Radiator Scrap: Why Copper-Brass and All-Aluminium Radiators Are Priced Apart

Radiators get their own line item in scrap pricing because they aren't really one material, they're an assembly, and which materials that assembly is built from changes the value substantially.

Older copper-brass radiators

Older vehicle and industrial radiators, especially anything from before the wider shift to aluminium cooling systems, use copper tubing with brass end tanks and headers. This combination is genuinely valuable, since it's carrying two decent-value metals in one unit, and it's why an old, heavy, copper-brass radiator can be worth noticeably more by weight than a newer one that looks similar from the outside.

Modern all-aluminium radiators

Most vehicles built in the last couple of decades use all-aluminium radiators, often with plastic end tanks rather than brass ones. These are worth less per kilo than copper-brass units, since aluminium trades well below copper, and the plastic tanks add bulk without adding value. A radiator that looks similar in size to an older copper-brass one can be worth meaningfully less once weighed, purely because of what it's made from.

Telling them apart before you get to the shop

Weight is the first clue. Copper-brass radiators are noticeably heavier for their size than aluminium ones, since copper is a dense metal. Colour helps too, once you scratch through any grime or paint: copper tubing shows a warm reddish tone, aluminium a duller grey-silver. Plastic end tanks are an immediate sign you're looking at an aluminium unit, since copper-brass radiators almost never use plastic tanks.

AC and industrial radiators follow the same logic

Air conditioning condenser coils and industrial cooling radiators follow the same copper-versus-aluminium split, and the same rule of thumb applies: heavier for its size generally means more copper content, and that's worth confirming before accepting a quote based on the assumption that "it's a radiator" tells the buyer everything they need to know.

The practical takeaway

If you're bringing in more than one radiator, don't assume they're all one grade just because they look similar from across the room. A quick weight-and-scratch check on each one before you leave home, or at worst before the buyer weighs the lot, avoids the whole batch getting priced at whichever grade happens to be lower.