Results 1 to 12 of 12

What do you get from scrapping a computer?

| Scrap Metal Questions and Answers
  1. #1
    Backwell started this thread.

    Member since
    Jan 2012
    Location
    daytona
    Posts
    53
    Thanks
    70
    Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts

    What do you get from scrapping a computer?

    This may seem like a ridiculous question but I've never scrapped electronics. To me it seems like too much prep time, however I do have access to a large amount of e-scrap. I know the heat sinks are copper/brass or alloy but what else from a computer is scrappable? The cables I'd imagine obviously when they're stripped. What's a good price to pay for a junk computer and how much profit can you get from one computer?



  2. #2
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    11
    Thanks
    16
    Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts
    Depends totally on how much you choose to do, As a whole the towers bring @ 30 cents a Lb., but if you choose to break down ,sell the drives'cpu's M-board,and memory seperately for a bit more,you know how it is the more you do the more you make ,if not,find somethin else where your time's worth it. Hope this helps.
    Lucky

  3. #3
    Backwell started this thread.

    Member since
    Jan 2012
    Location
    daytona
    Posts
    53
    Thanks
    70
    Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Lucky View Post
    Depends totally on how much you choose to do, As a whole the towers bring @ 30 cents a Lb., but if you choose to break down ,sell the drives'cpu's M-board,and memory seperately for a bit more,you know how it is the more you do the more you make ,if not,find somethin else where your time's worth it. Hope this helps.
    Lucky
    It does help, are people selling the memory/cpu/hdd online as a whole or are they breaking those down into even smaller parts of certain scrap metals?

  4. #4
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Indianapolis
    Posts
    190
    Thanks
    227
    Thanked 206 Times in 76 Posts
    I will take the bait.

    Start here: http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/showt...identification

    After you get a handle on whats what, start breaking down systems and sorting the components into different bins. Once you have over a few dozen pounds, start looking here: http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/forum...rs-amp-Sellers

    Pick a buyer, talk to them, make a deal, and ship your stuff out. It's not hard, friend.


  5. #5
    Mechanic688's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Warsaw , Ind. In the heart of the lakes, and down the street from the hotel where Al Capone stayed.
    Posts
    9,568
    Thanks
    11,247
    Thanked 10,730 Times in 4,728 Posts
    P & M Recycling - Specializing in E-Waste Recycling.
    If you enjoy your freedom, thank a vet.

  6. The Following 3 Users say Thank You for This Post by Mechanic688:


  7. #6
    eesakiwi's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Dec 2010
    Location
    NZ
    Posts
    2,531
    Thanks
    2,909
    Thanked 2,556 Times in 1,227 Posts
    I'm getting the impression that theres about 0.2 grams of gold in each computer. (0.1 in the CPU & 0.1 in the rest, fingers etc)
    Thats computers from 1990-1999.

    After extracting it myself, I'd expect to get 0.1 gram of gold.

    I needs 320 computers to get a ounce of gold.....

    Is this correct?

  8. #7
    happyscraper's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Feb 2012
    Location
    spring hill,fl
    Posts
    2,864
    Thanks
    350
    Thanked 1,371 Times in 847 Posts
    hey blackwell! This is happyscraper, i have been scraping electronics for about 4 years. i started out waer your at ,not knowing nothing and nobody would help me out . like it's a big secret or something. beacuse of that i am willing to help all newbes as much as i can. i'll tell you how i do computors but it might not the way every body does it. first of all with all electronics you have to look to see how it is but together. open computor and unplog all the wires. the gray flat wire is called ribben, scrap yeards in my area call it data cable and only pay .15 cents for it. the rest of the wires are conected to the power suply unit, do not cut them off. unscrew the power suply and remove it. i am in the prosse of getting a new buyer but use to get .27 cents a lbs. for them whole. next take out the disk drives, sell them whole, was getting about .29 cents a lbs. take out little black fan, i sell them as electric moters .25-.33 cents a lbs. take out baords ,mother baords 2.50-3.00 per lbs cards and memory stick sell for much higher. steal .11 cents per lbs. you can try selling on ebay or graigs list, might get more. i hope this answers your questions. good luck.

