Scrapping OCD

I know this is for dismantling and breaking down scrap and ill get to that. Lately, ive been getting such small loads of scrap. Mostly because of how insanely cold its been and without a heated garage, i bring most of my scrap inside to sort (family is really happy about that one). Because of the smaller loads, ive been tearing them down more often and and down to the very last part when, normally, id just take off a pieces that are different metals and call it a day.


My question is: Does anyone else have this "scrapping OCD" problem as well?

I break almost everything down to its bones to maximize what I get but most of the stuff like hard drives or printers and such I pay my employee to do

In lieu of a heated garage, you might start thinking about putting together a shed or something for next year. Something small enough and well insulated enough to heat it with a minimal expense(think South facing window, door, and such) yet big enough to do some work in

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Originally Posted by Bear

In lieu of a heated garage, you might start thinking about putting together a shed or something for next year. Something small enough and well insulated enough to heat it with a minimal expense(think South facing window, door, and such) yet big enough to do some work in

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Were not going to be staying here for very long. Id rather just wait a few more months for the warmer weather. Id like to find a space heater thats big enough to heat a 2 car garage for a few hours though

buy some of these. Put one on the top part of each of your hands under your work gloves. One on top of your head under your winter hat (with a bandana folded up under it or something simalar so as not to melt your brain. and one dropped in the side of each of your boots.[IMG]http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/x...psvxbsgkvq.jpg[/IMG]

Are you really making money by breaking down material??? assign yourself an hourly wage, this is critical capture the cost of any consumables (people opening Sealed units always forget this)

do a careful timed study on the material of choice, and you might decide you are actually costing yourself money aluminum radiators and Cast iron compressors are two items I know if you are getting a fair price on breaking them down is at best a wash


Now on the other side of that coin, if you get true enjoyment out of your tasks for all that is good keep at it. There is a certain task at work that my wife can always tell I've been at I come home smiling and relaxed, but tired and sleep like a baby.

V/r HT1

^^^^^^ this. If you are not looking at a payrate for an activity, then you are selling yourself short. People always say, "I don't have anything else to be doing, so I do it"...well you are trading in your TIME...the stuff you never ever get back. If it isn't worth the rate you want to make (and it should be a reasonable rate, because why do something for peanuts), then you have to reevaluate what you are doing. Don't trade your time in for pennies is all I am saying...spend that time looking for more scrap, other ways to make more money...something anything else that will make you the hourly rate you have computed that will pay the bills and get you the things you want (again it should be way more than minimum wage).

All that to say, NO, if the activity doesn't pay me the $XX/hr, then I don't do it.

When I first started to get stuff I would just take it to the yard and claim my money but with the prices down I take a bit more time and strip more things down I now take the wire looms out of washing machines and dish washers and take all the power cords off every thing to strip down at a later date I'm now even taking the motors off every thing and stripping them down for the copper getting more money that way.

I'm starting to get more fridges before I would just cut the copper take the cord and the compressor and that was that but now I'm even taking all the metal from the fridge so all I'm left with is the plastic and insulation.

I've always broken down to the very end as far as stuff could go. when I'm really busy and if stuff starts piling up, say..mower engines, I will turn them in for Irony. Otherwise they get pushed back further and further and I get sick of looking at them lol.

With good prices I would have been considered ADD because I was hyper active. It was turn and burn and nonferrous was collected and stockpiled for a time when I could not handle the ferrous market. Now I cannot handle the low prices of the ferrous market and started on the non ferrous. My strategy, quick sorting followed by more detailed separation. The longer the prices are low, the more refining I will do.

An example of this strategy, today was spent breaking down computers something that has not been attempted before. Most of the cases were removed. Then the hard drives, power system, etc. will be broken down further until it is time to sell. The strategy is to continue to break things down further and further until the price improves. So I one of those that went from ADD to OCD.

BTW = These labels did not exist in my younger days. I guess the board of education was more valuable back then, compared to prescriptions.

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Originally Posted by Patriot76

BTW = These labels did not exist in my younger days. I guess the board of education was more valuable back then, compared to prescriptions.

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Amen. We had some guys in school with behavior problems. 2-3 wacks with the board resolved them and encouraged the others not to screw up. Knowing full well that the same WOULD happen to you got your attention. Mike

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My question is: Does anyone else have this "scrapping OCD" problem as well?
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As I don't work a lot at nite or in cold weather I take the time to break about everything in a 'puter all the way down to it's lowest point for selling. I'm watching tv or babysitting here anyway so any tearing down is productive to me.

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Don't trade your time in for pennies is all I am saying...spend that time looking for more scrap, other ways to make more money...something anything else that will make you the hourly rate you have computed that will pay the bills and get you the things you want (again it should be way more than minimum wage)

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Hard for me to be looking for scrap in the middle of the nite, not in my neighborhood.

I used to break everything down but with low prices i dont. Like elctric motors no longer retrieve copper. etc. Most i pull is parts for ebay and thats it. of course if the motor is 12c and shred is 4c will pull that. But no longer break it down any farther. I also dont prepare steel anymore as a extra penny is not worth. Cut it so it will fit in the trailer and thats it. And i have 16ft deck trailer, so thats what i cut it to.