Is there enough copper in a sealed unit to pay for them?
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- čas přidán 3. 07. 2024
- In this video I weigh a compressor to figure what it would cost if I were to buy it as is, but I did pick this one up for free, I cut it open get the copper and aluminum out and figure the cost for each item. for the most part I would get my investment back from the tin, so any copper and aluminum would be profit, but just how much profit?
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People like you make my days worth living. Love your down to earth presentation of good business sense.
Thank You Rob, I am glad you enjoyed the video, Thanks for watching
@@Okiescrapper Why on earth do I spend my days tearing things apart for the copper and aluminum only to then come in and sit and watch others do the same thing? My wife may be right, it's a stupid guy thing and an "excuse to buy more tools." :)
@@hobbitreet "excuse to buy more tools"- lol. That's the best part.
@@hobbitreet Hahahha! sounds like my ol' lady!
Ive always wondered what was in those compressors...Thanks for the education on that as well as tearing down the windings. Ya learn something new every day,
most are all copper and the payout is good I did another one that was all copper czcams.com/video/_LXUfLAG4bg/video.html
I’ve done tons of electronic motors and compressors. Best rule of thumb is 1 pound copper per horse power. Some advice, always cut above the ring on a compressor
nice to know about the 1 lb. per. horse power, I don't think that I ever paid any attention to the horse power rating
A
I find either copper or luminum nit kixed on the staters w windings
Okie scrapper is the most complete and informative actually the best scrapper.
Thank you
thanks for the video Okie, always wanted to do the big a/c units torn down.
Glad I could help I have a few more that I will be doing soon, Thanks for stopping by
I had truck and 2 trailer loads (7×9 flat bed on truck and a 8×20 trailer) full given to Me by a heating and ac guy and had about a dozen of these compressors and wasn't sure what to do with them but now I do thank you for the video.
Hello Zagan a guy in the comments said he did 100's of these a day ranging from 3 to 15 lbs. each, think for this size I see about 6 lbs. on average, most of them are all copper, but as time go on I think will see more and more aluminum in them. Thanks for watching
must use last bit of torch cutting in an intro reel! That was pretty spectacular!
A16” demo saw with cutting blade streamlines the scrap business. Works fast and efficiently. Torch is a must but the demo saw rips through heavy steel and bolts or anything.
That's what I did. Demo Saw....even with that I enjoyed making a video about it but didn't enjoy the work.
I’m on my second demo saw. They save me a ton of time. I cut the compressors just above the bottom and then slice it at the top hose area. Boom
Great video here....I mever bothered with scrapping these out never really thought it would be worth it
M8 you did a great service to all of us . Cheers. The steel prices are up now , so it's copper and aluminum . The steel out of the compressors is prepared steel , not light iron or tin. That means a better price , the aluminum is conceder wire not sheet , it is worth more and the copper windings are called num 2 copper . Wish you success in your endeavours .God bless y'all.
aluminum need to go up for sure. the yard that I go to pays more then all the outer yards around they don't have a lot of space so they don't have short iron or prepared steel it all goes for one price but they are paying $125.00 a ton and the yard closest to me is paying $70.00 a ton so the prepared steel there may be $80.00 or $90.00 so I will take the extra 15 miles for the better price and I don't have to sort it. but yeah I should call it what it should be in the videos I will have to explain myself in a video. I put all my aluminum windings into a dog food bag. so no confusion as to what is copper and what is aluminum. Thanks for watching Gus
One US the others UK
very good video.
i have never come across aluminum in a pumpkin from a fridge or stove or AC. coolers are a good source of copper if you seperate from the alum fins. i use a sharp knife after lopping off the macaroni ends. justt cut once, then second cut, slightly to the side or whatnot, peels away clean if you cut it right with a sharp knife point. can just pull the end with pliers. i tried these with air chisels, but simple cutting is best, quiet and clean. almost relaxing when you hear that ZZZZZZZZZZZIP when you know you cut it just right.
also, MW, those small rotisery motors, collect em, they add up if you have a 20 or so. and for me a bit of fun to imagine what i can make with all those small gears if only i was a bit smarter. anything up to a 220V plug is worth stripping by hand.
