Stealing the AC from a Day Care

[Timo]

I already recanted.

[HDG]

I already recanted.

I apologize; I hadn't read that post.

[Timo]

No problem.

On a side note I am one seriously tough hombre.

[the maple epee]

Isn't copper... like a cheap metal

Haha, not by a long shot. It's closing in on $4/pound.

[Neinteen]

Haha, not by a long shot. It's closing in on $4/pound.

How much copper is in an AC unit, max 5-10 lbs.?

I'd rather rob a jewelry store than steal an AC unit

[Got_Fenced_In]

says someone who's probably never lived in atlanta.
people die during summers when there are power outages and ACs go down.

No, but I live in Texas and in the summer you can guarantee at least 105.

Which isn't as bad as some parts of the world, but it still is miserable at times.

[BrianH]

Plus, you know, meth seems rather to affect people's common sense, to say nothing of their instincts for self-preservation.

No kidding. In our area, some meth heads dug up optic fiber cable for the copper. (For Nein's benefit: optic fiber cable is glass, not copper.)

[dekko]

the majority of copper on this planet has been mined and is out of the ground.

Actaully according to a recent history channel modern marvels shows, we have mined less than 10% of the copper on/in the planet.

Copper will go for $3-$4 a pound or more depending on many factors. The more you have the more you get.

I work for a company who has as part of their company they recycle carbide, metal working tooling. We have had customers get their carbide stolen. We buy this back at about $9 a pound. To give you an idea how dense it is, half a 55 gallon drum of carbide weighs about 1500 lbs. Biggest amount we know of that has been stolen is 2400lbs, about $20K. Carbide has become more sought after than copper recently.

[noodle]

Actaully according to a recent history channel modern marvels shows, we have mined less than 10% of the copper on/in the planet.

Copper will go for $3-$4 a pound or more depending on many factors. The more you have the more you get.

I work for a company who has as part of their company they recycle carbide, metal working tooling. We have had customers get their carbide stolen. We buy this back at about $9 a pound. To give you an idea how dense it is, half a 55 gallon drum of carbide weighs about 1500 lbs. Biggest amount we know of that has been stolen is 2400lbs, about $20K. Carbide has become more sought after than copper recently.

rephrase: the majority of easily accessible copper in the earth is mined. we'll always be able to mine more copper, for the most part, but the expense will start to grow exponentially. similar with oil.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

A while ago, somebody stole all the comemorative plaques off of a nearby bridge.

Why can't these people just be straight up theives and steal money?

[Epee_Pox]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1209...hps_us_pageone

Long article in today's Wall Street Journal about copper thefts, especially thefts of public artworks in bronze.

Exerpt...

PAGE ONE
Copper Caper:
Thieves Nab Art To Sell for Scrap
Town Steps Up Security Of Public Sculptures;
Making a 'Cacti Barrier'
By SARAH MCBRIDE
May 1, 2008; Page A1

BREA, Calif. -- When a sculpture called the "The Spirit of Life" was stolen from its public perch here, city officials reported it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a case of stolen art. But the local police said it was likely a different kind of crime: commodity theft.

Weighing about 250 pounds, the sculpture was cast in bronze, the main ingredient of which is copper. That made it a tempting target for thieves looking to cash in on skyrocketing copper prices by selling it to a scrap yard.

Manhole covers, pipes and wiring have already been targeted for theft in many cities, thanks to copper prices that have risen to about $4 a pound from $3.50 a year ago and $1.50 three years ago. In the prosperous Orange County city of Brea, home to a thriving public art program, big bronze sculptures are now on the hit list. The city has lost three such works in the past 18 months.

...article continues...

[the maple epee]

This summer I plan to buy up scrap from farms around here and sell it to the local scrap yard. I know a bunch of people around here that do that. There's a one hour wait in line for the scales at the local yard.

We've got a bunch of scrap metal on our farm too.

[GypsyScot]

In Asbury Park, NJ, (of Springsteen fame) as told to me by my buddy Murdock the plumber, all copper piping is spray painted black, as (almost) every building downtown not secure enough or abandoned has been ransacked and gutted of it's copper piping.

Ridiculous, in other news my best friend heated his house this winter by selling scrap Aluminum, he's a machinist and can collector for his entire town so...

[Craig]

Rich - Are you selling the scrap from all the cut tangs there yet?

[GypsyScot]

Maybe...

Guys gotta support his iTunes habit somehow...

[Inquartata]

A while ago, somebody stole all the comemorative plaques off of a nearby bridge.

Why can't these people just be straight up theives and steal money?

Risk. Money is usually guarded, locked away, whatever. Plaques on bridges, not so much...