I Cleaned 100 lbs of Scrap Brass - Was it Worth it?
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- Опубліковано 26 січ 2023
- Scrapping brass has always been an obvious money maker, the weight adds up quick and the price is pretty good. I've always cleaned it all up to get the best price but I've been wondering; is it worth it? how much do you actually make cleaning and sorting scrap brass? I did the math, and the discovery may surprise you!
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I have always tipped the guys at the scrap yard, 10 or 15 bucks each, for many years, when I back the truck up to the door they come running to unload it, sort it, and often will overlook certain things to give me better weight totals. I already make very good money as a plumber so scrap is just icing on the cake. Scrap yard guys don't make a lot of money, and it feels good to share the wealth 😉
Ur a good dude….very wise!
Had a guy that would put his foot on the scale will the aluminum copper radiators
i work at a scrap yard we make better money than plumbers xD in Australia not sure were your from but over here we make bank
Yep, it’s the best way to get best service, help, and most importantly BEST prices when you sell your scrap! I do the same thing too! Once I roll up on the scale, they all see me, as my truck is a bit recognizable… I roll off towards the pile and a forklift guy will come over, and usually two guys from under the shed where they weigh out all non-ferrous scrap. If I have something really heavy, or palletized, the forklift guy will unload it, I’ll give him a few bucks, and if I have large, strange shaped items or appliances, the two other guys will help offload that. Then roll up to nonferrous shed and they help unload my other stuff which I usually have sorted out to make process smoother; and they sometimes find things I didn’t catch as stainless or what not. The scale operator loves this and it makes his job easier!! They help in persuading to get me better prices than usual! And once I’m cashed out, I’ll give the other two helpers a few bucks as well as the scale operator…. Enjoying much more money in my pocket than before!! Also, when it’s really busy, they will push me ahead of the line, lol. Getting me out before everyone else 😂
That's it scrap yard I go to pays $32-$45 for yard hand/forklift operator. With dozens to hundreds of different grades of scrap metal it's not a no skill job.
% of rubbish to metal means these dozens of different categories for just one metal X the drozen of different metals.
Mind you been nice always help, have been in a few times with 10 kg brass @ $6.00 per kg and 4 kg of coast brass ( brass and steel) $2.5 per kg and gotten the higher price for the lot. And then you have the ones that arguments over ever little thing and the get ripped to shreds.
Custom "Ohhh that's 5% ally" $3.50
Scrap yard No mate best we can do is high return $0.87
I love how he does these videos as an experiment to not only show himself wether cleaning things is worth it or not but he also does this to others. As a 14 year old who scraps just to make a little money, I love his videos and they help me a lot with sorting and showing me what is worth my time and what isn’t.
U get it for free so if u get money for it id say it’s worth it better than going to the dump an paying to get rid of stuff
I just scrap as a pass time at least 2 hours a day so i literally tare everything apart for the fun of doing so
I do the small stuff while watching tv
Me too... then I melt it
I treat brass as something you clean when the weather is bad.
Keep these what it's worth videos coming. There's somuch useful information. Your saving me somuch time experimenting myself and providing one hell of an education. Really appreciate them and you time.
I'm a plumber in nb and i get a lot of brass. You should get a little portable bandsaw. You can clean up relief valves and ball valves in seconds. Well worth the money. Great videos cheers
I'm a plumber as well, sometimes I will start disassembling scrap while waiting for the water heater to drain down, or get the helper to do it, instead of them just watching me work, or staring at their phones.
Brand saw is a very useful tool for scrapping
Bandsaw I bought with my cleaned plumbing brass. My drill press, jointer, and dust collector. You need a band saw for sure.
Well copper too. But it pays
I have a portable dewalt bandsaw and I love it
Hey Thub, always good to a see a new video. Ottawa prices: 10 cents for Irony brass, 2 bucks for red and 1.5 for yellow, that they post anyway. Glad you did this one.
I'm sure many have said this before, but I'm ah gonna say it again. YOU ARE MY OPRAH. Thanks for keeping it fresh and fun. I always look forward to watching your videos.
Thank you for another very good educational video, started doing scrap 3 years ago and learnt a lot from you along the way, thanks
Saw this coming a mile away, This is why I only sort my brass when its convenient or super easy to clean in large quantities. Great video nonetheless Drake! Love them, keep them coming!!
