PSU: Keep Wires Or Not?

I have about 100 PSUs and last year I disassembled them all, this year I do not want to disassemble them I will be selling them whole.

My question is though would you keep the wires on or off? I think the difference is about $0.05/lb with wires on/off and I am not sure the average weight of the wires cut from outside the PSU enclosure but they are almost always copper.

I have three trash barrels full of wire I have been procrastinating processing, I may just sell them as is without stripping. What is your opinion(s) should I sell the PSUs as is or throw the wire in my barrels for 5-cents less per pound??

psu?? Please explain.

I personally cut the wires, and wiring get processed as #2 Insulated. My yard will take them with the connectors on. Some of the connectors are even gold plated and get cut off and go into my gold connectors.

It would probably be easier to stack the units with the wires cut off, so you could probably fit more into a smaller area once you cut the wires off.

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

psu?? Please explain.

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Power Supplies

I don't even remove the power supplies anymore. The wires are cut flush with the outside of the power supply, removed and tossed in my #3 insulated wire barrels. With the prices I'm getting in my area this is what works best for me. YMMV.

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Originally Posted by PinkFloydEffect

I have about 100 PSUs and last year I disassembled them all, this year I do not want to disassemble them I will be selling them whole.

My question is though would you keep the wires on or off? I think the difference is about $0.05/lb with wires on/off and I am not sure the average weight of the wires cut from outside the PSU enclosure but they are almost always copper.

I have three trash barrels full of wire I have been procrastinating processing, I may just sell them as is without stripping. What is your opinion(s) should I sell the PSUs as is or throw the wire in my barrels for 5-cents less per pound??

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Locally I have been able to sell the power supplies for a little over shred without the wires. So I have been cutting them off with my angle grinder which is very fast for doing many at the same time. Good luck, Mike

Sounds like I will cut them off then, easier storage and if my yard will buy the wire insulated as #2 that is okay with me.

I have barrels of mixed wire though some of it is aluminum I will have to separate it, not sure what the going rate is on shielded aluminum wire.

Angle grinder sounds like a great idea Mike!

I believe I can get double or triple shred price for PSUs upwards of 18-20 cents without wire per lb.

I am lucky that my yard buys them as motors without wire (20c a pound) so I cut the wire and move on. Has really upped my motor poundage and pays better than when I sold with wire to another outlet.

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Originally Posted by ItAllAddsUp

I am lucky that my yard buys them as motors without wire (20c a pound) so I cut the wire and move on. Has really upped my motor poundage and pays better than when I sold with wire to another outlet.

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What yard?

there was a post on here a while back about losing money cutting off the wire, seemed prices for the three categories was the main factor.
If you take .05/lb off the majority of the weight, does the weight cut off cover and make the difference in price.
average power supply is roughly 3-4 lbs, so simplify say all 4lbs
power supply with wire at .25/lb x 400lb = $100
power supply without wire at .20/lb x 375lb = $75
it takes 3 or 4 power supply wire harnesses with ends to make a lb
so well say 4 for ease of numbers.
take your #2 wire price (mine .45/lb) x 25 lbs = $11.25
i would lose money cutting wire with my wire price...If I could get your awesome prices on power supplies.
If it was 3 harnesses per lb then I would still lose money as it would come out to $15 worth of wire
your wire price should let you know if it's worth while
these are also just averages...some power supplies weigh as little as a 2 lb and as much a 7 or 8, some have a lot of wire some have very little.

100 bucks to put them in the truck and be done with them sounds pretty good...
edit: fixed math

i would not disassemble power supplys! if they work put them on ebay! particular power supply's out of servers.
remote control airplane and helicopter guys use them to build there there power supply's. to run there battery charges with to charge there rc planes and helicopters with.
just an idea.

lol there is no value on eBay for old PC power supplies that I am aware of. Nobody wants to buy 50 old power supplies at a time for hobbies.

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Originally Posted by PinkFloydEffect

lol there is no value on eBay for old PC power supplies that I am aware of. Nobody wants to buy 50 old power supplies at a time for hobbies.

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That is true. Selling computer parts takes time and testing. If you are not up for that then scrap them. Mike

My career is IT, so anything 400W or greater with a full ATX connector I do put aside and reuse in clients machines, but the 150-350W run of the mill power supplies are not worth anything as far as eBay or resale.