Some people just do not listen after being told

Some people just do not listen after being told. I guess I am that way at times. (Too hard headed).
Today I scrapped my first dehumidifier. After doing some reading on the forum that some guys just scrap the compressor without disassembling, because it is not a benefit on the return. Well I went against the grain and decided not to listen to my fellow forum members and took on the task. What a mistake! Not only a loss of time but also one big f’ing mess / clean up for little gain. Do not get me wrong it was a learning opportunity. Nevertheless, not one I will never make again. I just wanted to share my exciting day of scrapping.

Buckatabon

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Some people just do not listen after being told.

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Yea, and sometimes you can lead them to water but you cannot make them drink,,

Wth ya smoking? The compressor on those have anywhere from 1-2 lbs of copper. Then you got the aluminum copper, fan, and some copper.

Unless I misunderstood you. Or maybe you actually had a humidiefier, which is nothing more than a fan spritzer.If it was a true dehumifier, then it is essentially a mini ac. And well worth the breakdown including the compressor. ****, I did 10 compressors and came out to 20 lbs copper, all from acs and fridges. Time invested to cut 10 compressors to bare copper was 3-4 hours. I will do them all day long for $20+ a hour.

Sorry, let me explain myself. It was not the dehumidifier that was a mess. I was able to recover the Copper and Aluminum just fine. But when I decided to open up the compressor (motor) it was a oily mess not to mention the time it took to recover the motor windings and cut off disked I used up on my 4 ½ inch grinder just to gain a small amount of copper. Like I stated earlier it was a learning experience, But I do not think I will tackle the compressor again as there is not real gain.

Buckatabon

i always say i will take apart everything at least once. experience of that is priceless

You need to set up a five gallon bucket to let as much of the oil drain out as can . I have the lid cut at a size to allow the compressor sit , I also drill a hole at bottom and top for flow . I give the oil to service station but I bet it has other uses as it is clean oil but impregnated with freon I figure . If it is not tainted clue me in .

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Originally Posted by machinistace802

i always say i will take apart everything at least once. experience of that is priceless

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I started taking stuff apart when I was 3 years old. I'm 44 now, still taking stuff apart, still learning from it.

It gives me real pleasure to see my 10 year old boy wanting to help me take e-waste scrap apart. I let him bang away last night for over an hour on an old WebTV box.

SOME PEOPLE JUST DON'T LISTEN!! Buck how many time have the people on this forum said to read the old post? If you had done your homework and read up on braking down compressors you could of advoided the big mess.

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Originally Posted by happyscraper

SOME PEOPLE JUST DON'T LISTEN!! Buck how many time have the people on this forum said to read the old post? If you had done your homework and read up on braking down compressors you could of advoided the big mess.

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With all due respect, as a new member I can tell you that it isn't easy to just "read the old posts" and learn everything there is to know. The posts with solid information are interspersed with comments, differing opinions, etc. Plus, using the search engine is hard because it's difficult to accommodate misspellings, unusual wordings, etc.

I think it would be great to have a solid FAQ with what the more senior people like yourself feel are "the basics". A list of links is not an FAQ. An FAQ is a document that needs to be carefully put together, vetted by the senior people, and then put into one specific place.

--Geoff

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Originally Posted by ggariepy

With all due respect, as a new member I can tell you that it isn't easy to just "read the old posts" and learn everything there is to know. The posts with solid information are interspersed with comments, differing opinions, etc. Plus, using the search engine is hard because it's difficult to accommodate misspellings, unusual wordings, etc.

I think it would be great to have a solid FAQ with what the more senior people like yourself feel are "the basics". A list of links is not an FAQ. An FAQ is a document that needs to be carefully put together, vetted by the senior people, and then put into one specific place.

--Geoff

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A FAQ is a great idea. The addition of "stickies" has helped a lot but the standard "use the search function" answer ignores the fact that the search feature isn't very user friendly. I have seen several posts where someone shows how easy it is to find a thread. What is missed is that they already know what is in the thread so that is what they search for. As it is, if I don't know what I don't know, I won't know what to search for. The plug/connectors on ribbon cable is a good example of a frustrating search when you don't know what they are called.