It saves a lot of time just to use a fucking grinder. I could process 100 lb of dirty faucets and regulators and other shit in about an hour and a half. Anything like regulators or big fittings with steel inside I just cut straight in half with my grinder and smack it with a hammer if needed. Saves a ton of time and triples your price of brass.
Very informative video! Thank you for taking the time to share.
Just scrapped some brass here in the US and got 2.10 for clean brass and .62 for dirty. Ya its worth it for me to clean the brass.
exactly maximize your profit
I always clean my brass, it's usually faucets. Couple of tips to speed up the process. Use a set of Torx drivers instead of Allen keys. T8, T9, and T10 are the most common. Also use some cable cutters to take the #1 copper pipe off of the spigot. Nothing wrong with adding to the copper pile
I noticed that too. If you start with the right tools, you get the job done much quicker. I rarely use hammers for anything. I also like using powered tools whenever possible.
Ok so this is UK and possibly only the yard I use. But they will take what they call mixed brass, that is partially cleaned brass. I cut the pipes off but the odd bit of copper pipe is fine, also as long as any other metals are at the bare minimum then they're happy to take it. The difference is maybe 50p a kg and I can clean it all to their standard in a fraction of the time. I rarely remove the little rubber O rings for instance. It's all going to be shredded anyway
Love the vids, a note for you and all. Your grinder is your best friend. I use mine at least 75% more then i ever see you use it. Huge time saver. And per you valves, one slice down each side takes seconds and leaves totaly clean brass. Grinding wheels are cheep. USE THEM!!!
The grinder was easily the biggest difference any tool upgrade ever made, huge value
I've been doing brass and copper all week - those ball valves are often all brass inside and the smaller ones (nickel/chrome plated) you passed on at 8:10 are simple to clean. Pop valves - just cut the top off and that's it.
Best friend for speed with brass is a grinder. Anything fidgety like faucets that are causing issues, I just cut them apart. With a difference of almost $2 here for dirty vs clean brass - it's worth cleaning.
That's what I do with all of my brass pretty much, just fucking cut it up and it goes so fast, I can process a hundred pounds of dirty shit like he has in the video in about an hour and a half. I live in Alaska so scrap prices are a little less, dirty brass is like 40 cents a pound and clean brass is like a $1.30 a pound so it's always worth it to clean it for me
Yup just pull the handle and leave the ball
thanks for the help mate , see you on the next one.
I really appreciate all your hard work thub you got to be the hardest working and most honest scrap man out there
The style your video is edited in satisfies my attention span and how quickly i like to move onto the next thing thank you
I recently sold 110lbs of brass for $224, I don’t know if it was technically worth it per hour but it sure felt good to get paid!
I would definitely do it again as I find the work mostly therapeutic. The majority came from plumbing and lighting.
yes keeps the mind occupied so i dont mind it..seomtimes i do stuff soemtimes i dont i forget or soemtimes it jsut isnt worth it
You people kill me with that therapeutic bs!
Nice video I enjoy watching the breakdown of metals.
Great vid as per usual, man that was a lot of work
Last week my colleagues at work laughed at me when I claimed a load of no. 2 wire out of a skip at my employers
This week when I told them that earned me £70 for just taking it to a metal reclamation yard they weren't laughing anymore 😂👍
its better just to keep it to yourself and let em think what they want. same has happened with me i scrap because i enjoy it and its extra money, ive gotten a bunch of scrap from jobs we have done that they were just going to throw away, i sell the scrap and invest the money. when i retire early ill just tell them its because of scrapping. (scrapping is a small amount but in 20+ years that small amount of money from scrap becomes very good amount of money if its invested well.)
@gargalash I see it as a bonus.
I asked if I could have the wire first and was given the all clear to take it.
I've had many a good weekend using scrapping cash.
It keeps me busy when I have to dismantle a washing machine for example and there's that pay off.
I have a new partner and she couldn't believe how much money I got for the amount I took in lol
Should have kept quiet about the money.
I had old coworkers throw out scrap that I was taking home out of spite! I didn't even tell them how much $ I was making.
@@OldsmobileCutlass1969Va Had some sneaky sods follow to find and steal.
