Copper Tones

A friend of mine, who owns a hair salon, was parking in the small lot behind his business the other day when he noticed something unusual: his heat pump, which was normally securely mounted on his roof, sitting in the alley. And it wasn't the only one.

Apparently, thieves had taken the heat pumps from the roofs of his business and some of his neighbors', lugged them down to the ground, and stripped the copper (tubes and such) from them to sell. The skyrocketing price of copper must make this a lucrative venture.

Now, I don't know what these things weigh, but I wouldn't want to carry one down a ladder. And I don't begin to understand why the copper can't be stripped from them while they're still on the roof.

I also can't understand how someone could take several heat pumps from neighboring roofs and pull the copper without anyone noticing. It must have taken a fair amount of time and effort to steal the copper bits. I don't know how much copper in on a commercial heat pump — we certainly don't have one — but with copper at just under $4 a pound on the U.S. and London exchanges, there must be a lot to make the thefts worthwhile. (I have no idea what scrap metal dealers pay for copper, and how that compares to copper futures on the exchanges.)

Still, it must be lucrative enough for a couple of guys (I'm guessing) to spend a couple of hours (at least) removing and stripping copper from heat pumps.

You have to think that if they applied that amount of effort, initiative and skill to a legitimate job, they could have excellent careers.