What's the price gap between copper radiators and pure copper tube for the same weight?
Short answer: Pure copper tube typically outprices copper radiators of the same weight, because radiators are a mixed assembly — copper or copper-brass tubing combined with fins, sometimes aluminium, and often lead solder at the joints — so a buyer is paying for a genuinely mixed-metal item rather than pure, single-metal copper.
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List Free →Why radiators are a mixed item, not pure copper
Even an all-copper radiator typically has brass or bronze end tanks and fittings, plus lead-based solder joining everything together. A radiator advertised as “copper” is rarely 100% pure copper by weight once you account for the full assembly.
The solder factor
Lead solder at every joint is a genuine contaminant that has to be accounted for separately from the copper and brass content — it’s not valuable the way copper is, and processing it out is an added step for the buyer.
Getting closer to tube pricing
If you can strip a radiator down to just its copper tubing, separating out the end tanks, fins, and solder joints, you’ll get meaningfully closer to pure copper tube pricing than selling the intact radiator assembly.
How ScrapTrade Makes This Easier
Listing radiators with a description of their actual construction — “copper tube, brass tanks, soldered” versus “stripped copper tube only” — helps buyers price accurately rather than assuming the most conservative mixed-metal scenario.
Ready to sell or source copper scrap without the guesswork? ScrapTrade connects verified buyers and sellers with escrow-protected payments and transparent weighing.
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