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  1. #1
    ScrapTitan started this thread.
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    How do I know when to cash in my cans?

    Hello everyone! I've started collecting aluminum cans so that I can sell them at a recycling center. The best price I could find is $0.50 per pound. There is only one thing that's bothering me. I have no idea when I should cash them in. People claim that it's impossible to weigh them yourself because you need a special scale. Which means that I can't say "I have [x] amount of pounds so I should get [x] amount of money". So when do I know when I have enough to get a good amount of money?


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  3. #2
    pjost's Avatar
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    Weigh yourself on a bathroom scale. Grab your can bags and weigh yourself again. Repeat as nesesary.
    I take my cans in when they become a pita cuz they are taking up too much space. Then go buy more beer with the can money.
    Money is not the root of all evil, the love of money is.

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  5. #3
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    People claim that it's impossible to weigh them yourself because you need a special scale.
    Not so. Even if you use a bathroom scale you will get a close estimate.

    when do I know when I have enough to get a good amount of money?
    That is up to you. At 0.50 per pound, 100# = $50.00 Do the math....

  6. #4
    ScrapTitan started this thread.
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    That is up to you. At 0.50 per pound, 100# = $50.00 Do the math....
    LOL. I know what the math is but I wrote that when I assumed that everyone was anti-bathroom scale.

    Quote Originally Posted by HonestScrap View Post
    Not so. Even if you use a bathroom scale you will get a close estimate.
    Are you sure? The person I talked to about weighing cans was very adamant that the best scales are the ones used at the centers and that anything else is going to give me false estimates.

  7. #5
    pjost's Avatar
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    I checked with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Weights and Measures Division, they said a bathroom scale was fine for estimating aluminum cans.

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  9. #6
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    Maybe get yourself a produce scale old school type with the removable pan , or somthing simillar with a hook and you can just hang the full bag on there and get a exact weight .
    Buying ewaste and video games !

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  11. #7
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    You could count the cans. There are several videos on youtube doing experiments on how many cans it takes to equal a pound most say 33-35 cans.
    There's some more math for you.

    But really a bath room scale is going to get you close enough to have an idea of what your taking in.

    good luck

  12. #8
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    When using a bathroom scale make sure you weigh yourself first thing in the morning after you have used the toilet in order to get a true weight. LOL

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  14. #9
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    Whenever the fridge needs to be stocked is a good time to cash them in...

    Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesaler
    Certified Zip-Tie Mechanic
    "Give them enough so they can do something with it, but not too much that they won't do nothing."

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  16. #10
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  18. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by hobo finds View Post
    Might be time to load up your cans hobo finds.

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  20. #12
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    How close of an estimate do you need so you can decide if its worth bringing in? I would hope your bathroom scale is within 10lbs of true weight.....
    Currently looking for a job in or related to scrap/recycling. Relocation is possible for the right offer.

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  22. #13
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    We use to have bathroom scales but for the last 2 years they have been used for weighing my scrap. It's within 2 or 3 pounds of being accurate which is close enough.

  23. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by hobo finds View Post
    How'd you get in my shop!

    Curses. time to change the locks again.

    **** Hobo(s).

    Sirscrapalot - You see empty cans...I see a trip to Disney.

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  25. #15
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    So when do I know when I have enough to get a good amount of money?
    This is mill price for the last year, you can see the trend. That is not what you will get at your yard.



    Which means that I can't say "I have [x] amount of pounds so I should get [x] amount of money".
    It doesn't matter what you say, it's what's on their scale reading that counts.
    P & M Recycling - Specializing in E-Waste Recycling.
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  27. #16
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    Ii use a hanging fish scale lbs. &oz you can hold it up or hang it in the garage works real well and spot on with my main yard

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  29. #17
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    On the bathroom scale thing...remember people will tell you lots of things. Had a yard employee by me tell me there is a troy oz of gold in EVERY computer. I kindly told him he was full of ****, he didn't like that.

    Tried explaining to him, didn't work, he just got angrier. I laughed an walked off.

    Life is to short.

    Sirscrapalot - WHAT?! - Stone Cold Steve Austin an every audience he appears in front of.

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  31. #18
    ScrapTitan started this thread.
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    Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to get myself a good scale and get to work.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mechanic688 View Post
    It doesn't matter what you say
    I meant that as something that I would say to myself in my head as a rough estimate. I never meant to imply that what I say goes. Should've been more clear on that.

    it's what's on their scale reading that counts.
    That's why I asked this question in the first place. I'm not sure how any of this works. I just didn't want to go there thinking I had a good amount of cans and then just get a few dollars. Sorry, I should've been more clear in my original post.

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    Mechanic688's Avatar
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    That's fine, Just call the yard (or 2) and get the current price for the cans then weigh them at home for a good guess at what you'll bring home.

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    At the yard I use they pay .05 more if you have over 100lbs. Might want to check if your place has a similar program.

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