I have been doing those for years that first piece that you cut off we call that the bracelet you get a carbon blade put in a circle to saw believe it's called You Pull the handle down with that Carbon Blade and you cut that off and then when you cut that off the carbon blade makes it nice and smooth and even so you can pull the rest out after you put it the whole piece the vice pretty easy I've been doing it for years I'm one of the few people that do those I was glad to see you using those torches I've been waiting to see that I do have a set of settling torches just never got around to it doing those for years . Thanks for showing me
Yes I thought about getting a bigger grinder a 7 inch and try that, but I do have a 14 inch cutoff saw that is probably what you are talking about the blade is kind of wide but I could put a shop vac. at the back of blade to catch the copper dust. and I have a chisel that I cut a v into it and it pulls the copper out real nice with the air chisel. Thanks for watching Michael
Thanks. I always learn something from your vids. I'm a hobby scrapper too, don't really need the money but it is so ..... relaxing I guess.
I think you put it another way, once. " scrapping is in you"
yeah I think it is in the blood, I almost got out of scrapping, I stopped bringing it in and after a year of so I was almost out of scrap to clean and I thought I am going to miss this and what will I do to fill my time, and I started to bring it in again, Thanks for watching
@@Okiescrapper the metal always comes back. Yep, Always comes back home.
Love the barrel set up. A little bit of that weight was the oil inside too. Great, real time, video. Lots of useful information. 👌🏻😎
Thank you, a 41/2-inch angle grinder will cut them open easy too, I use less than one disk per unit, and use the angle grinder to cut the copper, and now I use an air chisel to pull the copper out with a chisel shaped like a Y, I now use a plasma cutter, so only using electric for the cutter and air compressor, so I won't be cutting any in the summer between 3 pm and 7 pm as electric rates are higher during those hours. most units have all copper wire in them, about 4 to 6 lbs. so $12.00 to $22.00 depending on the price of #2 copper at the time and in your area. thanks for stopping by
The torch shouldn't be making such a loud (what I call jet airplane noise) hiss unless you're squeezing the oxygen lever to cut. Flame should be shorter and not as violent sounding. When you turn on acetylene and light itturn fuel down until right before it is making those little black floaters in the air. If it's making floaters its too low. Then Crack open oxygen at bottom knob fully open then adjust top oxygen knob until you see each flame cone at tip. Then fine adjust to your liking. Nothing wrong with the way you did it but this way will conserve more fuel and o². Make your tanks last longer.
You remind me of my grandfather he worked at the city dump running a dozer all his life well up until he died at 50 from a massive heart attack and he would take everything apart like that and separate it and he made a decent living doing that
I went to the scrap yard for the first time in several years last week I took two batteries and a contractor's bag full of crushed aluminum cans, I walked out with $7 and change! Back when I was actually scrapping just that bag alone would have been $10... It's really not worth the time and effort now
last winter it was worse. think it was like $40.00 a ton. I stockpiled until the price went up to 80.00 aluminum has been down for a while and not showing much sign of coming back up, your batteries should have done better then that. a lawn mower battery should bring $3.00 and $5.00 for a car battery. about .20 to .25 a lb. thanks for watching
War time all metal goes up
I've been saving mine up for the future copper will go up as soon as the country opens back up
@@rickzacher1797 in my area scrap metals have jumped up price by almost double
@@rickzacher1797 actually that was a weekend special
Thanks for posting.
You're welcome and thank you for watching
Good info ,realized long time ago that it was not worth the time and effort to break down a compressor.
most are ok and full of copper but every now and then you get one with aluminum, I now use a cutting disk to cut them open faster and use less then 1 disk to open them, the disk cost me about .55 cents each and on a big compressor like this about 4 lbs. of copper. I am a hobby scrapper, I still work for a living. so scrapping is mad money it comes in handy for extras, I get a lot of good stuff from scrapping. and I enjoy it. take care
Wow I never knew here was copper in compressors...thank you for the education
you are very welcome Kenneth, most are all copper, as luck would have it I picked one with aluminum for the video, about 4 lbs. of copper in a unit this size, Thanks for stopping by
Thank you for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Would be interesting to see the scroll compressor in the unit . Can you put up a video on that?
I was wondering the same. As a tinkerer with the geothermal arts, I was quite curious about that myself 🤔🤗
Great video. Keep them coming. Protect those eyes!!
Thank you! Will do! the ears are shot, but not as bad as some people I know. Thanks for stopping by
Awsome video. Never had to drive to dismantle one of these, of any size.
Glad you liked it! thanks for stopping by
I have made a lot of money from old compressors great video.
yes, a good bit of copper in them, and not hard to get it out,
Very interesting. Thanks a lot for all your hard work.
