Weekend score from the power company

I was doing a fire inspection on our local power utility folks a couple weeks ago, and in the back of their lot they had two large AC units and the air handlers that went with them. I asked what they were going to do with them and they said "Scrap, but we dont wanna just toss in a roll-off". So I struck a deal with them and took a day off Friday to pick them up. I had it set up with a local HVAC guy to pull the refrigerant out of them, so I headed his way (a couple miles down the road) as soon as I was loaded. These units had R22 freon in them, and the HVAC guy paid me 55 cent an ounce for the material, minus the time for his guys to do it. So I got $75 dollars for the freon and I kept it out of the atmosphere at the same time.

Took me all day Friday to rip up the units. Four big sealed units, several electric motors, a 5 gallon bucket of wiring, some big aluminum copper radiator, a handful of transformers, and all the copper tubing that was in them. Also, the air handlers had large "squirrel cage" blowers in them. I saved those as they make great shop fans. More than scrap value for sure. I'm gonna find me a couple washing machine motors to run them, the motors that were on them were 220, and thats just not convenient for me so I'll scrap those and find a couple 110's I can wire up with a plug and make em portable.


Loaded up at the power company, looks a little shaky but it was buckled down nicely.
http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/...psgxakqvww.jpg

Ripping up the air handlers as best as I could for volume reduction. The 4-n-1 bucket is handy, but an excavator would have been handier :lol:. I couldnt rip or mash the "box" part of these things. I figured they crush up like a beer can, boy was I wrong, those puppies are tough! The AC units squashed right down, but they did have a lot more material removed from them.

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/...pstjaibyed.jpg

Here's the blowers I saved

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/...psqqrubiq0.jpg

And a couple pics of it all loaded up and ready to haul

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0hm8swcy.jpg

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4zzhvni2.jpg


I'm going to try to leave work early today and get it hauled off. I'll post weights and prices when I do.

He shoots........HE SCORES!!!!!!!!!! or if you are into soccer.... "GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!" Well done my friend.

So I managed to get that mess hauled off today. Prices:

Shred steel - $.04 - 3020 lbs - $120.80
OS Aluminum - $.30 - 8 lbs - $2.40
#2 Copper - $1.50 - 63 lbs - $94.50
Ins Wire - $.50 - 15 lbs - $7.50
Aluminum Copper Rad - $.80 - 347 lbs - $277.60
Electric Motors - $.15 - 411 lbs - $61.65
Sealed Units - $.10 - 332 lbs - $33.20

Total - $597.65

My deal with the power company company was a 50/50 split. So if you add the $75 I got for the freon, I made about $375 minus a few gallons of diesel. Not bad for a hard days work. Plus I got the blowers above and a couple other pieces I'm gonna try to sell for parts (circuit boards and relays and such).

Its nice that your deal worked out. I wonder if our power companies around here would go for such a deal?? Then again, watching you tin can those units with your machinery reminds me that's probably beyond what I can do with my hand tools (or I certainly couldn't get it done in a day). Congrats!!

50/50 sounds like they made of like kings. most outfits that end up with stuff like that don't have them means to scrap it. they wouldn't have gotten anything like that from the yards. they might have gotten maybe double the tin price. but buying that at double tin is making tons o money, but even then 377 or so for one day ain't bad, but, but that power company still made off like kings, because they pawned off all the labor.