Are Vacuum Cleaners worth collecting?

I'm a new scrapper, and have a small car that I use to haul my scap to be recycled. I was just wondering if old vacuum cleaners are worth breaking down before you take them in to sell? Also any hints on household applicance that sell better than others? Any tips would be appreciated. I'm 62 and just starting to try to make some money at this. I am so proud I bought my first magnet and carry it with me in the car att the time just in case. Thanks for any advice you can give me. Thank you fellow Arizonan's and all others for any help.

I've never considered tearing apart vacuum cleaners, but something you might try is cutting the cords off and stripping them for the copper wire. In your situation of just starting and using your car, you're pretty limited in what you can handle. My advise - concentrate on the non-ferrous metal which sell by the pound. But probably skip aluminum as it's bulky and take a lot to make a pound. Brass is good and easily found. For stripping insulation (that plastic stuff) off copper wire, use a box knife. For cutting foreign material off stuff like stainless steel, use a portable grinder. Mine is pretty big and was made for car body work, but you can get a smaller one that would work well and is easier to manipulate.

This probably doesn't apply to you right now - but. Appliances like stoves, washers and dryers are best because you can stuff then with small pieces to increase the weight. Don't take anything with a refrigerant (Freon) - Air conditioners, refrigerators, dehumidifier, ice machines. Instead of getting paid, you will pay scrap yard take them. It is illegal to release the refrigerant into the air. The newer refrigerant is not illegal to release, but you need to be able to tell which appliance has what refrigerant. There is a tool to release and capture refrigerant but it's not something you'd want right now.

As far as appliances to sell to people, I've had good luck with washing machines (including two electric wringer washers), old cast iron bathtubs and stainless steel pots and pans. I've also been doing well selling iron to backyard welders and have a market for all the bicycles I can get.

yep, break that sucker down ! I'm stocking up plastic until I get a load big enough to take in, but you have a motor in there that you can sell at motor price and a wiring harness...even if those idiots who just cut off chords and leave everything else have already been through. It takes longer to build up a load, but I love to go in with a bucketful of motors. Good luck tweetygirl.

Remember that some of the older vacuums have aluminum and some even Stainless Steel casings.
I agree with DumspsterDee, break them down as far as you can.
Check your local area and see if there is someone who will buy the plastic and save it up for them.
Good Luck !

Yeah, I break them down. Alot of the motors on vacuums can be broken down pretty easily on those. get to the copper part and use a grinder to cut it and then screwdriver to pry it off of the steel that the are glued to.

I picked up an older vacuum this week and it was 95% metal. The brush roll that spins turned out to be aluminum, but had to cut the ends off and smack the brush runners out and remove the steel support rod in the roller. Surprisingly the weight wasn't bad for just a roller.

another thought Tweedy.....you gotta have the right tools to make it worth the time. Tell us if you don't and we'll tell you what you need to make the job as fast as possible. Really it's just a power drill.....nice assortment of bits....assortment of screw drivers (regular/manual) a big hammer and a pry bar.

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Originally Posted by Dumpster Dee

...a big hammer ...

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like this one - weighs 43 pounds. The hardest part is getting it over your head -- then just hang on and go along for the ride.

I scrap all i can find, it all adds up in the end. and get lucky once in a while find an older one, with an aluminum housing.

There is some interest in the oldest vacuums as a vintage collectible. You might check in with an antique mall or dealer to see if a particular model is sought after and worth more than scrap value.

I also sell vacs regularly on CL for better than scrap.

I got 6 yesterday in one spot, shoved them in the back of a Honda LOL. Cord Cutters got there first and left me the rest!!!!

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Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

I also sell vacs regularly on CL for better than scrap.

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ding ding ding we have a winner. I am able to sell about 8 out of 10 vacs I get. I disassemble them, pressure wash the pick up tubes and all the plastic ( with a pressure washer I got out of the trash ) reassemble and sell on CL. I have gotten from 25 to 40 dollars. Way better than what I would get for scrap

I used to get vacuums from a vacuum dealer by the truck load. Never broke down a vacuum with a hammer or a pry-bar just an electric screw driver and a pair of wire snips. Unscrew enought screws and the thing will fall apart. my .02

Ive kept a couple good vaccums ive found. There just basic ones though. I have one in my garage and one in my workshop. You cant ever have too many vacuums around, can always scrap em out later if i need the money. I havnt ever found any of the ones that are worth collecting. I guess when i find some more that run ill sell them on craigslist.

I had a decent bagless I cleaned up for my oldest daughter and after a couple of days the motor would get hot?? and start slowing down to a crawl and finally stopped. It cooled off and would run for about a minute or two before it would do it again.

Make sure the ones you are selling will run more than 5 minutes at a time before you sell them.