New to scraping

[Suzyq]

Hi I'm new to scraping and had some questions, I was hoping someone would be able to help me out.
1. I have an old dryer should I take it in whole or rip it apart? (If rip apart how and will there be a lot of bits left over that I can't scrap?)
2. I have several non-working fans with metal stands, vacuum cleaner, DVD players, microwave, metal framed exercise equipment and broke power/manual tools, can I scrap these and should I take them apart first?
3. Can you scrap non-car batteries? (I have power tool batteries that won't hold a charge and household batteries)
4. How much would I have to scrap to make 50 to 75 dollars a week?

[TheFatMan]

1) Rip it apart. Use a grinder or a SawzAll. You can also take it apart with a screw driver and sledge hammer. Get the motor and the wires. Save these bits aside. Now everything else metal is probably light iron or tin. Stuff that isn't metal is trash.

2) Your fans have motors, take these out and set aside. I break the crap open with a hammer. It's fun. No really, it is. The metal stands are light iron or tin, throw those in your dryer pile of metal crap. Vacuum cleaners are easy. Cut the cord on it. Cords have copper. Anything that plugs into the wall usually has a copper cord. That there is duckets. Duckets are good yo. Now get a big ass hammer and smash the flat brush base off the vacuum. Nice!!!! Now attached to that is the motor housed in plastic. Break off the plastic with hammer and cut out the motor. Set that aside. Right? Right. Now cut the cords off your DVD players. Set those cords aside with the other cords. Those are worth money. Throw the cordless dvd players in your tin metal pile with your fan crap and dryer crap. Now cut the cord off your microwave. Put that with the other cords. Yup, extra money again. WooHoo! You can cut open the microwave but all you get is 10 cents worth of a copper, a heat sink, and 2 big magnets. It's kinda lame less you're low on magnets. Throw the microwave in with your dryer/fan/light iron junk. Now your exercise equipment, throw it all into your light iron dryer crap pile, unless you have a treadmill. If you have a treadmill, break it open and take out the motor with a good socket set. Now sell the motor on ebay. Windmill hippies love them. Power tools have little electrical motors in them. Break them apart with a hammer and set the motors aside in your motor pile. Score!!!!

3)Call your local scrap yard and ask about batteries. It's a yard preference thing. I have a yard who takes car batteries, but would cry glass tears if I brought in so much as a laptop battery. Go figure.

4)Assuming you have a treadmill in your junk pile, we just made 150 bucks. No treadmill? Okay fine, we just made a good 60-75. I'm excited, aren't you?

[dherik]

I wouldn't throw those DVD players in the light iron pile. Those have small motors, and also high grade boards in them. I just took 20 apart I got from a pawn shop, so I got 20 motors, a bunch of lasers to play with, 20 high grade boards AND a pile of light iron.

[Suzyq]

Thanks guys for the replies, I really appreciate it. dherik how are you playing with the lasers?? just curious ... hooking them up to something??

[Scrap man]

Thanks guys for the replies, I really appreciate it. dherik how are you playing with the lasers?? just curious ... hooking them up to something??

I'm curious about that too

[parrothead]

You'll put your eye out!

[easyrecycle]

best laser come out of light scribe dvd burners...those ones if you wire them up right can and will light something on fire a few feet away.....

[Suzyq]

Oh..... easyrecycle you shouldn't have told me that, I might have to try that when my husbands not around.

[ComputerScrapper]

Score! I am lighting some crap on fire tomorrow! I wonder if they will bring that guy back that tried to steal from me? HEHE

[IdahoScrapper]

More often than not you will find stuff in the bottom of the dryer (part where motor sits), and also in the blower housing.

I find coins nearly every time.

Also the front panel (where the controls are) is usually a piece of sheet aluminum. Not much, but it all adds up for me.

[easyrecycle]

I think I just caused some trouble now.

All I can say its NOT a toy...If made right it can and will burn things an can burn the skin very easy. So if you make the laser treat it as a loaded gun!!! there are plans on the web on how to make one..I wont point out the one I used but they don't cost much to make.

[Mick]

....4. How much would I have to scrap to make 50 to 75 dollars a week?

Not much. About 1/2 ton of light iron (tin); 6-700 pounds of #1 iron, 100 pounds of aluminum or 25 pounds of stripped copper wire would do it. Any one of those.

[dherik]

Thanks guys for the replies, I really appreciate it. dherik how are you playing with the lasers?? just curious ... hooking them up to something??

We've got several transformers we hook laser up to at my shop. I work in an electronics repair shop so I've got every toy a nerd could dream of. I really like the lasers out of the new PS3. Those are hard to get a hold of for free though.

[easyrecycle]

I really like the lasers out of the new PS3

OOO yes they are fun =) but I like my light scribe one..that one works like crazy

[IdahoScrapper]

1) Now cut the cord off your microwave. Put that with the other cords. Yup, extra money again. WooHoo! You can cut open the microwave but all you get is 10 cents worth of a copper, a heat sink, and 2 big magnets.

10 cents? Last microwave I did had a 2 lb brick of copper. I've only done one so far so maybe it was special...but I doubt it.

[TheFatMan]

10 cents? Last microwave I did had a 2 lb brick of copper. I've only done one so far so maybe it was special...but I doubt it.

I've been butchering them for awhile now, most don't have squat. I've got 3 sitting in todays load.

[IdahoScrapper]

Must have been a "special" microwave. This is disappointing as I had hoped there would be more microwaves coming down the pipe that I could destroy for the copper.

[TheFatMan]

Must have been a "special" microwave. This is disappointing as I had hoped there would be more microwaves coming down the pipe that I could destroy for the copper.

Could just be based on manufacturer as well, no need for quotes sir. I mean some televisions have rings of enameled tin around their picture tubes and some have pure copper. You get lucky with some and not so much with others. Oh Snap! An open mind! Score!

[IdahoScrapper]

It was a stainless residential type. Don't recall the make of it though.

[Mechanic688]

We just picked up a microwave last weekend that took two guys to load it in the truck. Guy said it was a first generation, right after they came out. Gonna be interesting to see whats in there,,,