Removing the plastic jacket--it must be done.

[lordy]

I have a burn pit that I bought from Home Depot. I think it was $100. Came with a grated lid I guess to catch the burning ambers. I start a nice little fire in the pit put the lid on and throw the wire on top of it. 10 minutes later I take the wire off hang it somewhere to cool and the wire is now striped and annealed.

I to get a lot of copper wire from my job. Mostly 10 and 14 but lots of 18.

Burning the plastic off puts so much crap into the air it isnt funny. If my local scrapyard determines you are trying to sell them wire that has been burned to remove the insulation, they wont buy it. This is solely to discourage burning it to keep all that harmful junk out of the atmosphere. Burning pretty much anything plastic is bad news for your lungs.

This was one of many hits when googling "burning plastic"
Dangers of Burning Plastic
Open burning of plastic waste can be dangerous to your health and the health of the natural environment. The PEI Environmental Protection Act Air Quality Regulations [Section 8.1(i)] prohibit the burning of materials containing rubber or plastic.
Old barrels or wood stoves do not reach high enough temperatures to destroy many of the dangerous chemicals created when plastic burns. Municipal solid waste incinerators such as the double chambered incinerators at the Energy from Waste Plant can reach a temperature of 1800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 C), providing plenty of oxygen to complete the burning process. Barrels and wood stoves only tend to smoulder and smoke, releasing plumes of toxic fallout into your backyard and the surrounding community. In addition, this leaves you with potentially hazardous ash, which is not appropriate to spread on the soil.
Plastic such as PVC (polyvinylchloride) is common in such things as vinyl siding, bottles and jugs, vinyl tubing, drainpipes, blister paks, etc. Care should be taken never to burn these at home, as carbon monoxide, dioxins and furans are released into the air. Studies have linked dioxins and furans to cancer and respiratory disease.
Plastic agricultural silage wrap, wire insulated with plastic, and plastic containers should never be burned in the open air. There are recycling options available for many of these products.

 

[Bill S]

Man,I'd never put me in a video, that and I don't own the technology right now, it is as simple as I made it sound. You pull the blade along the wire as you retreat from the anchor point. Makes the process relatively safe as well.