Question about AC units and handlers

Hi everyone. About six months ago i answered an ad in craigslist about a Airconditioning company looking for someone to be their scrap guy. They wanted somneone to pay a certain amount per. I answered the ad but was to late as they already got someone. They kept my number and i got a text today 6 months later asking if i was interested. they want $100 per 5 ton package or 90 for any other. They will have units daily as we are entering the season for it very soon here in florida. Any advice as to if this is a fair deal. I am not looking to make a huge score but a steady income with it overtime but dont want to just give my share and labor away to a unfair split. Any advice would be greatly appreciated......Thank you

Also if anyone in the Tampa area would be interested in partnering in on this (if it works) out let me know.. I have taken a new fulltime gig ( e scrap division for a telecommunication company) so i could definately use a partner to do this if it is logical..

Definately my first thought, but wasnt familiar with the breakdown of the whole units. Thank you

Are you certified or licensed to work with Freon? If not, stay away. You could get into big trouble if you get caught tearing these units apart if you aren't. I don't know about other yards but at the one I go to they won't take an AC unit unless the Freon has been recovered.

Hey Grab I am about 45 minutes north of tampa and might be interested but have some questions. Did tou say they want $100 for a 5 ton ac unit? That sounds a little high to me. Send me a pm lets see if we can work a deal.

The company will be decommisioning them of the freon but good point. Happy i will pm you later and give you all the details i know at the moment . Look forward to talking

Depending on the brand and age of the equipment, on a 5 ton package unit you can expect roughly 80-100lbs of copper/aluminum coils.
About 8-15lbs of #1 copper
2 electric motors, about 25lbs total
1 compressor, 100+lbs
A couple lbs of wire
approximatly 200-300 lbs of metal
and a few other items like a cast aluminum gas valve (1lb), small contactor (2-4 of them), and a circuit board.
The prices you get for the variuos metals will greatly impact weather its worth it or not.

Note that this is just a rough estimate, and also note that as the tonnage goes down the weight of the metals will be reduced drastically. Here i could make money off the 5 ton units, but you will lose money or break even after a lot of work buying a 2-3 ton unit for $90

I break down ac condensing units on a daily basis. Figure 10 pounds of A/C coil per ton of refrigeration. Most A/C compressors weigh between 60 and 75 pounds with 4 to 6 pounds of windings if you cut them apart. Figure another 15 to 25 pounds of cean coils if you get the evap coils. 3 to 6 pounds of copper tubing out of the condensing units depending on if they're heat pumps or not. I pay all my HVAC companies 10 cents a pound for all their scrap, furnaces and hot water heaters included. It's all about volume. I don't include the value of the refrigerant because most recyclers aren't set up to reclaim it for resale. If you have any questions, PM me.

Freonjoe, i believe from his post he is talking about a complete package unit not just a condenser.

The only difference would be the furnace. They weigh between 90 and 125 pounds. You only gain one more fractional motor ( 1 1/2 pounds of windings) and another pound of insulated wire. Very seldom will you ever get a line set.

You are still thinking in terms of a split system, condenser outside connected to the evaporater coil and furnace inside via the lineset.
The OP is talking about a package unit, a complete self contained unit, a 5 ton package unit will have a condenser coil that weighs 40-50 lbs
and an evaporater coil approximatly the same weight.
The line set connecting the evap/condenser will also be contained in the unit. In this set up it does not have far to travel, but i would still
expect atleast 8-15lbs of #1.

I have a couple of 5 ton packaged units sitting in the yard. When I get back next week I'll do a breakdown and posting the results.

I believe with MDG.Seems high priced,not much wiggle room.I have stripped both 5 ton splits and ''package units''

I don't have the numbers you are looking for, but after reading the post my first thought was... Why did the original person quit handling these. Not enough profit? Or on the bright side.. More than they could handle. Maybe you could inquire as to what happened to their previous help.

Was definately a thought I had about why its my turn to get the account...Going to talk today will let everyone know what i find out... Thanks for all the info and advise. Hope to help some out on here down the road

I'm not going to get into a debate here. Just offer my own experience and advice. Do with it what you will. I have broken down several a/c units. 5 ton package units included. And for that price, and the prices I get, I just don't see the profit here. Especially after you consider your time involved from pick-up to break down to scrap yard. As for $90 for the smaller units? No way. If it were me, I'd run away and run away fast.