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Hi to all, did some real work today.A friend gave me 3 ac/heat units like in a motel already drained of freon.I'll take an electric motor over a compressor anyday,those compressors must have been 3/16 thick.Anyway as I understand it the coppper lines have to be free of solder to be #1 is that correct? I'm also guessing there's not anything to be done about all that fuzzy aluminum on the rest.
#1 has to be free of solder and corrosion. You must have gotten some older GE ones. The fuzzy copper/aluminum goes as clean Cu/Al radiators. Those older GE's are the worst ones to tear down.
each ac had 2 radiators,I quess 1 evaporator and 1 condenser? All together there was 1 that was all aluminum and 1 of the fuzzy's the rest were were copper tubing with aluminum fins.These have all the little loops of copper sticking out of the ends and I was thinking about cutting them all off for #1
On the cu/al coils, don't forget to cut off the piece of steel on each end. If you don't, they go as dirty radiators.
At my yard the little copper elbows go as #2. Also take the heat elements out, they look like coild wire, they ar Nichrome. I don't cut the compressors, I sell them as sealed compressors at .28lbs I think thats the price.
Last one I did I used a two handle brush cutter to trim off the end loops. It slices them off real slick.Quote:
Originally Posted by pwa
are you talking about a weed eater? Thats what came up on goggle.I'm not sure what you mean by 2 handle brush cutter?
Do you mean a draw knife?
http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/...reonjoe/th.jpg
I was wondering about a two handle brush cutter too. How would you cut copper with a draw knife? Don't they use those for cutting wood?
I use a sawzall, goes pretty fast.
By 2 handed brush cutter he means pruning shears
I didn't know the exact name for them till I looked them up on Home Depot, these things slice copper tubing real well as long as their sharp. They call them loppers, good thing they have long handles or you'd be "lopping" your fingers off,,,lolQuote:
Originally Posted by pwa
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...bf6798_300.jpg
Thats a pretty good idea, they are thin enough to get into places bolt cutter could not.
I use a angle grinder with a metal cut-off wheel, just runs down right next to the metal takes the loops off clean. Also i don't mind cutting compressors as some bigger ones have alot of copper.
Yea I cut the loops off first with a saws all. Then I cut the metal plate off on the ends. That way you get the number 2 copper loops and the little bit that is left in the steel I just throw it in shred. Not enough copper to mess with.
Sorry for the double post but the yard that I go to quit taking sealed units so I always cut them open. They are pretty easy and I wait until I have a bunch of them at a time to do. The only bad part is when you cut one open and then cut the "copper" windings only to find out that it is aluminum.
^^^Mine wants them at the very least drilled out. Sometimes I cut them open and sometimes I don't, it depends on how tired I am and it takes almost one whole side grinder wheel to cut one open so I also have to think if its worth it. Also, my yard used to take them as motors but I noticed this year they take them as steel but you still have to keep them separate so they know they've been drilled out and they weight them separate too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by freonjoe
Hey Joe, I have a bunch of copper plumbing tubing that came out of a fire, and was thinking I should cut the joints to go in #2 and that would make the tubing #1. It will probably still have a scorched color to it, will it all be #2 anyway?
I use loppers to cut the wires off of power supplies.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mechanic688
Bear, you could try wiping it down with vingear and see if it cleans it up.
I took some 41/2 in x .045 sait aluminum cut of wheels to cut the top off the windings in the stator and what a let down they were. These windings were only about 5'' and I could'nt even do 2 before the wheel was to small to cut all the way through the winding.I think I'll have to invest in a 9''and try a diffrent brand wheel.My 4 1/2 works good on motor housing though.Can't the yards tell if you have used vingear (acetic acid) to try and clean up something that would go as #2?
I use a 10 inch cut off wheel in my tablesaw and can cut the ends off of 50-75 winding cores before it's too small to cut anything else. I don't think the yards care what you clean it with as long as it looks good.
Fist of all Bear are you using aluminum cutoff wheels? Try using steel cutoff wheels they'll last longer. Second my yard buys all used copper tubing as #2 but your yard might be diffrant.
not bear but pretty sure your talking to me.The aluminum cut off wheels are suppposed to be for non-ferrous and work better but apparently not.I'll get some decent ones for steel and give them a shot.I got a couple cheep ones from the hardware store and used them on steel and they were so-so.I live in a small town so there's not variety
I've been using a metal blade in a 10" miter saw for years, it just wore out recently after I started doing some serious motor and transformer cutting. That round part in the middle of motors, is it a stator or rotor? Even after it's removed from the motor it still laden with copper inside it's circumference, what do you sell those as?
The last time I took some in, mixed with a small batch of electric motors, the guy started to pull them out, but I asked about it, and showed him where I'd filed the end to reveal the amount of copper still there. He wasn't sure either, but he let it stay in with the electric motors that time
yea that would be the rotor bear,it has a shaft through the middle of it with a bearing on each end and the surface were the brushes ride (accumulator) seem to always copper.I havent seen that many but all the rotors seem to be made a little diffrent.Seen some were only the accumulator is copper.
From what I understand the center from motors with the copper windings (often found in hand tools) are actually properly called armatures. My local yard take them as electric motor price. The center of most stand alone motors (the ones without copper) are called rotors and my local yard pays me prepared steel price.
thnaks, shows what i know
For Al/cu reefer, I will use the angle grinder on the outside of the loops against the steel. They cut easily and once all are off, tap the steel with a hammer and it will fall off with a few light hits.
All copper pipes go for #2 at my yard, with or without solder.
The Aluminum reefer doesn't have any steel attached to it usually, so I just snip the connection of copper and alum with a small bolt cutter and take it in like that.
Compressors- I store them and always intended to cut them open, but they do take almost a whole cut off wheel each and the sawzall is too messy. An oxy/acetylene torch might work best. Just brought in about 500 lbs not too long ago.
Electric motors- Simple. Couple bolts with nuts. I drop them on the ground and the middle usually pops out. Then take the grinder down the side of the steel to take off the casing.
But you can just snip the wires and take them as motors like that.\
There is cast aluminum/zinc on the motor, too.
I have never checked the rotor in an electric motor for copper, so they actually have copper in them? I'll have to check,i was cleaning some electric fan motors earlier. I always cut my compressors.
If the rotor (armature) has copper on it, it will be easy to see and the and where the brushes ride(acumalator) will be copper. I'm by no means an expert about this stuff all I did was google electric motor diagram.