Trying to get the copper from inside this jacuzzi motor [pics]

Took apart a car starter just prior to this with only a LITTLE amount of colourful language, but this thing has got me using an entire dictionary of colourful language.

The copper wire is almost molded together by some kind of glue substance and tied with rope, it then goes through metal tube looking things and out the other side into another hard coil. Any advice on how to get this blasted stuff out?



I'm trying to upload pictures or link pictures but it's not letting me for some reason. If the admin could allow me to post pictures or links that would be great.

hxxp://i45.tinypic.com/jjqzyg.jpg replace the XX with TT

themadhabber
You need to get the stator out of that outer shell first. Cut a groove in it from end to end, then wedge the shell apart and the stator should fall out fairly easy.
Stator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yes, slice it open like Abuilder said.


As for the rest...

What do you do with the rotors?

I say shred but-------
http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/scrap...hred-iron.html

If I have a heavy pile going, it goes in there, otherwise it goes into light/shred since I usually have a pile of that going...

Thanks for all the replies guys!

So if I don't exactly have the grinder in the video that was linked is there any other method of getting it out or is that one of those tools that I'm probably going to need if I'm going to continue doing this in the future.

I was thinking of snipping everything from the top and pushing them through much like he did without the grinder but I think that would take a very long time. I'm going to see what I can do in the morning.

I also have a transmission out of a mustang and a V8 engine and other car parts. If you guys don't know the back story I made a thread the other day with the details of this house clearing I'm doing. There is a lot of stuff here.

Went to my first scrap run this afternoon. Had 18lbs of copper, 13lbs of brass and a few hundred pounds of mixed metals...only got $81.43 out of it. So I made it my duty to really dig through everything I have and strip it of all the copper/brass/aluminum etc instead of lumping it all as mixed metal. I probably made a pricey mistake, haha.

Some people cut the end wires with a wood chisel, I did it too on a couple aluminum ones. I been using an old 10" miter saw with a metal blade for most of them

I believe freonjoe runs his through a table saw. I use a 4 1/2 inch cutoff, what it doesn't cut I finish up with wire cutters. I should get a bigger cutoff and slice clean all the way around it.

Some use a sawzall. I haven't had any luck with that, it catches the wires and makes a mess. I prefer it stay together for the most part.

If I had to choose between using the miter saw or the table saw I'd go with the miter. The table saw, unless you made a special jig of some sort, would be taking bigger chances, with a lot of loose stuff that could get criss crossed and jammed. With the miter saw, which still is dangerous enough on this stuff, at least you have the backstop to hold it steady against, while moving the blade straight down through the metal. Actually I do have a choice, but choose using the miter saw instead of a table, because of the greater control you have in holding the piece being cut aligned with the blade

I agree. Miter/chop saw is/should be safer. In addition the blade is pulling away from you.

I could be wrong too, but I was sure he said he used a table saw.

Mines a 10". Wonder how much more I'd gain if I had a 14" saw. I get some big motors at times.

You'd get a great bit more, possibly up to 4" more? I cut firewood on mine for several years when I had no chainsaw(dam that things been through hel! ; ) and some of it was 6 to 8", I'd just cut one way far as it would go, turn the log and cut again, sometimes cutting from 3 angles to get through one

The sump pump I did recently looked alot like this. Put it into the vise, cut one side with a pair of side cutters, a little at a time.
Then flip it over in the vise and pull/pry with a pail of channel locks. Comes right out. Dont have to mess with the casing.
For ppl. with a limited assortment of tools...

I've tried using a band saw but even with the finest metal blades I could find it would still catch on the wires and make a mess. When I'm using the tablesaw, I stand behind it and pull the winding core towards me.

Thanks Joe, I thought it woulda cut smoother. Made a big mess out of one with a reciprocating sawzall, had little copper wires flying everywhere

Do you have a jig for the tablesaw? Those slides, it might be possible to screw a thin sheet steel plate onto, which would hold stops or clamps, and hold the stator square to the blade. Or would that even be worth messing with, the way you do it? I know you've done a lot of them

Bear, I put the blade all the way up and then pull the winding core towards me lining it up with the edge of the steel core. When I get a little less than half way up on the blade, I rotate the winding core towards me following the steel edge of the core. That way all the copper dust ends up on the ground rather than on me.