Total Scrap Noob. 1st day Thanks in advance

Ok So i have been working on computers for almost 15 years. I have a decent pile of scrap. At work we just unloaded a crap load of stuff to an e-waste company. So i was like i should be able to do this for myself. I have started seperate piles for different things. But i am just look for clarification on what is considered the same waste.

first off i have tons of power cables So i cut the ends put the ends in one area and the cords in the dirty copper pile
video cables/usb/ide/sata i clip the ends they go in a pile, and those cables go to dirty copper as well?
hard drives take off board drives go in a box, boards go in another
motherboard and daughter boards i put in a separate board pile? i remove the fingers off all daughter boards and they go in a small pile
optical drives, take out board through that in with motherboards? some ribbons have gold plated ends where do i put those? with the other clipped ends?

Other things since i started today. Some old hard drives and server drives have pins physically in the drive after you take the board off. Is it worth the time to pull the pins out?

and then not all IDE connecters are gold plated looking some look silver. can i still put those with the other ends?


Thanks again

Put in some work like the rest of us...READ.. I work 60 hrs a week at 2 jobs..do this on the side..

READ... Do some research..

Or give it away for free..Us REAL scrappers love free stuff

I agree if you are new keep saving up your stockpile for now. Read the old threads, don't miss the the sticky threads at the top and there are suggested related threads at the bottom of each thread. Take the time to read through the threads in the buyers/sellers section. Why do many of us do business with our members who are buyers, prices, service and feedback. Mike.

Welcome, I am from the USA also.

Welcome

from

York Region

Canada
http://mssociety.ca/images/canada_flag_icon_small.gif

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Originally Posted by scrappy888

Put in some work like the rest of us...READ.. I work 60 hrs a week at 2 jobs..do this on the side..

READ... Do some research..

Or give it away for free..Us REAL scrappers love free stuff

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That came across pretty short. If I was just joining the forum and wanting help and received that response... I would've went somewhere else. He asked a very sensible question.

Anyway, to answer your question, thehbcrew, you have to decide for yourself whether pulling those pins is worth your time. It likely wouldn't be for me, but there would be increased profit if it was done. You have to make a trade-off for time and (if people are working for you, especially) labor.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome aboard! No right or wrong answers in the scrap business.

For example....You might take a couple intact cables to your local scrap yard and inquire. I have a local yard that is currently paying .95/lb for mixed wires, with/without, as they come. Prongs, plugs, gold, brass, whatever. My alternative is to clip "gold" ends and get $1.40 for those, but I have to pay freight. So I don't bother clipping or snipping anything. If it's a wire, it goes in the wire bucket.

That's what works for me...ask ten people on here, they'll give you ten variations, because that's what works for them. Some people even pull brass out of plugs, because that's what works for them, and it's all good.

Point being, read stuff, try stuff, experiment, make mistakes, have successes, learn from all of it, have fun, do it your way, make some extra cash.

haha!

Everyone else said it better then I could..so I'll just say..

Welcome to the forums from a sandbar off the coast of NC!

One thing..no need to give us your address, or even city, but it would be nice to know what state your in. I find it interesting myself to see where folks are from. Anyhow...good luck an let us know how it works out for ya!

Sirscrapalot - Keeper of the traveling cooler, an hero to those who lack a tagline..Hi shen! ;)

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Originally Posted by SladeMcCuiston

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Originally Posted by scrappy888

Put in some work like the rest of us...READ.. I work 60 hrs a week at 2 jobs..do this on the side..

READ... Do some research..

Or give it away for free..Us REAL scrappers love free stuff

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That came across pretty short. If I was just joining the forum and wanting help and received that response... I would've went somewhere else. He asked a very sensible question.

Anyway, to answer your question, thehbcrew, you have to decide for yourself whether pulling those pins is worth your time. It likely wouldn't be for me, but there would be increased profit if it was done. You have to make a trade-off for time and (if people are working for you, especially) labor.

Welcome to the forum!

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Yeah no kidding. Looks like soneone didnt get their 8 hours.. LOL

What I would say...maybe a bit gentler than some...all the questions you are asking are all answered in the threads already on the board. Take a couple of hours at night and just go back through the older threads...that is what I did when I found this board earlier this year. I read probably 90% of the threads from the previous 12 months. I promise this will be the best 2 hours or so you can spend. You can get up to speed and really get educated very quickly. Do that FIRST...then ask questions. I guarantee people will help you, but you have to do a little on your own.

