Pokemonprime's Scrapping Finds

Decided to start a thread in the vein of those by taterjuice ("Tater Strikes Again - The Taterjuice Thread") and others, since threads like those are my favorite to read, I figured I'd make one as well. First finds are fresh off the presses, curb shopped around 9:20 PM today, loaded with hopes and prayers by the beams of a pair of headlights.

First, three bikes, 2 "complete" (They look to be all there, but I need a better look at them by daylight) and 1 partial, seemingly frame only.
http://i.imgur.com/aV5SXpR.jpg

I also picked up an old pool pump. Dunno what value there in this, if any. Anyone able to throw out a suggestion?
http://i.imgur.com/xPfbW2A.jpg?1

Pool Pump is most likely aluminum breakage because the windings are usually aluminum. Some yards buy them as motors.

Been picking up cans as I've normally been for a couple days. Today, I came across two plastic bags, each with about 4 Bud Light cans stuffed in them, thrown off the side of the road. Never thought I'd find bags of cans while walking down the road with a bag of cans.

My late father in law would fix up the bikes he found and sell them for way more than scrap at our yard sales. He had about 15 to 20 bikes at each sale! LOL Also wheelbarrows. Pool pump motors can go in with electric motors here. Also if the motor works you could sell it for more than scrap value which is $.15 a pound here. Keep the thread going, I like to see what people find as well!

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Originally Posted by hobo finds

My late father in law would fix up the bikes he found and sell them for way more than scrap at our yard sales. He had about 15 to 20 bikes at each sale! LOL Also wheelbarrows. Pool pump motors can go in with electric motors here. Also if the motor works you could sell it for more than scrap value which is $.15 a pound here. Keep the thread going, I like to see what people find as well!

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I love working on bikes and you would be surprised how many are scrapped on farms. This was the start of a learning curve on mechanics that started back in elementary school. I fix them and then donate them to the local schools for the secretaries and janitors to distribute. These are the most knowledgeable employees in a school district.

No need to know who the most needy families are, but I do enjoy seeing the kids riding one of my bicycles. We have a deal, I will not ask who you gave it to as long as you do not tell who donated them. The reason to remain anonymous is based on not having to concentrate on bikes or who needs money and not wanting to deal with numerous requests. I do the same thing with my Christmas Jars (I started a thread on this a couple of years ago) where I use the local Boy Scout leader. To put it in perspective, the two closest communities to me are at least 15 miles away and less than 3,000 people and kids are free to travel across town in a couple of minutes, if they have a bike. Just a thought for those wanting to give back to there community.

I had to come back and edit this post because I forgot to mention that a great source for bicycles is your local police department. The bicycles they confiscate are auctioned off periodically. As a teacher they would donate them for my bike riding unit and the kids that did not have a bike would get one free. As a principal one of the teachers had his special needs students work on confiscated bikes as a reward for hard work. Please do not scrap them, there are many families out there that would love to have a bike and many others that will fix them. You just need to look around and be creative.

2 of the three bikes looked pretty roasted, actually, well-loved is the best term. There's obvious evidence that they had a long life, and many patchjob repairs along that line. One of them looks salvageable, but it might be kept for my little brother. The pool pump looks pretty roasted as well, but I'll certainly look into it Do you have any idea how I could test it? Also picked up an old Gateway CRT monitor, which I've been taking apart. A bunch of the wire in the monitor looks to be aluminum, unfortunately. Also, what is the "misc aluminum" category? Like, I have some random bits of shielding, heatsinks, old aluminum food trays, bits of aluminum foil, and that aluminum wire, and I'd like to just throw them in a big group.

I can only speak for around this part of the country because different yards sell to different foundries. The heat sinks would sell as cast aluminum, the food trays would sell as aluminum sheet, maybe cast if they are thick enough. If the shielding is aluminum, it would sell as sheet as well as the foil. The wire is a whole separate category. If you throw them together around here you would get sheet for it. Suggestion, Get some 5 gallon pails (painting contractors would be a great place to start) and separate until you have a full bucket before you haul it in.

Around here 5 gallon pails are easy to come by (oil, hydraulic fluid, transmission fluid, etc.), we have 25 gallon mineral buckets, and chemical totes. It is easy to stock pile these items.