Thanks for watching Robert, this was a bad unit for this video, most units are all copper and yield about 4 lbs. of copper, about $14.00 and I now cut them open with a 4.5 inch cutting disk on an angle grinder. one disk will do one unit and a little bit of another, the cost of the disk is 54 cents.
Thanks for the info
Any time! Thanks for watching
Great video, thanks !!!!
Glad you liked it! and thanks for stopping by
Good video. Nice to see what's inside a compressor.
Thank you, most are all copper about 4 lbs. about $14.00 at current prices. as luck would have it the one I picked for the video would have aluminum windings, I don't get many like that just once in a while, Thanks for stopping by
I've taken many of those apart. Some will be all copper windings, others will be all aluminum. You found one with both. You might be able to tell what you have by the weight before you open them up. I don't know how else you'd determine it once they've been separated from the appliance.
one guy told me about some numbers on plate, I still have the top with the plate on it. I think it would be hard to go by weigh of unit as there are so many styles, I will not buy them too much free stuff out there, so I will take what I get, Thanks for watching
Very informative .
Glad you liked it. here is a link to another one I did, I cut it open with a cutting disk and it was all copper czcams.com/video/_LXUfLAG4bg/video.html
Just found your channel & subscribed. I enjoyed this video and your experiment. Pretty cool I thought. I'll be watching. Thanks.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the sub
I enjoyed this video !
Glad you enjoyed it!
I've learned when cutting really thin metal with a cutting torch you want to lay the torch almost flat. It cuts better.
thanks for the tip, I think angle grinder is the way to go on them, thanks for watching
I use an angle grinder for sure, also on the windings. Way faster. I do loose a little cooper but I bust one out in about 5 minutes total.
@@edwardfraker4043 that is working fast. good money if you get the copper one's so far most of them are
Just finished my oxy fuel cutting class and can confirm this. Anytime you're cutting thin metals, you want a hefty travel angle
@@Grayson203 Thanks for the tip. I never took a class, I think that maybe I should someday,
Here in Sioux City Iowa, they want the thin coating on the 110 copper wire, and the price for all of the metals, is very low. i would suggest that you research the process of smelting down the metals and then look for any local business who might be interested in buying your products, finished metals.
Great information! Thank you man I watched the whole thing
Glad you enjoyed it! the compressor was a free one. so a little more profit gas was about 50 cents, most of them are all copper about 6 lbs. Thanks for watching
I just wanted to say that I opened up one of those that came from a window a/c unit that was a few years old and the unit inside was supposed to be copper wasn't ! It was aluminum , copper coated ! So I wouldn't want to jump on buying those units for what you offered .
yeah I decided not to buy any too much free stuff out there. I am glad that one was free, I still have about 8 condenser units to scrap out I don't think that I will get to them this year, but retirement is only 11 months away
Kramer and Newman recycling aluminum cans in the mail truck. Great episode
I must have missed that one sure sounds like something they'd do! Which season?
Awesome video sir, i am not one of these youg bucks complaining about everything. I didn't mind watching the video for longer. Keep up the good work and thank you for showing the ones that are actually doing this for curiosity nor crime. I have kept everything so far that i have melted down but the day when i do start to sell it might be weird for me personally because ya never know how the market or banks start to go a little crazzy i know i have guaranteed income. Keep up the great work and i will always watch 🇺🇲🙏🏼 god bless you and your's
Thank you, I have retired since I made this video, so now still a hobby, and it supplements the ssi. I plan to slow down some so I can get out and fish a little and play around in the boat
Interesting video. We learn by doing & watching others as well. I have a bone yard of push & riding mowers. Right not not worth the price to drive to the yard. Once price move up I will be cleaning out.
Stay safe, Joe Z
prices are good here $160.00 a ton the average riding mower is about 485 lbs. it would be nice if the price go's up some more
@@Okiescrapper I am ready for when
they do.👍
Those wires are a copper coated aluminum, much like TV cable wires they run in peoples houses as the power/signal only runs on the outter diameter of the cable (the copper part) the aluminum is just fill to make the wire size diameter to meet the specs. Its a cost cut. Think of it as 1 mile of Copper at .125 inch vs. cost of 1 mile of Aluminum .120 plated with .005 of copper.