FWIW I have found is that using google to search SMF will get me better results than the forum's search function. That was not my idea. I stole it from someone else here.

All that to say, the admins have done a stellar job of improving the site and I appreciate their efforts.

Bill

It took me 7 min. to find all the threads that deal with braking down compressors without using the search engine.

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Originally Posted by happyscraper

It took me 7 min. to find all the threads that deal with braking down compressors without using the search engine.

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That's fantastic. But with 983 posts and 6 months' time on the site, plus whatever experience you already had, you had a huge advantage in knowing what to look for. I applaud your searching skills, but once again, and with all due respect, you're not taking into account you know what the other guy doesn't.

I am, myself, an experienced forum moderator. I ran the Mopar Mailing List for 10 years. I've dealt with newbies and hundreds of questions before as the admin -- not just a frustrated user. I am also a degreed software developer with over 20 years experience in the I.T. business. It's not like I just fell off the scrap truck yesterday. Yes, I am new to the scrap metals business...not new to life.

I think it's great that there are people here with experience who are sharing their knowledge with people who are less experienced. That's why I came here in the first place. What I'm finding, though, is that this knowledge is scattered among hundreds upon hundreds of posts in hundreds of threads. If this scrap metals thing is a business -- and I'm sure you would agree that it is -- than it is easy to understand why people often seek the shortest path to learning what they need to know in order to be successful. Time is money. Spending weeks reading old threads online is completely impractical if you're trying to put food on your table.

So I see your complaining (about the newbies) and I raise you a complaint about the organization of the information you say is so readily available. It's not. I have an idea of how to fix that. Crapping on that idea with "it only took me 7 minutes to find all the threads" is BS. If you have a better idea than the default "read all the old threads" then fantastic. Share it with us. Otherwise, again, with all due respect, you're not helping.

--Geoff

Happyscraper,
I concur with your statement (at least that is what my wife says about me) “Some people just don’t listen” To clarify; I did some reading on the topic from the forum before taking the compressor apart. In addition, I always try to take something a part at least once to say that have done it and maybe learn something new along the way, which may have not been posted before. I know I was getting into some type of mess before starting by my own choice. As I stated earlier I like to try something at least once. The reason for my original post was to impress upon other forum members that forum members post ideas for a reason. With that being said, for learning opportunities or safety reasons in order to handle certain situations that my come up. My original post was done to express how my eventfully day was going, and not to sound like a whiner.

Buckatabon

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It's not like I just fell off the scrap truck yesterday. Yes, I am new to the scrap metals business...not new to life.

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I say I was born at nite, not last nite.

If the postings would have a better titles the search engine would function better. The advanced feature does help some,,,

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

I say I was born at nite, not last nite.

If the postings would have a better titles the search engine would function better. The advanced feature does help some,,,

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It does, and I have used it. I've also used some Google-fu to try to find information on specific things. I still wind up feeling like it's hit or miss.

For example, the other day I was looking for information about stripping low-grade e-waste boards. I wanted to know if I should pull the aluminum heat sinks off, even if it busted the boards up some (these were out of monitors.) I searched on the site...then I googled...and read, and read, and read some more. And when I was all done doing that reading, I still wasn't quite sure what the consensus was. Nobody seemed to address it directly. So I took a pair of channel-locks to the dang things, jerked off all the aluminum bits, broke the boards up some, and I guess I now hope for the best.

Here's another tidbit...this one I figured out my very own little self. Want to cut the gold fingers off the so-called "finger boards" -- really PCI cards? The other day I saw someone saying to use a utility knife and a vice; score the card five or six times, then break it off. And that's okay advice. What really worked 100% great for me? A coping saw and a vice. The coping saw went through that board material as cleanly and smoothly as it would have gone through a piece of wood. I got right close to the fingers without cutting into them; it was easy to control. A coping saw costs all of $3 at Harbor Freight and it is the exact right tool for the job. Now try finding this information in this post six months from now when you go looking for it. It will be in the wrong thread, you'll have to remember how to spell "coping saw" the same way I have, and if you know that, you won't need to search in the first place!

