Fresh Ideas on Where to Find Scrap Metal - Page 2

Here in Springfield,Ohio, Ive tried posting on craigslist but always get flagged off, I think its the Greed of fellow scrappers here...I really think SCRAPPERS should hang together in some cases, but to never disregard others in the same line...just my thought tho...I would never move in on another mans way of living and think some of the idiots here in Springfield need to be a little more thoughtful

Originally Posted by Phithy McNasty

If you score some scrap from a construction site it does'nt hurt to get a bill of sale for the material. Even if you don't buy it, it may save you some grief if the police are investigating a thief ring.

If your out and about swing buy plumbing and hvac supply houses, talk to the manager and see if you can pick up the water heaters,furnaces,disposals,condensers and etc. Most supply houses allow plumbers and hvac techs to dump there since they purchase from them.

Do repair techs really drag stuff back to the shop/supply warehouse? Figured most would set them out at the customers trash for pickup.

Originally Posted by lady scrapper

I've been focusing mainly on autos. A couple of well worded and well placed ads...i am swamped! people are calling and chasing me down. I'm running at least a week behind, but worth it. made a little over $560 today. Great too, because christmas is coming and all the kids want a pillow pet!! the **** things are $20 bucks a piece!!

Care to share what is working for you? I've placed ads on craigslist and it's not long before they're flagged.

Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

Do repair techs really drag stuff back to the shop/supply warehouse? Figured most would set them out at the customers trash for pickup.

Alot of customers don't want a furnace or water heater setting in their yard for a week if the trash just ran. We haul everything off and actuallt charge 10 dollars to do it. I have all the guys dropping everything off a the shop when they finish a job or clean their trucks out. All of my suppliers allow us to dump old water heaters and hvac equipment at there location.

I would be rich if I could find someone that bought porcelain and china. Lots of sinks and toilets go in the dumpster. I was on my way home tonight and spotted a old furnace by the dumpster of one of my supply houses. It's not worth much. A little wire and about 100 or so pounds of tin. It's free money.

I checked with all the tech guys in town. They take their stuff to the scrap yard.

Originally Posted by junkdude1959

Here in Springfield,Ohio, Ive tried posting on craigslist but always get flagged off, I think its the Greed of fellow scrappers here...I really think SCRAPPERS should hang together in some cases, but to never disregard others in the same line...just my thought tho...I would never move in on another mans way of living and think some of the idiots here in Springfield need to be a little more thoughtful

What part of craigslist do you post? If you post in the free section, it will get flagged. I post in the labor/move part of the services section. I never get flagged there, and have gotten a few calls from it.

Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

Care to share what is working for you? I've placed ads on craigslist and it's not long before they're flagged.

If you are posting in the free section you will get flagged. Try posting in the labor/move part of the services section. That is where I post and I never get flagged there, and have received calls from it.

thanks, ill try that

I tried posting in the Wanted section and had a few flagged.

Originally Posted by j&jscrap

I live in a rural area. I was thinking of checking out old ranch dump sites. Just about every ranch and farm has a washout where they tossed all the garbage in or dumped old cars and house items. Has anyone checked out something like this before?

Yeah man. I just did my first site like this (a small one) and it was 1960lbs of mixed metal, so $206. A buddy of mine almost exclusively does dump sites like this. He has given me some pointers and, from what it sounds like, you can make a good bit of extra cash. I would strongly recommend a metal detector if you can find one (or have one already). Without the metal detector I would have never found 30% or more of my haul. I dug up probably 50% of everything with a rake, and some parts were protruding and some were not.

Important Note: Heavier (more valuable) items will sink under the dirt and leaves faster than the lighter items. The great thing about these "ranch" dump sites is that the farmers usually threw their oil cans, steel buckets, and other light-weight items in with the heavier stuff. These lighter items "float" above the heavier items and allow you to find them easier. In the few sites I'm working on I do it like this: I see a bucket or something and go to it, move it, and then rake all around. I pull out whatever is just sitting beneath the leaves, and then run over it with the metal detector. More times than not there is a stovetop, furnace top, broken driveshaft, bearing, cam shaft, or something heavy that has sunken into the leaves and roots. I pull it out and start a pile or wheelbarrow it to the truck. Look around the site, too, because these guys seem to avoid dumping in the exact same spot. One I saw the other week was literally 50yds long and of scattered metal. Who does that to their property? (my old relatives... hehe).

