TV Circuitboard part...

I have some TVs I've broken down and am now taking apart the circuit boards. I have one question though. There are big transformer looking things on the boards, I've taken them off and can see a bit of copper inside of one but taking a hammer to it isn't working. Am I right in guessing they're a transformer and is it worth trying to break em apart? Haven't gotten a sledgehammer yet, so that might work in breaking it apart.

http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/prod...tml#normal_img

This has what I'm talking about on it, it's in the lower right hand corner of the board.

Thanks for any help...

If I'm not sure what is inside, 9 out of 10 times I'll bring out the sledge hammer, just out of pure curiosity.

Thought the same thing...never opened them, but always curious...they seem pretty heavy...

So it sounds like I have a mission...

To find out once and for all, what is inside those little black deals.

From what I understand some yards will pay you motor price for them. I been saving them recently instead of throwing them in with the mixed metal.

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Originally Posted by Rich

From what I understand some yards will pay you motor price for them. I been saving them recently instead of throwing them in with the mixed metal.

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Same here. Just today I have two tv's and smashed one, and noticed the coil of copper.....motor it is

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Originally Posted by chaseonthego

Same here. Just today I have two tv's and smashed one, and noticed the coil of copper.....motor it is

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Why get motor price for something you can smash one or two times and get clean copper from?

I have been reading a lot about motor price for things on the forum. What do you think they do behind the fence all day at the scrap yard?
The labors break down and clean the motors, compressors, and transformers that the scrappers bring in.

If you are selling motors and such as motors you are missing the boat! That is just moving scrap, not scrapping.
You drive all over hell and creation for prime scrap, why not get the most out of what you find?

Key word, "Tools". With proper tools it makes it quick and easy to get to the gold (copper).

There are lots of small coils in electronic components. Small relays have a nice chunk of copper, even the little dice sized critters.

The trick is to be able to harvest the goods fast like. The right tools and in a few seconds you have the copper in your hand.

Well that'll at least give me a good reason to try out the new sledgehammer.... Nice to know there's more copper in there, little things are pretty heavy for their size.

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Originally Posted by injunjoe

Why get motor price for something you can smash one or two times and get clean copper from?

I have been reading a lot about motor price for things on the forum. What do you think they do behind the fence all day at the scrap yard?
The labors break down and clean the motors, compressors, and transformers that the scrappers bring in.

If you are selling motors and such as motors you are missing the boat! That is just moving scrap, not scrapping.
You drive all over hell and creation for prime scrap, why not get the most out of what you find?

Key word, "Tools". With proper tools it makes it quick and easy to get to the gold (copper).

There are lots of small coils in electronic components. Small relays have a nice chunk of copper, even the little dice sized critters.

The trick is to be able to harvest the goods fast like. The right tools and in a few seconds you have the copper in your hand.

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My yard sells all of their motors to a Chinese company to be processed. The owner was telling me about it the last time I was there.

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Originally Posted by injunjoe

Why get motor price for something you can smash one or two times and get clean copper from?

I have been reading a lot about motor price for things on the forum. What do you think they do behind the fence all day at the scrap yard?
The labors break down and clean the motors, compressors, and transformers that the scrappers bring in.

If you are selling motors and such as motors you are missing the boat! That is just moving scrap, not scrapping.
You drive all over hell and creation for prime scrap, why not get the most out of what you find?

Key word, "Tools". With proper tools it makes it quick and easy to get to the gold (copper).

There are lots of small coils in electronic components. Small relays have a nice chunk of copper, even the little dice sized critters.

The trick is to be able to harvest the goods fast like. The right tools and in a few seconds you have the copper in your hand.

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Great Post!!

I'm absolutely AMAZED at the people at the yard, with trucks full of washers and dryers and they NEVER seem to pull those juicy, copper filled motors or that heavy duty copper wiring inside the machines.

The yards guys do indeed spend their time separating motors and other copper bearing goodies.
The yard is getting those motors at the 'tin' price of 9 cents a pound!!!

Those poor guys selling it so cheap are leaving a lot of money on the table.

Every dryer/washer motor I've pulled so far has been copper clad aluminum. What appliances have the real thing?

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Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

Every dryer/washer motor I've pulled so far has been copper clad aluminum. What appliances have the real thing?

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Every air conditioner has copper wound motors, including the windings inside the compressor. Garage door openers also have copper and are very easy to dissemble.
Ceiling fans seem to also all have copper windings.

Simply take a file to the windings before you go through the trouble of taking it all apart.
With some practice and the proper tools one could clean motors pretty fast.

I just wish it would get hot again. This cool weather don't help my scrap action at all!

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Originally Posted by injunjoe

Every air conditioner has copper wound motors, including the windings inside the compressor. Garage door openers also have copper and are very easy to dissemble.
Ceiling fans seem to also all have copper windings.