I I
No it's really aluminum wire.... and tv coax is 99% of the time copper clad steel wire..... a file and a magnet 🧲 is your best friend scrapping.... I scrapped for 15 years and now I have worked at a scrap yard for 8 years..... I've operated every machine (and repaired them also) the only things on the yard I haven't operated is the cash register and credit card machine... There is a machine that makes recycling compressors profitable but for $12k it's not every man's tool...
Consumables cost more than profit but thanks for video
the only thing that comes to mind is flashpoint. great vid.
thank you I may try to remake this video and hopefully it will have all copper in it. I never did buy any, but I may from an ac shop here in town. see if I can do any good
Good video from your scrapping brother in lawton ok. I use a metal cutting blade on my skill saw to cut the ends off. Goes really fast.
Thanks for the tip, I just bought a 7 inch grinder gonna try it and see how it works, I use the 4.5 inch angle grinder on the tall thin one's that come out of ac window units, the torch get's too hot and melts the plastic sleeves and almost glues them in. makes it hard to get the copper out
I hope it works out for you. Let me know
Stay warm brother it's cold out there.
In addition you should show usage of the acetylene and oxygen plus the wear and tear on your saw blade along with the electricity used to break it down. Still, no matter what the profit margin is, its a hundred percent more than I made sitting on my caboose watching you do the work! I said it before and I'll put it out there again. You have fine torch skills.
to track the oxygen and acetylene I think I would want to start with full tanks and see how many I could cut open with one tank of oxy. I use almost 2 oxygen to 1 acetylene. think the Oxygen is about $15.00 and the acetylene is around $30.00 to fill. and last for quite awhile
....and then factor in fuel savings from burning the scrap oil for heating.
Awesome
Hey Okie! Fellow okie scrapper here specializing in E waste.
If you're not already become a member at scrap metal forums, it's a great community there!
Great videos
where in Oklahoma are you, I may have some boards for you
Sometimes the outside shells are aluminum too.... Also check and see what they're paying for motor weight.... When you get the ones that are half aluminum half copper sell them for motor weight and save your equipment
I haven't run into any that have aluminum shell. I will have to try to figure out how to tell the aluminum one's from the copper with out opening them up, Thanks for watching John
Very nice ideas
Glad you like them! Thanks for watching
I like your idea of a cutting drum with a grate on top. You need to find an more economical way to split the case open. The few bucks you made went for consumables... You're working for free.
that compressor was free, so made a few bucks, most of them are all copper about 6 lbs. some say angle grinder is cheaper, I think a plasma cutter would be the cheapest, or maybe a carbide sawzall blade. Thanks for watching
very informative
Glad you liked it. that compressor was free so no up front cost and the cost to cut around .50 cents. would have paid good if all copper thanks for watching
@@Okiescrapper I have about 20 to scrap. Will try using my plasma cutter. Hopefully might get a bit of copper. But as you know some times not the case . Much like microwaves . Have a great day
Happy Thanksgiving Okie to you and your family God Bless we have a lot to be Thankful for Amen
Thank you, I hope your Thanksgiving was great.
Good job
Thanks. and thanks for stopping by, I know you are busy You do have a lot going on
I watched a video like this just recently and the guy drilled a small hole in the bottom and top and just let them drain into a container. Then he did the same, just cut them open etc. :) Hope it helps a bit and ty for the video :).
I drain what I can through the hole in the side into a 5 gallon bucket with expanded metal on top of it, and the barrel catches the rest
I do this all time at a scrapyard in stilwell. I use propane instead of acetylene much cheaper does just as good of a job. I just cut those bolts with my torch and hit with my sledge hammer to loosen it up and it comes apart. I've seen those kind of compressors before aluminum and copper usually just toss in the iron pile not worth the work and hassle of trying to separate. Also do electric motors the are easy also, like your barrel with the catching of waste oil may make one also, thanks from a fellow okie.
I will have to check into propane gauges. Your welcome Billy Thanks for watching
Propane is cheaper. But to get the same efficiency as acetylene propane uses like 3 times more oxygen. So in the long run you'll be wasting more on oxy
Aluminium switcharooo. I been fooled too. Breaking stuff open takes time and energy. You don't always get back what you put in. 📡👽🇺🇸 Keep going.
the unit was free so a few more buck in pocket, it's a hobby so no loss for the time and this video has done well, so very much worth the time
👍👍 . You got all the tools so that makes it easier to turn a profit. I wonder how much Phosgene gas is produced when you burn the oil. I do know the longer the oil sits in a bucket the more refrigerant is evaporated away.