There shouldnt be any alum wire in a crt monitor. Tv's can have alum degrausing wires. Especialy Zeniths tv's

Are you talking about the silver wire going around the back of the glass?? Thats tinned copper if thats what your looking at

Around here heat sinks could go as extruded aluminum, the foil as dirty alum. If you scrap the bikes check the rims to see if they are aluminum. Also remove any easy alum parts brake handles and the clamp that holds the seat on. Even if you sell these items as dirty alum better than shred price!

To Patriot76: Me & my dad have been looking for a good source of 5 gallon buckets, I'll see if I can track down any local painting contractors or similar outfits. Thanks for the tip.

To Greytruck: They were the wires running around the back of the monitor, so I guess they're tinned copper then. What do they go for then? I assume a pretty low grade wire.
To hobo finds: I'll make sure to pull anything aluminum. One of the scrap candidates even has an aluminum frame :D

Tinned copper will actually go in your #2 copper wire so it's pretty good.

Really? I typically think the less "pure" the metal is the lower the price, and that tinned copper under insulation is a lot less pure than just copper under insulation, but what do I know. I've been meaning to call the yard for a couple days now and ask them whether they take a pool pump as aluminum breakage or motors, so I guess I'll ask them about tinned copper wiring as well.

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Originally Posted by Pokemonprime

Really? I typically think the less "pure" the metal is the lower the price, and that tinned copper under insulation is a lot less pure than just copper under insulation, [...] ask them about tinned copper wiring as well.

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Real tin is over $8 /lb wholesale last I looked

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Originally Posted by Pokemonprime

To Greytruck: They were the wires running around the back of the monitor, so I guess they're tinned copper then. What do they go for then? I assume a pretty low grade wire.

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Here, currently one yard pays $1.80 for #2 copper and $1.93 for tinned copper.

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Originally Posted by Pokemonprime

To Patriot76: Me & my dad have been looking for a good source of 5 gallon buckets, I'll see if I can track down any local painting contractors or similar outfits. Thanks for the tip.

To Greytruck: They were the wires running around the back of the monitor, so I guess they're tinned copper then. What do they go for then? I assume a pretty low grade wire.
To hobo finds: I'll make sure to pull anything aluminum. One of the scrap candidates even has an aluminum frame :D

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Pool service companies. The big chlorine tablets they use come in 5 (or maybe larger) gallon buckets. I used a boatload of them when I started out. THen I came across a stash of about 50 matching 30 gallon sterilite tubs and bought 8 of those AV carts from a school surplus auction.

The big thick black tape wrapped wire goes in #2 insulated wire and the thin silver colored wire can go in with #2 copper here as well

Well, started tearing into the pool pump today. I know you guys said to try and sell it on, but it's a real basket case. Tearing it apart today, I could break through the metal with a screwdriver in places, and the paint just came off in sheets. Anyways, I'm glad I didn't cart it in as aluminum breakage, because it has copper windings! :D Got one end off of it, and removed the large capacitor from its enclosure on the side, and now I'm stuck trying to figure out how to remove the windings.

the capacitor can go in with dirty aluminum around here.

Removing copper windings from an electric motor requires proper tools, technique, and patience. On this forum's search function, enter removing copper windings or similar language. There is plenty of information there. You'll have to see what works for you and if it's worth the effort to do so. Your technique and speed will improve with the more you do.

What I do is use an abrasive cut off wheel an cut the windings flush with the case at one end. You can also use a hammer and old wood chisel or a recipro saw to do the same. I prefer the cutoff wheel because it leaves a nice clean cut. Set the case in a vice or on top of a couple blocks of sorts. Than using a blunt punch or bolt and hammer, begin to progressively tap out the windings, going in a circular motion. The object here is to push out as a unit, rather than individually, until they are free, or able to be removed from the other end. Use pliers, grips, or pry bars/screwdrivers to free. TIP: Use a razor knife or similar and cut thru a good portion of the string on the windings before you begin. By the time you are done most of the string pieces will be laying on the floor. Less work. SAFETY INFO: dust mask, ear plugs, safety glasses, gloves at minimum should be used.

There are other ways, but this method works best for me. Small motors (house fans)are easier than larger motors, but bear less copper. Hope this helps.

