19 Compute Towers and confused...pls help!

Hiya Metalheads!

So here is my delimma (other than being a rookie and having a local scrap yard that doesnt like to answer questions) I have a stack of towers that I thought scrapping was a good idea. Now I read that some components are worth more to sale online if they still work. My line of thinking was that if the tower is old enough to have a floppy drive that it wouldnt be worth reselling due to being antiquated. Is this dumb on my part?

Now assuming I am going to scrap all of the towers...how far do you break them down? I got the basics down...case, boards, memory, power supply, wiring, drives etc. My question is for the sake of time vs maximum dollar signs...do I take apart the drives, power supply etc. I did take EVERYTHING apart on the first one out of curiosity. Its freaking cool to find gold and other shiny things inside.

Next, I was told too seperate Hi grade and mid grade boards but my scrap yard says they only pay 7.5 cents a pound for all boards. Confusing?!?!?!?

After breaking down the first one I ended up with these piles: Insulated wiring, Aluminum (heat sinks, driver case and disc), Hi grade boards (Mother and driver boards, Mid and low grade boards (all the rest), Copper (anything I could find on boards or elsewhere even the itty bitty fan motors), Magnets (from hard drive) and of course the steel case and frame. Am I on the right track?

I guess what I am looking for in a nut shell is justification for the hour it took me to break it down as far as I did vs the 5 minutes I see it done online! for example I was told when it came to motors "if it is bigger than a box fan, remove the motor before you scrap it" I get that. I just need the same rule of thumb for towers.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions or advice!

If you search through the forum there are a million threads on breaking down computers that will answer all of your question. Personally, I think you are on the right track. I break things down as much as possible and after a couple dozen I am doing it in about 30% of the time. I'd suggest you keep practicing. Also, check out the buyers section and forget about .075#, that is just crazy

Sounds like you broke it down and seperated it right. Dont sell boards to scrap yards because they will low ball you. Sell them to a buyer here cause the scrap yard is going to sell them off also. And save up those ram and Hard drive boards!!

I agree, you're well on the way, but there are many remaining points to ponder. Starting out with the floppy drives, those in themselves are worth looking at. I generally look for the "made in" part, China? chuck it, USA, keep to sell, many times even Indonesia or Japan etc, you'll just have to figure your own parameters there. That's true in most all of it. Best rule of thumb, probably is start slow with the scrapping, it's sometimes sad to know you tore down a $200 machine for $5 scrap ; )
Also those board prices, you'll find much better pricing for boards here in the buyers section, and if you find one close enough to drive to, you'll also find power supplies, hard drives, etc to be worth hauling(though they're not worth shipping)
It's just a matter of time till you'll have it figured out and be making waves ; )

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Originally Posted by Bear

start slow with the scrapping, it's sometimes sad to know you tore down a $200 machine for $5 scrap ; )

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I personally learned that the hard way. When I'm not 1000% sure on the value of something, I take the time 10 mins to look it up online.

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Originally Posted by QuestnMark

Hiya Metalheads!

So here is my delimma (other than being a rookie and having a local scrap yard that doesnt like to answer questions) I have a stack of towers that I thought scrapping was a good idea. Now I read that some components are worth more to sale online if they still work. My line of thinking was that if the tower is old enough to have a floppy drive that it wouldnt be worth reselling due to being antiquated. Is this dumb on my part?

Now assuming I am going to scrap all of the towers...how far do you break them down? I got the basics down...case, boards, memory, power supply, wiring, drives etc. My question is for the sake of time vs maximum dollar signs...do I take apart the drives, power supply etc. I did take EVERYTHING apart on the first one out of curiosity. Its freaking cool to find gold and other shiny things inside.

Next, I was told too seperate Hi grade and mid grade boards but my scrap yard says they only pay 7.5 cents a pound for all boards. Confusing?!?!?!?

After breaking down the first one I ended up with these piles: Insulated wiring, Aluminum (heat sinks, driver case and disc), Hi grade boards (Mother and driver boards, Mid and low grade boards (all the rest), Copper (anything I could find on boards or elsewhere even the itty bitty fan motors), Magnets (from hard drive) and of course the steel case and frame. Am I on the right track?

I guess what I am looking for in a nut shell is justification for the hour it took me to break it down as far as I did vs the 5 minutes I see it done online! for example I was told when it came to motors "if it is bigger than a box fan, remove the motor before you scrap it" I get that. I just need the same rule of thumb for towers.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions or advice!

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There are a lot of good buyers here. Many like EWASTED will sort the boards for you which really helps when you start. Just remove the excess metal and batteries, throw in a box, get a prepaid label, wait for a check, repeat.................

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Originally Posted by QuestnMark

Next, I was told too seperate Hi grade and mid grade boards but my scrap yard says they only pay 7.5 cents a pound for all boards. Confusing?!?!?!?

After breaking down the first one I ended up with these piles: Insulated wiring, Aluminum (heat sinks, driver case and disc), Hi grade boards (Mother and driver boards, Mid and low grade boards (all the rest), Copper (anything I could find on boards or elsewhere even the itty bitty fan motors), Magnets (from hard drive) and of course the steel case and frame.

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What "low grade" boards are you finding in a computer?


Also, "Copper (anything I could find on boards"... if this means that you're picking copper off pretty much any of the boards in a computer, you are likely devaluing it. Only take off plastic, heatsinks, and things that are not soldered on. You want to clean the board, not strip it.



Read the helpful threads, and good luck!

Where are you from(state and city) try to find a buyer local to you if you can. If your in a biger city you should be able to find a local buyer. Then talk to them about what they buy and how they want it. Some things are not worth breaking down, I do not break down hard drives or floppy drives (not worth it to me) I do take the boards out of power suplies and cd drives. Like wolf said above if something is soldered on the board do not take it off or you will down grade the board.

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What "low grade" boards are you finding in a computer?

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Maybe the boards out of floppy drives, or P.S.'s