Breaking down a power supply vs selling whole

Although there is plenty of room for error here, I have been wondering the value of breaking down a power supply vs selling whole. At my local yard, I know that removing the wiring bundle alone will take a hefty chunk off the value of the remainder of the power supply.

To see how this would turn out, I weighed a random power supply, and after break down will see what my approx value is. Currently my yard buys them for .29 cents whole.

My scale is accurate to .5 oz, so there will be some discrepancies on the small weights like the transistors. Later, I will weigh each and see if it beats the price my yard would pay whole.

Ok, starting weight is 3lbs 5.5oz
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...-12-18_686.jpg


Cover off
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...-15-37_442.jpg


wiring trimmed ready to go in the #2 insulated bin
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...-29-59_679.jpg


Couple aluminum heat sinks (extruded maybe?)
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...-41-59_986.jpg


Here is the low grade board with all the goodies removed.
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...-33-52_162.jpg



A few transistors
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...-43-10_910.jpg


All of this is going in my shred bucket
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...-43-35_973.jpg

Stuff going in the motors pile
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...-35-57_546.jpg

Number 2 copper
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...-58-08_317.jpg

Couple of thoughts here; the parts you call eproms are just transistors( not eproms), with a brass back. #2 - all them little plug in connectors you throw in the shred bucket has brass tabs inside the plastic holders. #3 - I cut the plastic housing out from around the fan blades and throw the rest in a bucket with smaller transformers up to the ones from tv boards. My yard pays the same for both,, My ewaste buyer will buy them with the wires cut off flush with the back of the PS without opening them up.

The real question is if it's broken down and now worth say 40 cents how long did it take you to get that additional 11 cents?

10 mins, 15 mins?

Even at 10 minutes you are only making 66 cents an hour.

also you left 3 motors on the board. Looks like you took the big one off and left the 3 little ones on.

I think you need to weigh 10 or 20 to get the weights great enough to registar. For example the Cu coils and Al heat sinks are so small that it would take many to show enough weight to make any consideration.

For me my local yard pays shred price, last time was .12lb so there is a difference there. If I were to get .15lb or more with the wires cut off the outside I would gladly let them go. I have completely dismantled 75+ and frankly .12lb is looking good at this point. Mike.

Mike do you have an ewaste buyer anywhere near you? They pay more for them.
I got .29 lb for my boxes and I kept the wires.

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Couple of thoughts here; the parts you call eproms are just transistors( not eproms), with a brass back. #2 - all them little plug in connectors you throw in the shred bucket has brass tabs inside the plastic holders. #3 - I cut the plastic housing out from around the fan blades and throw the rest in a bucket with smaller transformers up to the ones from tv boards. My yard pays the same for both,, My ewaste buyer will buy them with the wires cut off flush with the back of the PS without opening them up.

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Thanks for the info, I made some changes.

Are those transistors worth holding on to?

What to do with the brass embedded connectors?

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Originally Posted by drozenski

The real question is if it's broken down and now worth say 40 cents how long did it take you to get that additional 11 cents?

10 mins, 15 mins?

Even at 10 minutes you are only making 66 cents an hour.

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Very true, I am merely trying an experiment. I have about 200 (free) computers coming in and am looking to maximize profits where feasible.

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Originally Posted by PartTimeScrapper

also you left 3 motors on the board. Looks like you took the big one off and left the 3 little ones on.

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Got em!

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Originally Posted by miked

I think you need to weigh 10 or 20 to get the weights great enough to registar. For example the Cu coils and Al heat sinks are so small that it would take many to show enough weight to make any consideration.

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I think this was a fairly common dell PS. To get my numbers I could multiply my results by 10. That should ball park fairly close. Would need a more accurate scale for this part however.

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Mike do you have an ewaste buyer anywhere near you? They pay more for them.
I got .29 lb for my boxes and I kept the wires.

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Not that I know of. I would love to find one. Heck if the money was there for sure, I wouldn't mind being a buyer. Just don't have the contacts yet. That will happen in due time I suppose.

This Mike doesn't have a nearby ewaste buyer either. I send my boards, etc to Ewasted's company. Miked.

any value to those transistors other than copper

I live less than a mile from Ewasted shop. I wonder if he'd hire me or train me for free work to get the experience?

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Originally Posted by tcfootball

Not that I know of. I would love to find one. Heck if the money was there for sure, I wouldn't mind being a buyer. Just don't have the contacts yet. That will happen in due time I suppose.

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is there still an alter yard in lincoln?

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Originally Posted by copperhead

I live less than a mile from Ewasted shop. I wonder if he'd hire me or train me for free work to get the experience?

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He would be the best person to ask... and in person, not on the forum. Also a job pays, but if your looking for knowledge it might cost you.

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any value to those transistors other than copper

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They have anodized brass, or plated brass, however you want to call it. Just smack them with a hammer to get rid of the black transistor part.

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What to do with the brass embedded connectors?

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We melted ours off in a trash fire and retrieved them and cleaned them up. If someone had a small hammermill, I think it would do a better job with less hassle.

I will pay up to 34cents with wires removed on the power boxes if you bring me some good weight (not very hard with power boxes)

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Originally Posted by rbrooks715

is there still an alter yard in lincoln?

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Yes I do all my business with them as of now. Just not my escrap.

If you don't have an escrap buyer within driving distance from you then your best bet might be to tear those power supplies all the way down and salvage the parts, cause it would not be worth it to try shipping large quantities of them. Not enough high dollar parts inside. We use those as extra weight when we deliver an escrap load.