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to happyscraper for This Post:


  10. #8
    Mechanic688's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Warsaw , Ind. In the heart of the lakes, and down the street from the hotel where Al Capone stayed.
    Posts
    9,568
    Thanks
    11,247
    Thanked 10,730 Times in 4,728 Posts
    What do you get from scrapping a computer?
    This may seem like a ridiculous question but I've never scrapped electronics. To me it seems like too much prep time, however I do have access to a large amount of e-scrap
    If it's too big of a hassle for you to break them down then find one of the e-scrapper that will buy the electronics from you whole at a fair price.
    If you have no interest you might make more money by moving them whole.

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to Mechanic688 for This Post:


  12. #9
    parrothead's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Treasure Coast, FL
    Posts
    2,416
    Thanks
    667
    Thanked 2,067 Times in 953 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Backwell View Post
    To me it seems like too much prep time, however I do have access to a large amount of e-scrap. I know the heat sinks are copper/brass or alloy but what else from a computer is scrappable? The cables I'd imagine obviously when they're stripped. What's a good price to pay for a junk computer and how much profit can you get from one computer?
    It takes less than 5 minutes to strip down a computer and have $10 worth of stuff ready to sell. The thing you need to wrap your mind around with these is you are recycling precious metals, not so much the brass and aluminum and steel, etc.

    It's the boards and the chips that make them worth scrapping beyond just throwing them in the shred pile. Not too mention some reusable parts here and there that you may find, but that is for a different thread all together. There are many threads discussing what is resellable in the electronics section that are good reading as well.

  13. The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by parrothead:


  14. #10
    eesakiwi's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Dec 2010
    Location
    NZ
    Posts
    2,531
    Thanks
    2,909
    Thanked 2,556 Times in 1,227 Posts
    These are the CPU's I have so far. But not the 5 that are still in the computers in storage.


    Last edited by eesakiwi; 02-23-2012 at 09:25 PM.

  15. #11
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Feb 2012
    Location
    OK
    Posts
    5,728
    Thanks
    6,814
    Thanked 3,464 Times in 1,989 Posts
    that texas instruments and ibm might be worth more on ebay. I've scrapped hundreds of older computers and don't recall seeing any of those

    To the OP, with a philips screwdriver and 5 or 10 minutes you should be able to scrap about any computer ever built. They have almost always been constructed with replaceable parts in might ( hence the IBM compatable, all companies parts fit the same way ) They can be creative sometimes in getting them to all fit. The orneriest ones I know of were the early HP, sometimes you couldn't figure out if the shell slid off from the front or from the back, and as you're laying your 2 prybars down and scratching your head and realize it slides off easier the OTHEr way But most computers come very easily in pieces usually with just a very few philips screws
    Last edited by Bear; 02-23-2012 at 09:56 PM.

  16. #12
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Napier, new zealand
    Posts
    33
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 14 Times in 8 Posts
    this my first post so forgive me as I am still learning alot lol.
    with the cpu's what if you want to go to the next step and extract the gold.
    to gain full value.where would one start at looking?


  17. Similar threads on the Scrap Metal Forum

    1. Sujestions on Scrapping Computer wire
      By saturninin in forum Dismantling, Breaking Down & Maximizing Scrap
      Replies: 9
      Last Post: 07-23-2012, 04:06 PM
    2. Scrapping an old Computer
      By samuel-a in forum Scrap Metal Videos
      Replies: 13
      Last Post: 05-26-2012, 07:54 AM
    3. Scrapping computer monitors-Illegal?
      By ResourcefulRecycling in forum TV and Monitor Recycling
      Replies: 12
      Last Post: 04-26-2012, 10:47 AM
    4. Computer help required.. (NOT scrapping)
      By Torker Man in forum Off Topic Discussions
      Replies: 11
      Last Post: 10-30-2011, 01:17 PM
    5. Scrapping a computer. Could use some help.
      By Cwatson325 in forum E-Waste Grading and Identification
      Replies: 1
      Last Post: 04-23-2011, 06:51 PM

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

 
Browse the Most Recent Threads
On SMF In THIS CATEGORY.





OR

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

The Scrap Metal Forum

    The Scrap Metal Forum is the #1 scrap metal recycling community in the world. Here we talk about the scrap metal business, making money, where we connect with other scrappers, scrap yards and more.

SMF on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter Facebook