These sites can also be deceiving. I found one the other day and raved about the "tons of metal" I had just stumbled into. When I took my truck down to haul it out, I realized that some idiot had covered the stuff with fill dirt and it was virtually impossible to move. Why would you ever cover a bunch of junk halfway with fill dirt and then leave it forever????

Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

Do repair techs really drag stuff back to the shop/supply warehouse? Figured most would set them out at the customers trash for pickup.

Got a friend who owns an oil and HVAC company. They bring back almost all of their old stuff. Some of it sits out back for a few years and then someone throws it in the scrap yard for a few bucks. It's really disorganized, but I have a feeling that one of the guys is making loot on the copper out of the old units.

Originally Posted by HGWells

Got a friend who owns an oil and HVAC company. They bring back almost all of their old stuff. Some of it sits out back for a few years and then someone throws it in the scrap yard for a few bucks. It's really disorganized, but I have a feeling that one of the guys is making loot on the copper out of the old units.

I Do HVAC with a friend. He gets the job we do the change out and I get all the scrap.
At first I sold the compressors as is for $3.00 each. Then I cut one open removed the core as I do with motors.
The windings came out to about 5 lbs. @ 3.45 for # 2 copper here. And the steel left over was about 75 lbs. @ $.08.
So for about 45 minutes of labor I am able to convert $3.00 into $23.25 less the two beers it takes to do the job.

what i do is ride around 4 wheeler trails looking for old junk cars and other metal stuff.. go back at night with my snowmobile trailer and pick it up and load it onto my big trailer and then pile er up! not stealing, i call it cleaning up the town! if it has weight, i pick it up, no matter what type of metal.

Originally Posted by lady scrapper

I've been focusing mainly on autos. A couple of well worded and well placed ads...i am swamped! people are calling and chasing me down. I'm running at least a week behind, but worth it. made a little over $560 today. Great too, because christmas is coming and all the kids want a pillow pet!! the **** things are $20 bucks a piece!!

Thats my problem i guess i am not wording stuff the best way i can.Could you help.

Originally Posted by vamped400

what i do is ride around 4 wheeler trails looking for old junk cars and other metal stuff.. go back at night with my snowmobile trailer and pick it up and load it onto my big trailer and then pile er up! not stealing, i call it cleaning up the town! if it has weight, i pick it up, no matter what type of metal.

Yeah that isnt a bad idea.I know where there are some cars in woods and such.But dont know how to get them out of there lol.Metal though thats great.Woods here i come

Originally Posted by Focker

Yeah that isnt a bad idea.I know where there are some cars in woods and such.But dont know how to get them out of there lol.Metal though thats great.Woods here i come

My problem too. some are sunk in and there is no way my fourwheeler could pull them out. I was hoping to get some cutting torches and some oxy/acetylene but no cash right now. ill find a way to get them out someday somehow.. there is about 4 around my town i have my eye on

Originally Posted by injunjoe

I Do HVAC with a friend. He gets the job we do the change out and I get all the scrap.
At first I sold the compressors as is for $3.00 each. Then I cut one open removed the core as I do with motors.
The windings came out to about 5 lbs. @ 3.45 for # 2 copper here. And the steel left over was about 75 lbs. @ $.08.
So for about 45 minutes of labor I am able to convert $3.00 into $23.25 less the two beers it takes to do the job.

Are you talking about compressors in AC units? I have cut a couple of them open and found that the windings and the string holding the windings have some sort of heavy varnish coating, which makes them a royal pain to remove. Do you remove the coating, and if not, how do you go about removing the windings? I remove the windings off of the motors inside compressors from refrigerators easily because they do not have the heavy varnish coating, but have found the AC units to be difficult.