Simply take a file to the windings before you go through the trouble of taking it all apart.
With some practice and the proper tools one could clean motors pretty fast.

I just wish it would get hot again. This cool weather don't help my scrap action at all!

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What is it about cold weather that makes it slow? That might be my problem up here...

My point is that people don't run there air when it is cool out. Therefore they don't break down and need repair/replaced.
I get my scrap from my work. Example, replace a motor, get paid for the job and then go home and scrap it out in my spare time.

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Originally Posted by Rusty Nuts

Great Post!!

I'm absolutely AMAZED at teh peole at teh yard, with trucks full of washers and dryers and they NEVER seem to puul those juicy, copper filled motors or that havy duty copper wiring inside teh machines.

The yards guys do indeed spend their time separating motors and other copper bearing goodies.
The yard is getting those motors at the 'tin' price of 9 cents a pound!!!

Those poor guys selling it so cheap are leaving a lot of money on the table.

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X2- nearly sickened, confused and laughing all at the same time at all the guys that bring in truckloads of appliances, they don't strip even the power cord off of them and I see these guys there every day. I think some are plumbers and such that don't have time to strip the machines, and don't have a lot of room to store the old appliances they rip out, until they have time to strip them. Or they don't even think about stripping them like it don't cross their mind. Oh well, sucks to be them!

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Originally Posted by Bigblue12v

X2- nearly sickened, confused and laughing all at the same time at all the guys that bring in truckloads of appliances, they don't strip even the power cord off of them and I see these guys there every day. I think some are plumbers and such that don't have time to strip the machines, and don't have a lot of room to store the old appliances they rip out, until they have time to strip them. Or they don't even think about stripping them like it don't cross their mind. Oh well, sucks to be them!

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Ever offer to buy their next load?

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Originally Posted by injunjoe

My point is that people don't run there air when it is cool out. Therefore they don't break down and need repair/replaced.
I get my scrap from my work. Example, replace a motor, get paid for the job and then go home and scrap it out in my spare time.

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Ahhh ok... gotcha.

So i managed to get the sledgehammer out, and break open one of those black deals on the boards.

Inside was a bit of copper wire, and what looked like a strip of copper about an inch and a half wide, laid out on a piece of this plastic, and wrapped around the whole wound wire/iron core combo. I'm gonna try and break open the rest this weekend, and I'll get some pictures up then....

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Originally Posted by Insanity

Ahhh ok... gotcha.

So i managed to get the sledgehammer out, and break open one of those black deals on the boards.

Inside was a bit of copper wire, and what looked like a strip of copper about an inch and a half wide, laid out on a piece of this plastic, and wrapped around the whole wound wire/iron core combo. I'm gonna try and break open the rest this weekend, and I'll get some pictures up then....

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Well there ya go mate! When in doubt smash the hell out! It will most times produce copper or such!
The money is in the, "Action not just the collection". Take head, work the scrap and it will pay you!

Managed to get back to those black things... and you break it open and can see the copper wire inside. The problem now is that it seems to be glued in with ceramic. I'm still messing with em a bit to see if there's an easy way to get the copper out, but having only a day or so to mess around with it is going to take a bit.

yah, those are transformers and there are copper windings inside. not a lot of copper but any drop in the old bucket helps as far as I'm concerned. I've been stripping them.

Specifically, they are called flyback transformers. The last load of them I brought to my yard they only paid steel price due to the amount of resin. Will be looking at a new yard for my next load.

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Originally Posted by erewen

Specifically, they are called flyback transformers. The last load of them I brought to my yard they only paid steel price due to the amount of resin. Will be looking at a new yard for my next load.

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Erewen is right, they are flyback transformers. They are what generates the extremely high voltage used in the crt. Since they are very low power they have very thin copper in them, but lots insulation for the high voltage.

There is a small amount of precious metal in them. I was following someones experiments to recover it, but lost interest, so I'm not sure how it ever turned out.

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Originally Posted by davidks67

yah, those are transformers and there are copper windings inside. not a lot of copper but any drop in the old bucket helps as far as I'm concerned. I've been stripping them.

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Beware of discharging them if you first had powered up the TV.

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Originally Posted by Rich

From what I understand some yards will pay you motor price for them. I been saving them recently instead of throwing them in with the mixed metal.

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I only get the same price as the low grade boards. They are considered "low grade copper bearing" at my yard.

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Originally Posted by Insanity

Well that'll at least give me a good reason to try out the new sledgehammer.... Nice to know there's more copper in there, little things are pretty heavy for their size.

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Someone already posted a thread about taking one apart. With pictures. Most of the weight is from the plastic and shred.

That's why I break them off the boards and throw them in with all my other transformers and small motors, .25-.28 lb.

i get copper bearing price for them, 35 cents a pound i believe