What do you rip off low-grade? - Page 2

Originally Posted by ddelatorre14

Im trying to figure out why you would take anything off of the board at all its all weight. I guess as a downstream Im not fully understanding why one would waste the extra time when you can throw it all in one box and get paid $0.15lb. for all of it. The extra time and effort just does not seem to work with the numbers game ($$) I think the higher grade boards should take priority. Just sayin'

Transisters are copper. Smash the black off clean copper is the result. Transformers are considered elec motors. IC chips contain gold. My yard pays me $3.00 for clean number 2 copper. They give me $0.37 per pound for transformers. The IC chips normaly go for $4.00 per pound.Thats why I cut all the stuff off mine.

people take things off that are worth more than $0.15.
when looking at hourly wages, its usually not worth it, unless you have done a lot and picked up a lot of tricks, however, many peopel do it while watching tv or sitting on the porch chatting, making it not count as working hours.

Originally Posted by ddelatorre14

Im trying to figure out why you would take anything off of the board at all its all weight. I guess as a downstream Im not fully understanding why one would waste the extra time when you can throw it all in one box and get paid $0.15lb. for all of it. The extra time and effort just does not seem to work with the numbers game ($$) I think the higher grade boards should take priority. Just sayin'

It really just comes down to what else you are working on. If you are doing this part time out of your garage as supplemental income then it would pay to dismantle items worth alot more than the .30 im paying. If you are working on alot of higher end inventory then no need to chase the few extra pennies... Hobo.. you can get low .30s but you have to get it to me in Tampa and im not really sure that would work well for you(please note the attempt at humor)Thank you and gnite

Ddelatorre14 is correct.. I only ask my customers to remove excess steel and plastic and they are receiving in the high twenties to low thirties/lb.....Not worth trying to recover a few extra cents for the aluminum and copper...

Originally Posted by URBANERECYCLING

Ddelatorre14 is correct.. I only ask my customers to remove excess steel and plastic and they are receiving in the high twenties to low thirties/lb.....Not worth trying to recover a few extra cents for the aluminum and copper...

I wish I could get high 20's to low 30's a pound. I would leave the stuff on as well for that price...

I remove all of the copper items, and the aluminum heatsinks and transistors.

I'm gonna take a crack at this one... So, I'm gonna say take off everything that is worth moreper pound than the price if boards are per pound? If you are going to break em down. Hope that makes sense.

Russell you are correct.

I take of the aluminum and through it in the EXT. AL. or AL. Sheet buckets. Transformers go in the ELEC. MO. bucket.

What about heat sinks? They look like they could be copper..

Unortunatly we dont have any yards around here that buy low grade or any escrap for that matter. So i pull everything off the board i can sell to a yard separately then mix the boards in with shred loads.

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

I take the 'delay line' from the boards.
I also get the crystals, theres several sorts.. I think theres silver in there too. .

who are you selling this stuff to or are you doing something w/ it yourself?

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

I take the 'delay line' from the boards. Origanally I thought there was gold on them, now I'm not sure. It looks like gold where the wires attached to the glass sometimes. I think the solder is silver solder.


I also get the crystals, theres several sorts.
They have a glass plate inside with really fine beautiful etchings on them. And gold looking solder on the cap & base edge & inside.
Common crystal & inside it. I think theres silver in there too.

Sorry about the size of the pics, still learning.... I did find out that a bad crystal will cause the 'green screen of death'.

Now who can I sell the crystals to?

Any other pics of those crystals would be appreciated!

Also are they normally located on the low grade boards? Low grade as in TV, VCR, Stereo boards...

Originally Posted by happyisthealero

Any other pics of those crystals would be appreciated!
Also are they normally located on the low grade boards? Low grade as in TV, VCR, Stereo boards...

Yup, I find the crystals on Tv's, microwaves, handsfree telephones etc. Anything that needs a crystal to set the timing of something.

Monitors don't have them, so I think they have something to do with timing the electron rays of & on & maybe where & when the ray changes direction across the screen.
On a monitor, the computer will probably control this.
Depending on how old the TV is, the sort of crystal they use changes. Theres a sort thats in a can, like old transistors, most are flatter & larger dia.
Some Tv's have 2 or 3 crystals too, of different sizes & types.

Real old Tv's have a thin tube thats got red copper wire wound around its length, thats the sort of Tv that may have gold plated legs on some of its transistors. Its a old version of the crystal SAW.
Also, check any Tv channel changers, the sort where you had to get off your rr's to change channel. The contacts on these often have gold plating

I am saving then for PM refining, on the chance that the crystals contain silver.
I snap them off & 1/2 the time the legs stay on. They get their own jar which is 1 pint, & 2/3ds full. They might be reclaimable & the broken ones are for refining.

Unfortunaly I can't find some tin for the tin chloride 'gold test'.

Do you have pics of all items you have listed above?

Where and who do you sell them to?

The oldest TV i ran across recently was from 89, doubt there is gold in other than the crystals. I do still have all the boards I have like three trash cans full of them lol.

I wonder if it would be best just to collect them because of the market value on these items doesn't seem to be going down at all.

It seems to me you should leave the plug on the wire not the ciruit board because you get more per pound for the wire than the board. Why would you leave the ic chips on the low grade boards when you can get 5.00 per pound for them. I don't understand why you guys are always talking about poluting the ground and/or the air and then throw your circuit boards in the shred pile. I have read post saying you shouldn't leave boards outside or on the ground do to pollution yet you'll toss your boards in the shred pile.

:confused:What are you talking about? Got a quote of someone saying they through there boards on the ground?