How much copper and/or aluminum is in a lawnmower? - Page 2

Originally Posted by auminer

These things crack me up. Every day, I see at least two or three more threads asking whether it's "worth your time" to break down this, that, or the other thing. And usually, the subject of breaking down XXXXX has been discussed & cussed ad infinitum in 27 other threads already.

Here's an analogy:

Bill Gates has about 441 million shares of Microsoft stock (among A LOT of other investments). Every day, shares of MSFT change value by an average of about 25 cents. So, every day, Bill's net worth changes by hundreds of millions of dollars. At that rate, it is not "worth his time" to pick up a hundred dollar bill blowing across the sidewalk as he passes by.

Now, none of us are named Bill Gates, and I think everyone reading this would definitely find it worthwhile to stoop over for a Benjamin. But some here might not pick up a quarter if they saw it. Fewer would bother with picking up a nickle. Even fewer would bend down for a penny (especially post-1982 pennies ).



So, what I'm saying is, simply do the math as it applies to you, personally. What's this item worth right now?

That 2 pound motor would bring you 60 cents at my yard. If you spent 5 minutes pulling the 6 ounces of copper out, then you're left with about $1.13 worth of copper & 13 cents worth of steel... Sounds awesome, right? But you really only made 66 cents in 5 minutes. Not quite 8 bucks an hour. Not really worth it to me especially if spending that time meant I missed out on finding more scrap worth more money. But some might find that a good use of their time, especially if they really have nothing else to do, maybe they're sitting around in the evening watching TV, and want to maximize the value of what they have.

/rant

'nuff said.

Originally Posted by NWOdrudge

lol, could a mod change the title to "how much copper and/or aluminum is in a lawnmower?" to please the professionals. that was the info i was looking for. poor choice of words for the original title. won't happen again, peace.

Changed.

Okay, I've taken apart about 20 of these so far. No, they don't have a battery actually-unless, you are speaking of an electric (not gas) mower.
These mowers contain a little bit of copper (what I'd call "breakage), however, you will need to know where to find it--it is just one piece, I believe it is some kind of power transformer or something? Really, I'm not sure what it is. You merely have to locate the copper wires in the particular lawnmower you have, and you will be able to trace them back to the "copper breakage".
For the motor itself (as "dirty aluminum" or something of the like) you may be able to make about $1.
The mower's frame probably consists of about 10 pounds of "sheet iron".
You probably would like to remove a few parts off of the main mower engine.
Firstly, remove the metal covering from the engine itself. Secondly, remove the spark plug and fuel tank. (These fuel [gas] tanks generally consist of a
"can" of steel with an aluminum lid. You can remove the aluminum from the steel with a pair of wire-cutters or the like. Sometimes, however these tanks consist entirely of aluminum). Anyway, I can't go through the entire of the processes here and now, so just use your head and you should certainly be able to make a few dollars from one of these mowers. On another note, you may be able to sell the mower "as is" to be repaired or as a part mower, to someone.
Thanks for your time!

Originally Posted by Mealane8

These mowers contain a little bit of copper (what I'd call "breakage), however, you will need to know where to find it--it is just one piece, I believe it is some kind of power transformer or something? Really, I'm not sure what it is. You merely have to locate the copper wires in the particular lawnmower you have, and you will be able to trace them back to the "copper breakage".

The "Power Transformer" is called a Magneto. When you pull on the starter rope, there is a cast aluminum flywheel with magnets embedded that spins. The magnets and the Magneto (Transformer) act like a small electric motor and produce enough current to put a jolt of electricity to make the spark plug spark. That ignites the gas air mixture and the engine starts and runs. I always toss the magneto in my motor bin if I feel like digging it out.