I leave the compressors on the metal base and drill a hole in the top and upend them on the bucket and let it drain overnight. The I cut them open. Yes, the wire will still be oily but not so bad after draining. Those things a friggin thick, I've used two wheels to cut them open sometimes.

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Originally Posted by newattitude

I leave the compressors on the metal base and drill a hole in the top and upend them on the bucket and let it drain overnight. The I cut them open. Yes, the wire will still be oily but not so bad after draining. Those things a friggin thick, I've used two wheels to cut them open sometimes.

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Does the cost of getting them open (two cut-off wheels) allow you to make a profit?

Ggariepy. I think this is a great site to get advice and share ideas. It is here to help but, it wont be able to answer every single specific question you have. The reallity is that many times there arent absolutes and there is lots of grey. What works for you wont work for someone else. Everyone has there own unique situation: everyone has different tools, laws to abide by, trucks, clients, available time, contacts,etc. This forum is as organize as any other good forum out there.

I want to add this - in times of plenty , compressors are work to open but clearly if you do open them they are a gem as to the metal types , If one was to save many compressors , and collecting gets scarce , I know that the compressors will seem like easy work at that point & you will be glad to have them. to buy you some time till the good finds start once more or a different job. I save the compressors even though i don't have the time to tear - I might one day . But store them empty (drain them ) then oil waste to recycling , there are sadly no guarantees to living but some day I feel i will rather tear down a compressor compared to building a bird house

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Originally Posted by mrsamsonite

Ggariepy. I think this is a great site to get advice and share ideas. It is here to help but, it wont be able to answer every single specific question you have.

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I understand what you're saying. I guess I'm reacting to somebody saying "you could have learned everything you needed to know by reading all of the old posts."

I guess I could've skipped high school and just read the entire encyclopedia, right? Isn't just about everything that you learn in high school in a good encyclopedia?

Why pay a doctor when the library is filled with medical books you can read for free? All you need is the time to go through all of 'em and you'll be fixing your own bad liver in no time!

So I agree with you, mrsamsonite, (by the way, you can call me Geoff) -- the forum doesn't have everything, and it can't be expected to. And yes, as forums go, it's not poorly organized. I agree there too.

--Geoff

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Originally Posted by ggariepy

I understand what you're saying. I guess I'm reacting to somebody saying "you could have learned everything you needed to know by reading all of the old posts."

I guess I could've skipped high school and just read the entire encyclopedia, right? Isn't just about everything that you learn in high school in a good encyclopedia?

Why pay a doctor when the library is filled with medical books you can read for free? All you need is the time to go through all of 'em and you'll be fixing your own bad liver in no time!

So I agree with you, mrsamsonite, (by the way, you can call me Geoff) -- the forum doesn't have everything, and it can't be expected to. And yes, as forums go, it's not poorly organized. I agree there too.

--Geoff

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Ya with just about every forum I have been on from car forums to computer forums it usually always takes a little while to find what I am looking for and I almost never find the exact answer. I guess that is how forums are. This industry hasnt reached its peek yet so there isnt a whole lot of very organized data or a step by step way to go about things. This can be to all of our benefit. The more you find out by studying, researching, trial and error, and asking questions will put you at an advantage against the others or just make you more money. Ive been scrapping full time for about 8 months and many times it is hard to get a straight answer. I ask scrapyards, make phone calls, and read up on it until I finally have an idea more or less how things work. Sometimes it takes months for things to sink in and for me to fully understand it. People use different terminology and go about things differently which can be confusing. Just keep on doing what you're doing, you will learn something new everyday and in about a year or two you will look back and see how much progress you made and be very proud of it.

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Originally Posted by ggariepy

a pair of channel-locks to the dang things, jerked off all the aluminum bits, broke the boards up some, and I guess I now ho

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Wow, no juvenile comments either, I'm impressed!