of copper — but prices swing by region and by the week, so run it with the number your own yard pays.
Open the Copper Wire Yield calculator, pick "THHN — heavy gauge (4 AWG to 4/0)" (or type your own recovery %), and enter your local prices to see the stripped-vs-as-is breakdown for your exact load.
Strip it or sell it as-is?
Verdict for THHN — heavy gauge: almost always worth stripping. Stripping only pays when the gap between the bare-copper price and the as-is (insulated) price beats the time it takes — and that gap scales with the recovery rate. At 84%, there is enough copper inside that stripping almost always clears more than selling it insulated.
To put a dollar figure on your own time, run it through the Strip or Sell calculator, which adds an hourly rate to the raw copper math.
How THHN — heavy gauge compares to other cable
Where THHN — heavy gauge sits against every other common cable type (its row is marked):
| Cable type | Recovery | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| MCM / feeder cable (250 MCM+) | ~88% | 85–94% |
| THHN — heavy gauge (4 AWG to 4/0) ← this page | ~84% | 80–90% |
| THHN — standard (8–16 AWG) | ~80% | 75–88% |
| Double-insulated power wire | ~75% | 70–80% |
| Romex / NM-B (indoor solid) | ~65% | 62–70% |
| Mixed #2 insulated wire | ~60% | 55–69% |
| AC / appliance whip wire | ~55% | 50–60% |
| Extension cords / SJ cord | ~42% | 35–48% |
| Cat5/Cat6 — solid bulk runs | ~42% | 35–50% |
| Cat5/Cat6 patch cords (stranded) | ~22% | 18–28% |
| MC/BX armored cable (copper inside) | ~30% | 25–35% |
| Christmas lights | ~20% | 15–25% |
Sources
- Sahd Metal Recycling: 85% for 4 ga–4/0
Recovery figures are cross-checked against at least two published yard references and kept at the conservative end of each range, so surprises land in your favor. Measuring a stripped sample of your own cable always beats a table.
THHN — heavy gauge: quick answers
How much copper is in THHN — heavy gauge?
About 84% of its weight — usually 80–90% depending on gauge and condition. So 100 lb of THHN — heavy gauge yields roughly 84 lb of bare copper once stripped.
Is THHN — heavy gauge worth stripping?
Almost always worth stripping. At a ~84% recovery rate, stripping reliably beats selling it insulated. Run your own prices through the Strip or Sell calculator to be sure.
What copper grade does THHN — heavy gauge sell as?
#1 insulated / bare bright when stripped. Yards buy insulated wire as-is at a discounted "ICW" rate that already assumes an average recovery; stripping clean copper moves it up to a higher-paying bare-copper grade.
Price your own wire
Enter your yard's prices and see stripped vs as-is for this exact cable.