not sure, hard to tell. I try to do it in a well ventilated area. the doors in this room are at the north and south. summer the wind is out of the south, cold fronts wind from the north. try to keep the wind to my back. Thanks for watching
It all depends on the unit. I've torn apart some like this one and Ive torn apart some that was all copper windings and all the tubing inside was copper.
yeah the good thing is most of them are all copper, as luck would have it the one I pick for the video would be aluminum. lol. as they say you win some and you lose some, but the video has been doing real good, Thanks for stopping by
Thanks . Just be carful when cutting a closed container. Sometimes there’s things can go boom.
it is not totally closed. there are 2 spots that the copper tubbing goes into. and oil has to get very hot to burn
Lol. Wow
When you turn off cutting turn off the red or fuel gas first . This prevents a burn back inside the hose .
Which gas do you turn off first?
Harris Products Group
"Which gas do you turn off first?" We get this question a lot out in the field, and it's a good one. This blog entry outlines our recommendations for proper shut down of an oxy-fuel torch.
OXY-ACETYLENE
We recommend closing the oxygen valve first whenever turning off an oxy-fuel torch system especially when Acetylene is fuel. This is only part, but a very important part, of the complete safe operating procedure recommended for torches by Harris.
When shut down properly, this procedure can help detect even a minute leak in either the fuel or oxygen valve. It will also help keep the system free of carbon deposits that can overtime accumulate and eventually cause the torch to become inoperable and/or unsafe.
This procedure should always be used on oxy-acetylene equipment to keep it in a safe operating condition.
As a general rule the same procedure is also recommended when using oxy-alternate fuels at the initial light-up after the equipment has been shut down for a period of time or disconnected and reconnected to the gas supply system and when empty cylinders are exchanged for full cylinders.
Yea used to recycle A/C units, but didn't break down the compresser, sold it whole.
kind of do you have the time? if you do I think you can make some good money, most have about 4 lbs. of copper, around $14.00 you can cut one open with less than a 4.5 inch cutting disk. a plasma cutter would be cheaper, in a few other videos I use an air chisel with a Y shaped bit to pull the windings out after the first end is cut. fast and easy
Great research video! And a wise thing to do, "time permitting." I really enjoyed this one!
Glad you enjoyed it!. the tag on top sad made in the USA. I will try to do another latter, hopefully it will be copper inside. Thanks for watching
Always watching. You are one of my favorite, "go to" scrapping channels!
Very cool.
glad you like it Jeff, hopefully the next one will be all copper, most are, this one had to have aluminum because I was making a video. lol Thanks for watching
Hi Okie was the compressor from a refrigerator or air conditioner unit? Where was it made? The last question is for my research? They use aluminum wire which is cheaper and the wire does last as long under high temperature.
I am sure that came out of an AC unit. the tag on top said made in the USA it was a free one so all profit. if I were to buy them like that I would still make a few bucks.
I spent hours taking these apart (14 of them).
To be told.. it was aluminum at the scrap yard.
Anymore.. the unit will go as tin
it's hard to believe all 14 of them were aluminum, the yard may have gotten to you or they were all from the same kind of unit, Thanks for watching
@@Okiescrapper I think they f'd me.
I should've never told him it was my first time scrapping.
I normally would give all my metal to a "friend of mine"(so-called).
And I would ask him how much he was getting.
And I was in his vehicle.. I found a receipt for almost $800
So I figured my last load, would do it myself. He would always tell me he was only getting around $30. And I have loaded his truck and trailer.
(I have a construction business, I get lots of scrap). And he isn't getting another piece from me
I had 1 truck load of nothing and I got $199,70
There is a reason why many people stopped scrapping stuff because of the aluminum used instead of copper.
yep and we will most likely see more and more aluminum as time go by. Thanks for watching
@@Okiescrapper Any time fella.
When taking the string off there will be one that you can pull like a feed bag and it will untie all just by pulling on it.
yeah I do that when I can, sure makes it faster, on some motors they have so much shellack that it glues the string to the wire, and then some string is just rotten
Nice Video! I have a few of those around and was myself wondering if it was worth the time to break them open. Thanks for posting! !