Removing copper windings from an electric motor requires proper tools, technique, and patience. On this forum's search function, enter removing copper windings or similar language. There is plenty of information there. You'll have to see what works for you and if it's worth the effort to do so. Your technique and speed will improve with the more you do.
L
What I do is use an abrasive cut off wheel and cut the windings flush with the case at one end. You can also use a hammer and old wood chisel or a recipro saw to do the same. I prefer the cutoff wheel because it leaves a nice clean cut. Set the case in a vice or on top of a couple blocks of sorts. Than using a blunt punch or bolt and hammer, begin to progressively tap out the windings, going in a circular motion. The object here is to push out as a unit, rather than individually, until they are free, or able to be removed from the other end. Use pliers, grips, or pry bars/screwdrivers to free. TIP: Use a razor knife or similar and cut thru a good portion of the string on the windings before you begin. By the time you are done most of the string pieces will be laying on the floor. Less work. SAFETY INFO: dust mask, ear plugs, safety glasses, gloves at minimum should be used.

There are other ways, but this method works best for me. Small motors (house fans)are easier than larger motors, but bear less copper. Hope this helps.

Whoops! Sorry. Learning curve required on how to delete a post.

I always do the scratch test before i cut out windings. Even tho i can tell its copper, some times an alum wound motor will sneak its way past the eye test.

Sorry to revive an old thread but I'd rather not start a new one. Not too much has been happening, went on vacation for a bit. Scrapped 3 vacuum cleaners (well, one was some steam vac thing), motors and cords on those are nice. The worst was this beat up Hoover one, such a pain to tear apart, and it had the dinkiest little motor! The steam vac was more fruitful, as was the Biswell which came apart really quick. Now the curb is filled with even more junk, because the trash company still hasn't picked up the CRT and boxes that have been there for 2 weeks when they're supposed to take bulk every 3 days.... :mad: . Also on the block was a ceiling fan (minus the blades) which is gonna require some elbow grease to get apart because one of the screws is a security bit of some description. (The rest are phillips! Only this one screw is a security bit). That's it aside from the lid of a dryer that got added to the steel pile. (Just the lid, you think I can lug an entire dryer back to my house without pissing off the neighbors? :P . Maybe I could have rigged something but I like not to stand in people's yards too long. Guy with a trailer came yesterday and hauled the rest of it off).

A couple of week old thread is not old. Stay around, you'll see "old" threads pop up, sometimes on purpose, sometimes the poster thinks they're current. That can be a funny situation sometimes.

Do you sell anything on ebay?? Steamvacs in good condition are always a decent find, much better than a typical regular vac unless the regular vac is an old big name one. Many times a good steamvac can be sold on CL if its in great shape. If not, part it out. The two "tanks" on board almost always sell on ebay, although perhaps not at your first listing. Attachments can sell as well. Old vintage big name vacs like Hoover and Kirby often sell well on ebay, either whole if not too big or parted out. There are two groups of people who seem to want these; collectors and people who still use them!! You might be surprised at what some of that stuff goes for. If it doesn't sell after a couple of rounds, you can always scrap it. Good luck!!

A decent bit's been happening for me, found a lawn mower, even came with the manuals! (They were taped to it in a plastic folder along with the "FREE" sign). It doesn't start (pulling the cord produces an odd noise) but I'm sure it can be fixed because it's in good shape otherwise. I picked up a dishwasher which was fairly fruitful, plastic enclosure but the dish racks were steel, and I still pulled a decent amount off of it. On the same trip I picked up a Craftsman edger (tested today, "works" in the sense that the motor makes a noise something awful. Maybe I'll fix it but it feels like a motor problem and at that point I consider it fairly far gone). Finally, a garbage disposal thing, I may or may not just throw this in the steel (motor?) pile and call it a day. I think I lack the proper hazmat gear to see what's inside a thrown out garbage disposal unit. :lol:

Before you just toss the garbage disposal, consider that most of the size and weight of that thing is the electric motor. Be a shame to toss all that copper just to avoid washing your hands...

I don't really have the means to cut off copper windings, and I'll most likely knock the shell off and add it in as motors. I was just being a bit silly.