Wow that was educational! Thanks Thub. ❤️💙
Great info thanks!
I love how educate yourself is!!
I always clean up brass, very relaxing and enjoyable.
I love these kinds of videos. I always find them interesting and valuable. I get a lot of comments about cleaning brass and now have a definitive video I can refer viewers to - thank you. I absolutely agree that for the hobby scrapper who is doing this without regard to time value it can be cathartic and brings more money. But, like you, I don't spend my time cleaning brass unless it is something very quick and simple. Even then, it depends on how many PC's are stacked up waiting for me. 🤣🦈
It is nice to have other scraps in the winter it help out when you deal with winter weather love all the videos you do I do what you did save scraps
Really like the videos keep on keeping on
I saw the "help with dinner" joke coming from a mile away, and still chuckled enough for that dopamine release to the brain lol.
I'm retired, something to do by cleaning brass, lololo, worth it to me
I think brass and copper will be worth a LOT more in the near future. They don't take up too much space and may be worth stockpiling for a few years. I feel the same about aluminum, except for the taking up space part...
I tend to stockpile my ally, I only do cast, extruded and old rolled and it doesn't take long to build up a nice "little" pile. Same with lead acid batteries and dry bright wire. I weigh it all in once a year. Tip: don't weigh in just before Christmas, the price seems to miraculously drop off in December
@@howardchambers9679That checks out. Decreased demand due to less construction in the winter plus increased supply from scrappers trying to buy Christmas presents and vacations. A bad combo for scrap prices
Invest in a furnance ,some crucibles, various size molds, and good tongs...The ingots sell as much as 100% higher depending on the metal...and it doesn't hurt to get friendly with your scrap buyer..they can give you good tips o the market future prices.
This was awesome!
Double check the prices cause that sounds really high for dirty brass.
I use my angle grinder instead of a file to check what type of metal I have. This makes it easier for the scrap guys to see what I am bringing them.
Yeah I live in a Area that has more Brass cause no salt roads and they have furniture there are days I get 300 hundred pounds then just two pounds or none but I store turn in when markets right hey thanks for fun video
What's the correlation between salted roads and brass in the area?
I am quite shocked at the very narrow margin between clean and dirty. I am watching your videos on scrapping because I am collecting metals for melting and casting. But the time involved in separating them is important to me. Hehe, its easier to watch you do it first and then decide if its worth it for me. Thanks for that.
Thanks for the info.
I use a small portable bandsaw to split valves. Toss all of it in an old cement mixer with a couple scoop shovels full of sand and let her run awhile. Scrap yard guys always say min is the cleanest they ever see!
If you are just looking to do something with your time, it's a fantastic way to make extra money. Remember that it's based on his scrap yard and let's all keep doing the thing and leave it better than we found it!
Thanks for the scientific and accounting information. Never thought it was that close in price
Well I was surprised, normally it isn’t nearly that close!
In America over here👋 I am a NF Scale Operator, fairly new and prices are incredibly different over here. YB is 2.20 & DB is 0.48. I know this was posted over a year ago but still that’s a significant difference😳
HI Thub!!!! WOW love all your content - I started scrapping and truely your videos explain everything i need to start. THANK YOU the lessons here and your awesome thoughts about what to look for and stuff man THIS is for me and i make a lil bit of money! BEST to you and I Love being called a "Panda" HAHAHAHAAH your a pro! me and wife are watching all your stuff thanks
When you can reuse stuff it's worth even more. Save your compression fittings to replace leaking Sharkbite fittings.
Another great time breakdown, with a surprising result! I have used the same vise and pipe wrench to open up those ball valves.
I deal with Triple M for scrap. They have an app you can download with current scrap prices. It is different for each city but if you are listed on the app or close to a city that is listed, you can see the different prices before you decide if it is worth the time and effort to clean your scrap. For reference I am also in Canada
The Greek salad joke, while obvious, was a nice touch
Was it that easy to see it coming? 😆
@@thubprint it was easier to see than *ridiculous metaphor
Great video, thank you for the information.
It was really interesting to see the difference of price at the end.
The scrap prices in Southern California kinda suck and sometimes I wonder if it's really worth the time I take to collect it all, but I have fun collecting it. LOL
Aluminum cans and plastic bottles seem to bring in the most money for me. 😊
Lmfao!! The food suggestions!!!! Whew, my face hurts now. Lol!