No.... unless you have a yard full of them and it's still not worth the bs of all the tare down
@@TheBrandini76248 I agree but it saved me me a big mess and a nice bit of work !
it is worth it for some and not for others, verry few are aluminum windings, most are all copper about 4 + lbs. so you can figure the amount you can make from current prices, you can cut one open with a 4 1/2 cutting disk and still have some disk left, my disks cost me 54 cents each. a plasma cutter will cut them open easy too, I just got me a cheap one and plan to do a video soon cutting one open, I think a guy could do 2 in an hour easy, I use a air chisel to get the windings out now. I cut one end with the angle grinder cutting disk, Thanks for stopping by and Happy Thanksgiving
Sometimes yes if the inside slide right out when you cut it in half otherwise know I've cut open a few from air conditioners and it's like the whole thing is pressed in and unless you have a cutting torch you're not getting nothing out
Yeah the small long one's from window ac units. I have learned to cut them open with the angle grinder, the torch get's too hot and melts the white plastic sleeves and glues the copper to the metal, I make two cut's around the compressor and then two long wise and then you have just the stator, or to do less cutting you cut in and look to see the copper and then adjust the cut up or down and then go all the way around. I have a video think it is called how to cut compressors where I show this method, Thanks for watching
There are guys who run the whole compressor though a hammer mill. The pieces get the steel removed by magnet, then the copper and other materials get sorted on a shaker table. I'd love to take a trailer full of compressors and fan motors to them.
yeah I have seen a few videos on that method. basically they are using gold processing equipment, short of the magnet to get the steel, then the rest is by weight, Thanks for watching Douglas
Good evening Sir been in the scrap metal business since 1993 and i can tell you that thats not tin thats labaled as number 1 short but i appreciate you taking the time to do this video
The yard that I use everything go's at tin, and they pay more than any other yard that's why I was calling it tin as it is or was tin for me, I have checked out another yard that is paying $200. for short iron and the tin yard is only paying $160 so I am separating them again. the yard paying the $200 for short is only paying $150 Thanks for watching
@@Okiescrapper I posted this as a reply to another comment. I'm not trying to be a wise A.
The term "Tin" is a bit confusing in this case.
It is not referring to tin, the metal, but the classification for pricing.
It's the lower grade of mixed metals such as, these sealed units, car bodies, refrigerates, and that trailer load of crap you picked up around the yard.
Easy to misunderstand.
And people think scrapping is easy! I'd say for these little guys it's not really worth it, but it might be on a 5 ton or bigger commercial hermetic. Something else to be aware of you correctly pointed out, refrigeration oil is considered hazardous waste because of the chloride content from the residual refrigerant dissolved in it. If there's a lot of it you may see green flames from the cutting torch, that's the refrigerant burning and creating phosgene gas, you will know it if you make it because it stinks. It's also really toxic. (WWI mustard gas). It will also tear up a waste oil burner, not just because of the phosgene or fluorophosgene, but because a lot of changed compressors are burn-outs and are loaded with acid. That all winds up in the oil too. I definitely give you credit for trying to see if it's worth it and it's always cool to see what's inside those compressors though!! Good video!
Compressors i work on about 10% of the total is copper inside, not entirely accurate but gives me a ball park figure anyway....7 cents a pound is a terrible price for a compressor, that yard is making huge profit at that price.....here in Australia im getting $0.99kg for my compressors and if i did remove the copper from the inside id get $9.80kg for it but because i get heaps of aircons to strip apart every week i no longer have time to cut them open so my $0.99kg is good enough for me......shop around for yards mate and try to find the yard he onsells to which is what i did with my stuff that way your getting the best price possible.
yes I agree to shop around. the yard closest to me pay's low so I hardly even call them for a price quote
I watch a channel called " HVACR ". Its a guy who does AC, Walk in, Freezer and other such repairs in Las Vegas. He cut open a noisy compressor, after replacing, to find out what was making all the racket. He cut it open on the roof of the building he was working at using a angle grinder Quick, cheap and easy.
I use an angle grinder a lot too
I've found that if they get use to never seeing plastic or garbage mixed in they give me a better price . It's well worth it !
good point, I try to have my copper looking as clean as possible. Thanks for watching Kevin
Use the grinder to cut strings,
and another good idea. will do that thanks, that was one of the reasons that I wanted to put up this channel, was to learn from each other.
Here in Australia i have found on newer compressors its 50/50 on copper or Aluminum windings older 80's / 90's 1 in 10 is Aluminum pre 80's all copper
So i just sell whole anything manufactured in the past 20 years
Currently im getting $0.75 per kg about $0.25 per pound for whole compressors
Thank You Daniel I wrote that down. I will try to look at tags and see if we get the same numbers here, Thanks for the info and for watching
Don't know where you're selling them but I get about $1.25 per kg for compressors
@@exogator @TheDanielelliott This is a huge difference... what's going on here
@@keeanmorishita8457 don't know but I just got $5 the other day for a fairly big compressor out of a large window/wall mount AC.