OK here I go again, I buy power supplies for .25# with or with out wires. Break down is fast and simple, take the cover off,pull the board out, sell the board whole for .40#, pull the fan out, sell whole fan (don't break off any plastic) .35#. That's how I break down my power supplies now I have some questions. Why cut the plugs off of the wires? Why break the plastic off the fans? This would be cutting weight off. Those flat things that you all are calling transisters are mad of copper, throw them in with #2 copper, again breaking the plastic or ceramic stuff off is just taking weight off. Most of the time I leave those on the boards and again the only boards I take anything off of is low grade.

Heres my new thinking on power supplies. Open the shell, cut off the wiring, pull the aluminum and copper items, put the shell back together and throw it in the shred pile.

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Originally Posted by jghilino

Heres my new thinking on power supplies. Open the shell, cut off the wiring, pull the aluminum and copper items, put the shell back together and throw it in the shred pile.

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Why put the shell back together? That seems like a waste of time to me. Just leave the low grade screwed onto the bottom half and toss it into the shred. It would be the same as leaving tires on bicycles and plastic on appliances (at least to me.)

You need to cut the connectors off the wiring so you can sell the wiring at #2 insulated, if you dont they will buy it at the wiring harness rate.
Fans same thing if your trying to get motor grade for them they need to look like motors. Break off the plastic and fins so it is just the motor part.
Transistors are not number #2 copper, that is like $3 pound. You should leave them as is and sell them on ebay or to a buyer. for around $6 pound.
IC chips should also be pulled off and sold to an ic chip buyer.
Also save up any tantalum and mlcc capacitors you run across.

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Originally Posted by Gravitar

Why put the shell back together? That seems like a waste of time to me. Just leave the low grade screwed onto the bottom half and toss it into the shred. It would be the same as leaving tires on bicycles and plastic on appliances (at least to me.)

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Because yards are getting particular about escrap. If they look at your load and see a bunch of circuit boards in it they will reject the load. Now on the other hand if they look at it and see metal boxes then the odds are much better of your load being accepted.

They deduct on cars if the tires are left on them by the way. Same thing with appliances, you are paid at a reduced rate over clean sheet metal/shred. Car bodies are clean sheet metal and are paid at top dollar.

500 Mixed Scrap & White Goods $200
501 Cars with tires (5 max) $210
502 Cars no tires $220

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Originally Posted by jghilino

Because yards are getting particular about escrap. If they look at your load and see a bunch of circuit boards in it they will reject the load. Now on the other hand if they look at it and see metal boxes then the odds are much better of your load being accepted.

They deduct on cars if the tires are left on them by the way.

500 Mixed Scrap & White Goods $200
501 Cars with tires (5 max) $210
502 Cars no tires $220

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Ok, I'm going to assume that you can sell low grade separately. Wouldn't it be easier to just sell the low grade separately? And what about when people toss whole computers in the shred? IDK, maybe I'm just an idiot when it comes to what shred is.

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Originally Posted by Gravitar

Ok, I'm going to assume that you can sell low grade separately. Wouldn't it be easier to just sell the low grade separately? And what about when people toss whole computers in the shred? IDK, maybe I'm just an idiot when it comes to what shred is.

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Nowhere in town buys low grade and its not worth shipping. I have to process it down and throw away the boards or sneak it in with the shred.

5 years ago you could sell boards as shred, its alot harder to now

Alrighty then, that makes more sense to me now.

The epa has cracked down hard on yards and is getting tighter every year.

Boy, I'm glad I live in florida. I sell the fans in with electric motors with the plastic on for .35# it's called copper bairing matieral. I sell low grade boards for .35#. Sell all wire except ribbon cable as #2 insulated with the blugs on unless they are gold connect blugs for 1.00#. But at the yards I use we can not put circuit boards in the shred pile (no electronics).

Wow im glad I live in colorado. I can turn the fans in whole as well for motor price. Dont have to cut the plugs off of wires to get good price either. Car crusher dont care if there are tires on the car. Heck you can fill the car with shred and get the car price as well. The yard I go to will take printers and copiers whole as shred as well. Granted they will deduct like 10% for plastic if the whole load is printers and copiers.

Hey is there anybody in the northeast that's getting .35# for motor. All the local yards I go to are at .15-.20#. I just been haording it waiting for price to go up.

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Originally Posted by CTscrapman

Hey is there anybody in the northeast that's getting .35# for motor. All the local yards I go to are at .15-.20#. I just been haording it waiting for price to go up.

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I got .28 for motors recently in boston.

It was a small amount so i expect you could get more if you have a lot.

Generally, the wires are worth more than you would get for selling the power supply at the with wires price. Therefore, at the very least it is worth cutting the wires unless you get an awesome price for with wires. one of the buyers on here deducts $.05 lb for cutting the wires

this is another situation where the answer is not a simple yes or no. it is something you have to gather all the info you can price wise and cost wise. then depending on what stage scrapper you are, make the right decision for your operation.

at one stage I needed every Penney so a complete break down was the thing.
now I have one and a half gaylords full. amd more coming soooo different time, different operation. each with different decisions based on cost of break down value of time.

CT, try finding a core buyer, most of your bigger cities have core buyers and they pay better than a normal scrap yard.

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Originally Posted by happyscraper

CT, try finding a core buyer, most of your bigger cities have core buyers and they pay better than a normal scrap yard.

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Thanks, I will have to research that and see what I can come up with.