Scrap yards around here pay less for Lots of zinc taps, They tell you 2.20 for dirty but they don't want zinc, They pay here about $1 per pound for the cheap zinc taps
It surprises me to how many zinc taps you come across. Here in the UK, I have never come across zinc. I always find yellow crome coated brass.
Lucky you, there are just as many plastic now here as zinc with newer models!
Great video
YOOOO, good stuff man
i cant wait to scrap this summer
I hated to see that old fuel lamp torn up. Lol They come in handy here on the gulf coast during hurricane season.
That’s fair, I would’ve been more open to saving it if it came with the glass. I’m sure they’re easy to replace, I just get in the scrap mindset sometimes and cruise through it all
Was probably an " aladdin " lamp worth around 100$.
Almost cried 😘
Most of the time the ball in a ball valve is just coated brass so no need to remove it.
Oh I should double check them with a drill or something before condemning them to the dirty pile!
Good info
I clean my brass as I get it, it usually doesn’t take me very long
I think that’s really the way to do pretty much all of it, rather than letting it pile up into a giant chore. Easier said than done of course!
Love your wood stove in the shop. I had one just like it, and heated my cordwood home.
BTW thub thanks for making that stripmeister review video I finally got myself one after watching your video on it and OMG that thing is a game changer! It makes me mad thinking of all the time. I wasted stripping wire by hand before I owned that thing lol. And you're right now I spend all my time peeling off insulation because cutting the wire is so fast. And it also gave me an excuse to buy a new chorded drill so I wouldn't burn out the motor on my 20 volt DeWalt portable drill.
Ball valves are super easy to open. You just need a bigger pipe wrench.
I should add that if it’s too hard, angle grind along where the two half’s come apart a bit and it should be easy to take apart.
Also, now that ive seen the whole thing I can say, that (based on my historic numbers) clean brass sells at an average of 2.20/lb and dirty brass at 0.70/lb a percentage difference of.... a lot🥰🥰 love the vids, love the vibe and the content, keep doin the thing, you're awesome. Panda out🥰
On the ball valves... If the spline the handle goes on is brass the ball will be brass too. I have yet to find any with a stainless steel ball. If you are not sure, take a drill to the ball to see if it is brass.
That’s actually a real solid tip, thank you!
excellent excellent video
Might want to check on some of the values of the vintage/antique brass fixtures before scrapping them. If you have an antiques dealer or architectural salvage business that deals in antique fixtures in your area, it would be worth selling the fixtures to them. Even the round steel, brass, and painted aluminum tap handles from garden hose type valves tend to be in demand for upcycling/craft purposes, for example. I do some scrapping, but I deal in architectural antiques and hardware as part of my antiques business, so am aware of the values of some of the fixtures. Your candle holder was modern and just made in India and not worth much more than scrap. I tend to scrap most modern brass decor items, as they just don't sell well. They are usually easily cleaned of contaminants, if there is any. There are Victorian and older candleholders and such out there, though, which can be worth far more than scrap....good to learn the differences, could make you some good money. Your tub shower setup was a reproduction, so no loss there....Had it been an original one with the shower rails, it would have been worth $175 - $250ish or so. Was surprised you didn't snip the copper pipe/tubing off the tap sets.
The problem with trying to resell certain items is that the market is very small and if put on kijiji or other selling sites like that, is it can take years for a buyer to come along, or never come along. Just scrap it and get the money now.
I do side jobs. I separate the metals, And fill buckets. Anything from water heaters to lamp fixtures and everything I between. It's clean money.
hey thub ammo brass goes as lace lk?(dont have sheet to double check) in washington its the same or more then yellow brass pricewise
Thank you for the video, thub.
Bolt cutters work perfect for the ends of braided supplies
I'm a locksmith, so we clean and scrap our brass as we go, and most of it is really clean to begin with, so it 100% makes sense for us. We get an extra $250-300 every couple of months utilizing downtime.
Good video tube
Fascinating finding out sorting was not worth!
0:38 Thanks I was trying to come up with cheap ideas
Why don't you use a drill for taking out all the screws?
Ball valves are actually pretty easy. Well they were not at first.