Ok i take it back that's awesome
I don't remember what was said but that's ok. I picked up this compressor for free just my luck it had aluminum when making the video. and on the flammability of the oil I drain most of it into a 5 gallon bucket with expanded metal on top, I use the oil in an oil burner and I have to mix a quart of kerosene to one gallon of oil to get it to burn good on it's own. I have a play list for the oil burner. I melt lawn mower motors with it. If you notice how the oil will flame up when I turn the compressor and the oil that is left inside hits the red hot metal then it will flame up. I ware a tinted face shield when I cut these. Thanks for watching Phil have a great Thanks Giving
Have you calculated the end the cost of the acetylene torch? And the time involved.
about 50 cents for the torch, who keeps track of time on a hobby? most units are all copper and have about 4 lbs. or a bout $14.00 in copper, this unit was free so it is all profit. a cutting disk will open one easy too, and use less then 1 disk
I use a grinder with a cutting blade it'll cut into them compressors like it's butter saves time and a blade don't cost much.
I cut the long thin one's from window units the torch get's them too hot and the plastic sleeve's melt and make it hard to pull the copper.I just bought a 50 blade pack on amazon for $25.00 and they seem to be a good cutting disk
🔥the string
the string can be a pain, some say their yard is ok with the string others are not, I think a propane torch over them lightly will make quick work of them
I've tried it too if you count it up your settling and oxygen actually went in the hole if a man had a machine that would run every bit of it up it would be profitable and sort it thank you for the video very interesting
you are welcome Jeff Thanks for watching
we can sell in michigan with string on no deduction
I need to ask the guys at my yard, Thanks for watching Robert
Also have to add your gas you used.
Cool video.
Do you make enough money from scraping to pay any bills monthly ?
Or do you do this just for fun ?
It's more for fun, a hobby but the money does come in handy from time to time, I have videos of the loads that I take in and the payout from each load, I have a full time job and sometimes over time. I hope to retire in about14 months. that compressor was free. thanks for watching
I find that if you hit the strings with a blow torch it removes easier
yeah, I bet it would. I may need to start doing that. thanks for watching
Just asking, wouldn't the sawzall work better in cutting the coil apart on first side?
some times they do and some times they pull the wire, a cutting disk works good and it's fast too, I am thinking about trying my 14 inch cutoff saw, Thanks for watching Jander
You waste material using a saw. Shaving are hard to recycle. If you cut/chisel, you are wasting the more expensive metals
One good thing about getting older is there mostly copper .Lets know if you found out how to tell and if I find let you know . I dont as many as you do maybe 10 to 20 year
yes most are all copper I saved the top of the unit the tag says made in U.S.A. so I will have to check the numbers and compare to others
Not every compressor motor is gonna be mixed wire.
Yeah I cut open a few hundred over the years, the aluminum is mostly in the big ones, don't think I have seen any in the smaller ones, and I looked at the top plate on that thing and it said made in the USA. but still make a few bucks cleaning it up, Thanks for watching Roe
I do these often. The extremely cheep mini fridges are often straight aluminum most AC’s are all copper on average 1 in 10 have aluminum wire either mixed with copper or straight aluminum.
@@jessewilson8676 I have found the same thing. I don't think I have found one window ac unit with aluminum in it. Some of the fridges have straight aluminum. even less have a mix. them big ones that come out of I don't really know what are hit and miss. Most of the ones I've done have been mixed to some degree. a lot have been copper and some have been straight aluminum.
Right now my scrapyard is paying 25¢ per pound for them. I'm not about to go through all of that work. I bring in 5 to 7 of these, and get $25. I have like 10 minutes time invested in yanking them. Great video, but so much effort.
yes there is some time and work involved, and I know a lot of scrappers don't have the time, as even I make more off of shred in a year then I make from copper, brass, and aluminum put together. and the guys scrapping for a living have to hustle to make it. this is more for the hobby scrapper
I’m a firm believer in a air chisel now
I was taught to do them with an air chisel, but I can see that it is fast and easy with the angle grinder and the Sawzall too, so just what ever the scrapper has available to use, or how he was taught
1st 3 air tools bro 1.Air Gun 2.Air Rachet 3.Air Chisel😀
Have you ever tried to use a wire wheel ton the winding strings??
