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A while ago, I took in some copper windings to the local scrap yard and they paid me for red brass. Does that sound correct? I thought motor windings (transformers) were copper not brass, did I get screwed?:confused: Today I took apart two small motors windings and one small transformer. Some of the of the metal looks red and some looks copper color. What do you guys think?
Buckatabon
That is varnish over the windings, the yard guy should be smarter than that. Or maybe you need to be smarter than that guy,,,lol
I'm guessing that you didn't remove all of the brass electrical connectors.
That'd be classed as 'Red brass'
Mechanic688 thanks for the quick reply. I agree I should have done some research before taking the metal in. I was Naīve at the time and should have questioned the metal type after being handed the paper slip. That brings up a new question. The guys that work in that area where you drop off your metal are Hispanic and I don’t speak Spanish. These guys are very hard to understand with the language barrier. Do you guys run into this same problem? What have you done to correct that issue without having to go hunt down someone that speaks English and Spanish every time you make a drop off.
Buckatabon
I really don't have that problem as there is no Mexicans working any of the yards around here.Quote:
Originally Posted by buckatabon
Even the yard signs are in English. No offense intended.
I found a new yard that employs americans, and helpful ones at that.also i recommend that everyone else i know use that yard.Quote:
Originally Posted by buckatabon
Learn some simple spanish..like hola, como estas??..hi, how are you..im not fluent by any means but it isn't that hard to catch onto everyday words..thankfully I don't have to deal with that at the 2 yards I go to..but if I did id just say te gustas cervezas..me gusta mucho...lightens em up...lol...gl man
i know lots of spanish, taco, burrito, maņana, Sayonara, el splito
do yall break down smaller transformers, or just leave them together ?
Taco...lol that's a good 1..if u are talking about the one's out of crts I leave mine alone 25 cents a lb at my yard... anything over 20 lbs I tear down..did a 120 pounder the other day out of a rectifier..nice score of #1...que es el spliti???
Its a common thing here too. The only ones that speak English are in the office. It doesn't help that I've got dark skin and can't speak Spanish. I've used the same yard for over 15 years. The most of the guys there know me and and very trysting when I take stuff in. The other day I took in about 500 pounds of #1 copper and about 50 of #2. The Guy just combined them and called it all #1. I usually go in 2 times a week with mainly computer cases. At least once a month in the summer I take the guys in the yard a case of water and in the winter I take coffee. Its a hard boundary to break but if you do research on your metals and get to know the guys you will find that most of them speak a lot more English then they show and they hopefully will help you out. If not there is always this forum. Good luck.
Or don't learn any spanish at all an d go to a different yard. Your the customer and they should provide an english speaking service.....in America......, you shouldn't have to go out of YOUR way to do business with THEM. Thats as backwards as it gets. Tell everyone else to use a different yard also..... and tell the manager that you won't be using that yard until the language barrier issue is met. Companies will do this b/c they can rip you off and get away with it b/c you can't argue your prices b/c you can't speak spanish...... screw that.....
They know enough English to punch in the classification...Approve each classification as you go through the stack and put it back in the truck if you don't agree.
Also the phrase "tu es loco en la cabasa" (you are crazy in the head). The grammer may not be great but they will get the inference. You are not going to take being screwed with.
Also I have found a little spanish lingo goes a long way in getting those guys to be helpful. In the flea market busines the wife and I dealt with a lot of them. We found most to be very nice and very interesting to talk with. Mike.
I break mine down if I can. I'm probably one of the few who do.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bear
Same here, billygoat. I want the higer price.Quote:
Originally Posted by billygoat
All my small ones go into a barrell for now, someday if it ever slows down I might try breaking them down.
What's the best way to break them down? I've got a metal blade for my miter saw, was thinking about just cutting them in half someway, to separate itQuote:
Originally Posted by billygoat
A cold chisel on the weld line works really well Bear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hypoman
Couldn't agree more! Exactly what Hypoman said. ^^^^
I use a chop saw on transformers and it works great ! Some of the best $150 I've ever spent
Thanks guys for the heads up. I only use this yard because it is close by. I might try to pick up a couple Spanish words here or there to help me out. I hate to have to do that. Regarding the transformer, it was out of microwave small but it’s something. Some you might know that I really only do this for beer money so it’s not a big deal to break stuff down. In addition, I don’t have to put it back together and its great therapy getting your anger out.(Stress Management) LOL
Buckatabon
O ya, to get the transformer open I used a 3 pound hammer and a wood spliting wedge. I am not sure if that's the correct way, but it works.
Buckatabon
Also note Spanish speaking ppl have scrap 2.. spanish is one of the most easy languages to learn where english is one of the most difficult.. I for one get lots of scrap from ppl of spanish decent..I also sold a mexican that doesn't speak a lick of english 2 computer monitors the other day..couldn't hurt especially if its the nearest yard for ya..just my 2 centavos..lol...less than 2 cents
Beer = Cervesa
Google Translate has been helpful to me.
i hope those translators work better than they used to! I'd use them sometimes to try and decipher what someone in the ukraine or tiawan or somewhere had said, or try to figure out what their translator had meant by some remark i couldn't figure out, feeling certain they were in the same boat, but just on the other side of it. Then i tried putting my own message through the same translator to their language, and taking the result, and translating it back again. You'd be totally shocked at some of the end results
It's fairly effective. Sometimes I'll get things back that don't seem right, or it doesn't translate all of it.
if nothing else, at least it can get you in the ballpark. I recently translated a Japanese friends comment, and although it was worded rather backwards, it was still easy enough to get the drift of the message. Those voice to text programs have came a long ways too