To get the ball out you'll first need to remove\unthread the end of the body of the valve that is noticeably 2 sections. Once removed set the valve handle or nub if you've already taken the handle off in the off position. You can visually check that it's in the off position looking into valve body. If you can see through its on. See the ball it's off. Secure it in a vise. Then using a punch or anything fairly strong and long enough to reach the ball you just need to knock the ball of the valve handle seat by hammering the ball out of the end you just separated.
$2.11 for clean yellow brass in NY state today. Just took some back this afternoon. Did not take any dirty brass though.
My scrap yard is generally pretty lenient (e.g. plug ends, USB cord ends, headphone jacks as Copper bearing). However, my irony brass or faucet prices are always under a dollar, even when brass was hitting $3/lb CAD last spring. Can't imagine such high dirty brass prices!
I Always sort my brass & copper and I found the fastest most efficient way is to use a Cordless Drill with a multiple bit set an my Angle Grinder and a trusty Hammer!
I save up a couple buckets worth then tear them all apart, dispose of all plastics and rubber then scratch test everything with the Angle grinder for speed then sort all Steel, Zinc/Pot Metal, Copper & Brass for Max Profits!
Useful
What up, my Crazy Canadian Bohemian Cousin, I'm sure it is well worth it! I will tell you a wee bit of spaghetti wire tale. I started to collect wires about 24yrs ago and using the wired wheel to strip it. It took awhile but over time it added up well. That's when copper was over $3.00s a lbs. My dad told me it wasn't worth it. When he took it to the yard he certainly had a chance of heart.
Yah, I say it's worth the time on the brass. Keep bringing on them adventures!
PS, where did you put that bottom plate! Hope it will bring you luck on fortunes!
Editing time. The comments about was made before you made that call to your yard. Scratch what I've mentioned above, just scrap as is... thanks for the explanation on this...
neat! dont know where brass is used for so this looks very educational
I get paid for brass ! I love it our scrap yard pays good
I have a 5" MasterCraft vice I got on sale year ago and I use that to crush most things. Honestly it works absolutely amazing to take things apart. I find very often that crushing something is the easiest way to take it apart. Safest too assuming you wear eye protection
I'm always using Dw40 for an easy job unscrewing and/or dismantling stuff
Key to cleaning faucets, is taking an angle gtinder w/a cutting blade, lay it down on its side and attack it cutting at a diagonal angle. When u do that, u hit multiple cavities of the valves, and u can also see much better what you’re dealing with. Thanks for sharing. Aloha
Process it as you get it.dont let it build up
About ammo do you throw them in the clean bin or is it separate ?
I keep them in their own bag because it kinda depends who’s working
Nice video. I had to call my buyer to see what the price of brass was after seeing this. Clean brass is $2.14 and dirty is $1.10 in Miami Florida. I guess It depends on your location
Good to know
"im not a turkey micheal im not a turkey" lonely island boys your intro reminded me of that lol
Just depends if you got the time or would rather be indoors than outdoors.
brings back memories of earning my pocket money as a kid i spent hours in the workshop doing this chore in the UK
Silver plated brass pays about a dollar more per pound at some scrap yards
Agreed on high dirty brass prices right now we get 45% more for clean vs dirty in Texas
I'm surprised you don't clip the #1 copper off while in the process
Magnificent.
There is NO WAY they are paying that rate for dirty brass.
Agreed. I’m lucky to get 0.60c a pound for dirty.
@@jennypennyridesagain5599 my yard i work for is.96c
Last time I sold some dirty brass in 2021. They gave me 42 cents a lb 😮💨
Good to see ya
Just over a $1 here for dirty but only because prices have spiked lately. Clean is just over $3. And you still have to make some effort cleaning off anything that is easily removed or they will pay even less! So might as well clean it all.
Another point to think about is how much of that would you actually have gotten dirty brass for? Those bathroom faucets wouldn't be dirty brass. Most likely dirty aluminum. I guess all yards are different but taking into account what items you could get dirty brass is a huge factor.
You can punch the primers out real easy from inside out on ammo brass. They even make a tool for it, but a long nail should work.
Zinc is worth good money too!
My cousin in England is
very successful in getting scrap aluminium brass and copper and reselling it