no I need to try that, I have one on the bench grinder
I have a friend that does refrigeration work and some heating and air, just service work, he gives me all his scrap, I drill a hole first and let it drain for a couple days.
that's nice to have a friend like that, I drain what I can through one of the holes and the barrel catches the rest. I guess I could drill a hole
@@Okiescrapper yea, he's semi retired about 80 but still catches a few calls a week, doesn't want to hassle with taking stuff to scrap yard. Once I cut in half I put in vice, then use a very sharp sazall blade and cut windings off one side, if not sharp it will just make a ragged mess, then take punch knock them through about inch and a half then take drift pen punch or lady's slipper and pry out other end.
I've just decided to start scrapping some things I have taken apart and can you please give some tips and tricks if there are any and what is worth scrapping and what's not worth as well as the process of going to the scrap yard and selling it. Thank you
what is worth scrapping? that depends on the scrapper, how much time do you have, how much scrap do you have. some micro scrap and take a computer down to almost nothing get all the little bits of copper, others will say it's not worth the time to break a motor down for 2 lbs. of copper, on the scrap yards, research what scrap yards are in your area and make a list of them with phone numbers and addresses, if you can take a trip out to one or all of them and watch how others have their scrap cleaned and sorted, like copper pipe most will go for #1 as long as you dont have any solder joints on it. if you do cut any solder joints off and they will go as #2 copper. many good scrapping videos on youtube just search out how to clean any item. but then call the scrap yard you plan to use and make sure they want it that way. the Iscrapapp has many good videos on cleaning items and check out the facebook group " scrapmetal talk"
Thanks for the tip 👍 I appreciate it
Thanks for doing the math on these style ones. I've done recovery on smaller ones and big ones that were straight copper. never really on the mixed ones. If I pay 16 cents a pound for them which was what I got quoted last, If I got paid what normal customers get paid for taking stuff in I would be loosing nearly $3.36 for every one I cut apart that was mixed like this. even more for straight aluminum ones. that definitely helps me figure out some of the math I need to calculate my hourly wage there. Not all the big ones are mixed or aluminum but there's always a few in every load. I was actually considering just taking the mixed ones that have more copper and putting them in with the copper. as number 2 copper is 80% copper having some aluminum here or there would be about the same as having solder on everything. just gotta watch and make sure your not tossing to much aluminum in there.
Thank you a lot for using that weird style air hammer for getting the windings out. I never thought of that.
another scrapper in his video he had a long rod with a v cut in it, I thought why not do that to a chisel so I took a wide chisel and cut a V into the end, It works good. faster then prying it out. as you know most for the units are all copper. but I think we will see more and more aluminum as time goes by. Thanks for stopping by
If you put that in a little fire for a couple minutes the plastic will melt just it cool off then you can pull that copper out in 1 minute it has a pattern to it
I can pull it out in a minute with my air chisel I use that method in a few other videos. thanks for stopping by
Try tossing the core in a metal bucket with charcoal. It will help get rid of the plastic.will make it easier to remove the wires
just more work and charcoal is not cheap, my air chisel takes it right out. I use it in other videos
Once I find their copper and aluminium I Go-no-further
Whut happens when you find the wet spot!!?? Do you also go no further!!??
Wonderful video. Well done. I tried to video the same thing and just made a mess....went home and ate ice cream instead.
now Ice cream does sound good
@@Okiescrapper Ice Cream -Great minds scrap alike. As for today, I clean more of my prize possessions....(Any sane person looking over the fence would ask " Why on earth does he keep that?...and that?...and those? ) Have a super weekend!
You Lost money
1. Gasoline
2. Electric
3. Tools
no I made a little money the unit was free, as far as gas I picked it up with a truck load of other scrap, Electric is cheap here in Oklahoma, and I have had the tools for years so they paid for themselves a long time ago. had that one been all copper as most are, it would have had about 4 lbs. of copper so about $14.00, but as luck would have it I grabbed an aluminum one from the pile. a cutting disk will open them up fast and cheap too.
Did you buy the utility knife blades with a hooked beak ?
Yes I like to use them on the strings, straight blades go dull to fast
I use a pair of diagonal side cutters - way easier
thanks for doing this. I now know it's not feasible
most units are all copper, about 4 lbs. but you do get some that are mixed, about 1 in 10