Scrap Metal guidelines for Beginners

I've written guidelines for taking scrap metal for sale. These are not intended for experienced people. I didn't include some metals as they are not common for the beginner; nor cars. If you are hauling cars, you should already know the difference between Cars, Complete Cars and Incomplete Cars.

Local yards may have different terminology, but the general guides should be valid as crushers are mostly the same everywhere. I suggest asking your local yard. Feel free to add, modify or dispute anything I put here.

Credit for this is to Smorgon Steel Recycling from which I "borrowed" heavily. Blame for mistakes is to me.

General guidelines for taking scrap metal for sale to a scrap yard

Ferrous (magnetic)
#1 iron ( prepared) iron or steel scrap ¼" or thicker and 2’ x 5’ or less
#1 iron (unprepared) same as above except over 5’ to 18’
#2 iron (prepared) 1/8 inch to ¼" and 2’ x 5’ or less
#2 iron (unprepared) 1/8" and 5’ to 18’
Torch material is any iron over 18’ long and 10’ wide
Cast-iron is the same as Breakable Iron. Guidelines are that they should be 2’ x 2‘6” or under and weigh less than 150 pounds.

Light iron is less than 1/8". Examples include sheet-metal and bicycle frames.


Non-Ferrous Metals

#1 Copper - stripped wire strands there are bigger than a number two pencil lead. May be called “Bright and Shiny”.
#2 Copper - does not meet criteria for #1 Copper. Is free of any alloy such as soldering.
Light Copper - miscellaneous Copper scrap.
Brass - Not have any attachments (non-brass). Not more than 12” or 100#.
Radiators - generally means other than aluminum radiators which go with sheet aluminum. Iron is removed.
Heater cores - steel and hoses should be removed.
Extrusion - this includes such things as door and window castings. Die cast and iron is removed and should be 2’ x 4’ or under.
Cast aluminum should not have any iron or brass attachments.
Sheet aluminum should be 2’ x 4’ or under. This would include radiators from which the plastic has been removed

Stainless steel - no steel, brass or copper attachments. 2’ x 3’ or under. Note - some Stainless Steel is Ferrous (magnetic).

Man...Mick you're a really good guy. And I love that signature.

Thanks for the compliment. A little story related to my signature - A neighbor was talking to me the other day about my scrap metal business. He said "But you don't really need the money". (I'm retired). I was kind of taken by surprise and didn't manage a comeback. I wish I'd recovered enough to tell him he could tell me how to run my life when he started paying my bills.

Near me people don't seem to understand scrapping, despite the fact that it's so commonplace. They seem to think its just like the Spike TV's show "Scrappers."

I watched that TV show once. I can't believe that's anywhere near accurate even for NYC scrappers. Bunch of BS.

I agree with you there Mick. But you have to admit, the show can give some good laughs.

Don't dig the show all that much but I have learned so much from this site! Do you have people coming on here often (from China) trying to get you to sell copper overseas, like the guy tonight? Aren't there trade restrictions? I know there is for seed. The government there is trying to regulate the food that you aren't allowed to have seeds shipped to you through any other entity than the government. I would think metals would be the same, anyone know for sure?

In the past couple of weeks, I've come across a lot of bed rails and I'll be taking them in this week. Just to make sure, these would be classified as #2 iron, correct? Picture attached not my picture but the same thing, they're about all 6' long.

http://www.bedframesandrails.com/Ful...-bed-rails.jpg

I also got some steel headboards as well, and those would be light iron / tin?

Yards where I go classify bed rails as Light Iron.

Just found this site,looks good so far. Does anyone have a picture list of cataletic converters and which ones are worth more than others? I don't want too sell them to a low baller.
Thx Rick

There are a couple sites on the web of catalytic converter identification - Search "catalytic converters". Relative value is best determined by going to your scrap yard and get a price list for cats, specifically. There are a couple sites that list value, as far as that goes. If you send them pictures, they will identify and make an offer. Send the pictures to two or three different ones to compare their identifications and offers. Beware of scams.