Man has it really been over a year since I've touched this thread? Really am reviving a dead one now. Not too much has been happening, just same old same old. Lots of cans. One of the neighbors has started putting out trash bags full of cans regularly, so I can add those to the pile. One day I loaded up the truck with cans, nearly the whole bed. Walked out with about $21 with cans at $0.45/pound, expected a bit more. Got a good lesson in density that day. Gutted a few flat screen TVs, good boards in them not sure what they'd class as, probably medium grade. Having a hell of a time removing all the heatsinks. Those TVs got a lot of steel in them. Most recently I picked up the metal frame of what I believe was a small gazebo style thing, that's good steel, packs away easy on the side of the house. The guy came out and gave me a few more poles he hadn't brought out yet, as well as a computer case with two small batteries in there, about the sort of size you see in those Power Wheels cars. Nice guy.

Will throw up some pictures when I get home, still got the gazebo steel sitting there, only new additions have been the house's old VHS player that finally died and a pair of fluorescent light fixtures. Waiting to accumulate a bunch of stuff before I spend a day to tear it all down at once. Construction further down my street has provided me with a supply of 5 gallon painters buckets for sorting, that dumpster hasn't produced much else but it's been producing bits and pieces of scribble scrabble every now and then. Found a pair of bluetooth headphones, they charge but make no noise except an occasional hum so they're get torn down once I have the time.

Keep on with your various metal adventures. Never know what will show up next!!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/H4...3=w536-h951-no

The gazebo steel stacked up against the house. The grey garbage ban is cans, the white/red bins are old cat litter containers that I used before I had access to more convenient 5-gallon buckets.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Yt...9=w536-h951-no

The light fixtures, batteries, and VHS player.

Took in all my bulky steel yesterday, dad wanted it off the side of the house. Remnants of a hot water heater, back of a plasma TV, remains of a vaccum cleaner I took the motor out of (old Hoover, I wasn't chucking plastic into the steel pile). Also brought in a heavy, real small generator, a bathtub, small water tank, and a self-propelled push lawnmower. Totaled 340 pounds, unless I'm reading the receipt wrong. Steel was 0.035/lb, ended up with $11.90 in steel. 33 pounds of electric motors, a pool pump motor, a vacuum cleaner motor, and a few misc small motors out of electronics. Only 0.10/lb, that seems low to me, but I don't really know. Finally, took in my cans at 0.35/lb, not amazing but I'm perfectly happy with that price.

Since it was a Friday, I decided to try out a second local yard that's only open Mon-Fri, called Space Coast Recycling. All I had was a tub full of circuit boards- the guy actually separated out the few mid grade I had instead of just penciling in the whole bin as low-grade like I expected. Now that I know roughly what mid grade is, I can separate it next time. I ended up trading the like $1 in scrap I had to walk out with a Denon cassette deck and a TEAC equalizer from their pile of stereo equipment- they let me take the deck and the equalizer was in "trade" for the bit of circuit boards I had. Denon needs a new cord spliced on the back, but looks intact inside. Equalizer works perfectly. Really nice people there, gonna try and get to that yard more often. The other yard I go to is gonna be relegated to a steel yard, and I'll take copper and aluminum and escrap to this place.

I'm glad you got some cash and new stuff out of your work! There must be a demand for scrap steel in FL, either end user or export and 3.5 cents a pound isn't great but it doeasn't suck either. I just found out that light steel is down to a penny a pound here. That does suck. Take care!

https://i.imgur.com/OEmPcan.png

About all I've found notably, scrap-wise on the curb. XP-era computer, chilling in a construction dumpster, this one's been used a lot by local people to dump whatever. Aside from that, little bit of cords and some other stuff off the curb. The truck this is sitting on, well, hopefully I'll be able to drive it soon. So I can go out and actually pick up more scrap, and ain't limited to what I can carry, or what I can convince my parents to help me come back for.

This thread, is ancient by my standards.. starting to get so that I cringe a little at what I've written in the past. Such is life.

"This thread, is ancient by my standards.. starting to get so that I cringe a little at what I've written in the past. Such is life."

When you get older, I'm 67, you get the same sort of distance from your younger self and sometimes cringe a little bit at what you've done along the way. It's life and learning from it. 73, Mike