A Scrapper's Dream: electrical and non-ferrous

Been done with phase I of this project for about two months now. Hopefully I will return for phase two, but that is up to the owner. Because of snow at the cabin, I wanted to update this and the other threads. So here goes some unusual finds on the project. Some of the pictures will not be identified because I have forgotten what and where they were or never knew. This was not a one man show, but the combined efforts of a bunch of rookies learning as we go.

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Picture of some of the lead encased copper wiring used to transport power throughout the plant.

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Three previous pictures are of regular wire that was only separated into # 1 & # 2.

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Start of a Gaylord. These were part of the cooling system for the massive turbines shown previously. Aluminum fins surrounding copper tubing.

The next two pictures are of brass in the form of bus bars and brass piping. As you can see, we were not separating for maximum profit. It was a time verses return equation. The thought was the scrap yard could take care of this and allow the crew to continue the salvage operation.

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Brass plates with copper tubing running through them. These were part of the condenser system. To give perspective to the picture, the copper tubing was 3/4 inch.

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More aluminum fins with copper tubing.

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The inside of one of the huge turbines.

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thats awesome. How much wire is in the plant? And do you plan to strip/process it?

I am sorry Devin, I am not at liberty to disclose the final figures. The salvage operation was completed for a corporation and as such a business secret. I can tell you it cost more to remove the ferrous and non-ferrous metals than the return on them. As far as processing the wire, no it was sold as is. The cost of processing out weighed the return in this type of operation.

The reason for the last statement are the variables a business must consider are different than those for individuals. The learning curve on this job was huge for me. As an individual it would have been worth the investment of purchasing the equipment and materials to process. But a corporation must consider time lines, man hours, workman's comp. benefits, theft, etc. To put it in perspective, some members of this forum are turn and burn scrapers not taking the time to prepare anything because they can make more money with the huge inventory they are processing. Others prepare everything they can because of limited materials, hauling capacity, or other reasons.

Certainly not a job that I would do with my toolbox (or talents);):))!!!

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Originally Posted by DakotaRog

Certainly not a job that I would do with my toolbox (or talents);):))!!!

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Honestly, we could not have done it without the help of this forum and combined efforts of a crew of 25 individuals. The strength brought to the job was the ability to teach and relate information to different learning styles. Knowledge of torches and how to read metal was something learned from others and trail and error. One member of the forum once posted "How do you eat an elephant, one bite at a time." That is the only way to approach this type of challenge. Any individual that is willing to learn, listen to other ideas, and remain committed could complete this project.

I wonder if a large enough rental property could be found with a large enough building say an old shopping mall, in certain cases and obviously not this one, Patriot, due to your timeline, if a person could strip out the jobsite buildings and transfer it to the inside storage at the rental property for sorting and separating?

It would take too long to maintain a positive cash flow. I doubt the help was free. And I doubt even more that the help was willing to wait until everything was processed to get paid.

Or.... I might be completely off the mark. But, probably not.

Well...some of us specialize in maximizing and wouldn't be adverse to consulting on the situation if it came to that.

"Rookies" have taught me many things, as have all individuals I have had the privilege to work with. Of my "Skill Sets", communications is the one I keep trying to improve on, as it is the most important skill one needs in all relationships.

Patriot, thanks for your latest update and pictures, as I have followed all your post. This "Mega Scrap" project of yours gave me insight to just how broad a scrap business can go. I hope it just keeps going for you as "Big" as you want it to. Thank you for your in-depth sharing with all of us at SMF.

I have to say I find your experiences inspiring. You have the ablity to tell the story through words and photos, I wonder if this was a skill you picked up along the way?

I hope others pay close attention to some of your words of wisdom, here's and example: "That is the only way to approach this type of challenge. Any individual that is willing to learn, listen to other ideas, and remain committed could complete this project."

Thanks for sharing, Mike

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Originally Posted by bullion

I wonder if a large enough rental property could be found with a large enough building say an old shopping mall, in certain cases and obviously not this one, Patriot, due to your timeline, if a person could strip out the jobsite buildings and transfer it to the inside storage at the rental property for sorting and separating?

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Many different strategies were considered including your idea. The most popular idea was a semi box trailer and sub contracting this portion of the project. One of the members of this forum can verify they visited the site to make a proposal. We could not make the numbers work. Once again, corporate priorities took precedent over individual recommendations.

Completely understandable. Job one is completing the contract to term.

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Originally Posted by armygreywolf

Well...some of us specialize in maximizing and wouldn't be adverse to consulting on the situation if it came to that.

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That is exactly what I walked into. This corporation found me on this web site and we worked out a deal. As presented earlier, expertise was not their priority. Thinking outside the box and rolling with the punches was a higher priority.

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Originally Posted by bigburtchino

"Rookies" have taught me many things, as have all individuals I have had the privilege to work with. Of my "Skill Sets", communications is the one I keep trying to improve on, as it is the most important skill one needs in all relationships.

Patriot, thanks for your latest update and pictures, as I have followed all your post. This "Mega Scrap" project of yours gave me insight to just how broad a scrap business can go. I hope it just keeps going for you as "Big" as you want it to. Thank you for your in-depth sharing with all of us at SMF.

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Thank you. For the moment the limit of my scraping will be limited to farm restoration projects. I met many big time scrapers that offered opportunities. These were declined because of circumstances and a belief I am where I am at for a reason. If I am invited to participate in phase two, it will be accepted for the learning opportunity it will provide.

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Originally Posted by miked

I have to say I find your experiences inspiring. You have the ablity to tell the story through words and photos, I wonder if this was a skill you picked up along the way?

I hope others pay close attention to some of your words of wisdom, here's and example: "That is the only way to approach this type of challenge. Any individual that is willing to learn, listen to other ideas, and remain committed could complete this project."

Thanks for sharing, Mike

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Thank you. I have enjoyed many of your posts, respect your perspective, and appreciate the compliment. I hope others understand I am a student first, a teacher second, and only share this information to help others. The philosophy behind this perspective, I can either learn from others or learn the hard way. I do not have time to learn everything the hard way so I look for knowledge from others. Therefore, it is only fair that knowledge is shared.

Ever considered taking home some wire to strip? Purchase it for the buying price. Gives you something to do in the winter

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Originally Posted by DevinThaScrapper

Ever considered taking home some wire to strip? Purchase it for the buying price. Gives you something to do in the winter

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Was not thinking while doing this job much less about the future. Planning for the future is not one of my strong points, loving just living each day as it comes. In truth there was so much going on it was hard to track it all. We were moving against the schedule and had to move metal out of the way as fast as possible to make room for the next load. Imagine 28 individual scrapers in a self contained environment who only have to get the metal to the hole for pay day. No sorting, no loading, no hauling, just throwing it in the hole. That gives you a perspective of the amount of metal moving each day. No way to stock pile. We did have individuals that would buy our non ferrous from the yard we were selling it to and they would prepare it. This opportunity was discussed earlier in the thread starting on post # 22.

I will be starting a new thread of my individual scraping adventures and in it you will see that I have more than enough to do this winter, although a great deal of it will be outside.