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im not really a definition scrapper but i do alot of junk removal, many times people will have me haul away an appliances and pay me to do so, i take them in with out taking apart to the scrap yard, is this dumb of me to do so? should i take apart to get the copper? how much more money would i make if i removed the copper, thanks-ZE
Now really sit back and think about this one. oook, your bringing the appliances at like .10-.15 cents per lb. Now everything has got wires, a motor, circuit boards. Now the weight of the item hasn't changed and you have multiple prices instead of a singular. So whats ur conclusion to your own answer.......Now go intro urself
I say take apart one motor for the copper and see how long it takes you. Then factor in what you think your time is worth. That should give you an answer. Take out the motors and compressors and put the rest in your shred pile.
Question #1
Do you have tools and a big hammer?
Be aware that many appliance motors have aluminum windings - they only look like copper from just looking at them.
I would at a minimum cut the cords off!!
I suggest breaking everything down until you know the answer. It will be very helpful in the future. Mike
Dont listen to miked he knows not what he speaks of. Better yet dont break anything down and ill pay you $.01 more per pound then your yard is paying you for shred.
I respectfully disagree with B Lush. I takes practice to break these things down quickly. The first time you may think it isn't worth it, but after you do it a few times you will see that it is !!
Most appliances have a motor or compressor. I'd have a sawzall and inverter with me and go to an empty parking lot and at least cut the motors out of them (.25 a lb) and get the wiring. Would only take an extra 10 min. per unit. Triple your money, your choice,,,
I take everything apart for the main reason i love to do it but also it will help increase the money you make witch is always good.
I do it for the same reason.
I can't find employees to do it with the time and care it takes to do it right.
I'll take as long as I need on something.
Sometimes I'll move on to something simple and think about the easiest way to deal with the hard one.
I guess I am not as adept at breaking down appliances as y'all! I had to break down an AC/DC adaptor (class 2 transformer) the other day to ascertain what the copper recovery was for a customer that had 1,500+ pounds of them. It took me 20 minutes to get the ounce and a half of copper out of it. BTW...that made it only a 16% recovery. (Copper only made up 16% percent of the total weight of the adaptor.)
Well if you can get a lot faster at dismanteling it could be a good return.
Below are figures using the prices of the yard I have been using.
1500lb x $0.20= $300
1500 x 16% = 240lb Cu x $2.52 = $604.80
1500 - 240 = 1260 x $0.12 = $151.20
$604.80 + 151.20 = $756.00
$756.00 - $300 = $456.00 (the difference if you break them down)
Another thought put up some pictures others may have experince breaking them down, Mike.
I have a box full of motherboards and non-motherboards. Out of curiosity, I asked the scrapyard what they pay for the boards. He said ".15 cents a lb." I thought, WTH! I've read where people are getting $4.00 a pound for the boards.
He also told me I would get .15 cents a lb. for a computer tower. Once again I thought, WTH!
So for me, I will continue to disassemble my scrap and get the higher price!
are you maximixing available time verses $, if not break it down. another option would be to sell it to another independent scrapper for yard price, and let them break it down.
Hey Little glad to see you posting. Where have you been hiding?
Glad you did not sell to them!
I would love to sell to the buyers here. I just don't think I have big enough amounts for them to bother with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kris Kringle
There are some who are glad to work with us small guys. Weigh up what you have and take a couple pictures and send a pm to one of the buyers. They will be able to estimate price and shipping costs. Mike.
PartTimeScrapper sends the smallest prepaid USPO boxes for his lightweight stuff. I plan to do that also. Good luck little. I'm glad you didn't sell to that yard also and I like Kris Kringles suggestion to offer to buy e-waste from that yard.
I try to send 50 pound boxes at a time. However I did send 3 pounds in a small flat rate box to brooks to sell some CPU's. I know the way ewasted works you could pull all the boards from the computers stack them in a box he will sort them and pay you accordingly if you dont have enuff to fill one box of the same kind of board. that helps us small timers out alot.
I have three log splitters I turned one of Them into a crusher with a little engineering it becomes a great scraping tool. All the scrapers in my area have log splitters but the don't utilize them. I have built all kinds of little things to fit on mine and save me a world of time. Later