You can compare pictures to what you've got and still misidentify them. This is an area where nothing beats experience.

Thanks Mick. I buy junk vehicles and save all the converters. I have quite a few from foreign and domestic cars and would like to hsve some idea what their worth.

Try poking around on this site. There's a tab for pictures that might help you ID what you've got and a tab for pricing:

http://www.adccatalytic.com/

Thanks,that looks like a very imformative site. I was digging around and found another one that was a big help also. http://www.sellyourcatsdirect.com/Co...r_Catalog.html.

Thx for the help Mick,this site is going to be very helpful to me.

Good advice but I was told any copper that didn't have solder or anything on it was considered #1, I guess I was misinformed. So copper with solder on it would be considered Light?

So I don't understand this. They are concerned what SHAPE the steel is. They don't really care what ALLOY it is or if it's contaminated with paint or something? Can't imagine it matters when it's all melted down......

Steel is iron alloyed with various % of carbon. They're concerned with size because of the shredder.

I am glade I live in an area that it dosn't matter steel is steel. Steel, iron, cast iron, if a magnet sticks to it- it goes in the steel pile no matter what size it is. In the port of Tampa they have a shredder that can shred a tractor trailor if they were to put one in it.

Wow this couldn't be a more misinformed thread. WWW.ISRI.ORG theres a link to scrap grades on there. There's no number one or number two youre material is either plate and structural, heavy melt, shredd, clip, or rail material, cast. That about sums that up.

Suggestion - Read the 2012 Scrap Specification Guide in the ISRI link. Yards group several ISRI classifications under one general classification.

NOTE: Smorgon Steel from which I borrowed the guide was sold to Onesteel which is an Australian company.

Pay 900 dollars a year and subscribe to American Metal Market they have every grade and price available for every market in America. They don't have a number or two grade. There's no such thing as those grades. The yard makes those up to rip you off they might have a 3 foot buyer of plate but its still plate and structural and the mill is buying it as plate and structural. There was also no mention of heavy melt scrap. You can also mix anything with plate even if its under a 1/4 as long as the mill is hungry enough they will take it and not reject it. Right now I could take a dump on top of the trailer headed to the mill and they would buy it as prepared plate.

The last part was a bit graphic lol

Just stating a fact that at the right time the mill will buy crap.

My scrap yards only has two grades of steel. Prepared and unprepared. Makes it real easy for me. Most the stuff i run across is prepared.

Cast, prepared, 3'x18"x18", and unprepared. That's how my yard does it.

Here (Detroit area) they call it all shred.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by happyscraper

I am glade I live in an area that it dosn't matter steel is steel. Steel, iron, cast iron, if a magnet sticks to it- it goes in the steel pile no matter what size it is. In the port of Tampa they have a shredder that can shred a tractor trailor if they were to put one in it.

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Completely agree with you. I drive by one steel quite often as its only a couple miles down the road. Right now the have school buses stacked way over plain view and tankers stacked right next to it. Amazing what those machines can do.m

Yeah Bull, I deal with one steel and several yards down in Pinellas co. and they all do things the same. They will put biger things like I beams and cars to one side but they pay the same price. You can fill a car with all diffrant kinds of steel.

i have lots of big old dull copper piping with no soldering, does that fall under 1 or two

Question:
Can I scrap Mylar balloons?
I know the Mylar from keyboards is scrappable, just wanted to check.
Thx,
Square

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HipToScrapSquare

Question:
Can I scrap Mylar balloons?
I know the Mylar from keyboards is scrappable, just wanted to check.
Thx,
Square

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Is this question for real?
The reason why mylar from keyboards is brought is because its got Silver tracking on it.
Mylar balloons have a very thin, so thin you can see thru it, layer of Aluminium on it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HipToScrapSquare

Can I scrap Mylar balloons?

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Not that I'm aware of. The only recycle use for them might be in reuse/resale, but I can't think that would be very lucrative.