Good luck!

Thanks again, i have spent plenty of time reading through and search through forum before post. There are just way too many posts to read absolutely everything. right now im working on separating the items and figuring out what metal is what with these parts. I did go down to the scrap yard to give it a try with a bunch of cables i had clipped. Currently in eastern long island i got .85 cents/lb for the insulated cables. However i used my own 55 gall pail and they charged me a 7lb tier on it. Though that was kind of BS. I guess ill grab there stuff next time. If i wrote on the side of the pail the exact tier weight do you think they would use it?

Just FYI: it's "tare" weight. I mention it so that you know what people are talking about. It seems normal for me that they would deduct weight for your container. If you are using your own containers, they should be dumping them and giving them back to you, or giving you an agreed-upon replacement.

i just took apartt an old pentium 75mhz toshiba laptop. guess they liked to solder the processor in place back then. Do i just leave it on the motherboard or is it worth heating up and taking it out? That seems like a lot of work to me

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Originally Posted by thehbcrew

i just took apartt an old pentium 75mhz toshiba laptop. guess they liked to solder the processor in place back then. Do i just leave it on the motherboard or is it worth heating up and taking it out? That seems like a lot of work to me

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I would leave it intact but sell the entire board seperately later. Mike

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However i used my own 55 gall pail and they charged me a 7lb tier on it. Though that was kind of BS. I guess ill grab there stuff next time. If i wrote on the side of the pail the exact tier weight do you think they would use it?

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I have my tare weight marked in black marker on the side of my 5 gal. buckets from the first time I used them at the yard.
Same with one tote I use for alum, it's also marked and the yard uses it.
Of course, occasionally they'll throw it on the scale to double-check it.

That's why I love using those totes they put the mail in..tare weight is marked on there. I love those suckers. I think have 4 now, I've gotten from folks who had them for some reason or another, an didn't need them anymore.

Sirscrapalot - Some times I'm outta mind briefly, others it's an extended vacation.

i highly recommend the hammer technique. and when it doesn't come off the hatchet works wonders

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some ribbons have gold plated ends where do i put those?
and then not all IDE connecters are gold plated looking some look silver. can i still put those with the other ends?

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Some plug in's are not gold plated and some you can't really tell till you pull a couple of pins out then you will see the other half with the plating. Anything I suspect to be plated go in a bucket separately and will be sold as such. Not at my local yard tho.

thanks guys, broke down an old dell server last night. That thing was heavy. trying to decide to sell the PSU on ebay or just break them down. completed listing are around $10 a piece. by the time shipping is involved and ebay fees, undecided if its worth it. Amazed by the amount of gold plated items in that thing

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Originally Posted by SladeMcCuiston

That came across pretty short. If I was just joining the forum and wanting help and received that response... I would've went somewhere else. He asked a very sensible question.

Anyway, to answer your question, thehbcrew, you have to decide for yourself whether pulling those pins is worth your time. It likely wouldn't be for me, but there would be increased profit if it was done. You have to make a trade-off for time and (if people are working for you, especially) labor.

Welcome to the forum!

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I completely agree, that was a little rude. Forums are for asking questions and learning, not telling other people what they did or did not do. Maybe he did do some research, maybe he didn't. Forums can be overwhelming. I still would suggest, in a nicer way, that you do at least read a few pages of the old posts a night. The more you read the easier it gets! I promise!

So i thought i heard this answer somewhere on here or in a youtube video. But now i forget the answer and can't seem to find it. I have been dismantling power supplies. The copper coil on the ferrite ring. what grade copper is that. some look to be straight copper and others look like they have a very thing sheathing over them. Is it just #2 then?

All the yards I go to call any wire smaller than a pencil lead #2. Not sure why unless the granulator they run stuff through loses more with really small stuff like that.

The coloring you are seeing is a varnish. Most of the time my yard doesn't penalize me for it....really only way to know is to ask at your yard how they grade it. I dont even pull copper off those as it takes too much time for the value I get....i just put it in a bucket and sell as copper bearing material...but that is just me. I would have to process a huge amount of that to hit $50/hr I like to make. I do smash yokes and pull that copper off however....takes 30 sec with a hammer.