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
@@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." :)
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
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,
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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
@@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
my granddad was a scrapper, (old school), it rubbed off, i tear everything apart before it goes. most people call themselves scrappers and dont separate or cut nothin. what a waste
they do back a few years scrap yard was payin like 250 a car i made almost 600 tarin it down and separating, love the blast furnace, im buildin a new one right now. love the show btw
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
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
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.
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...
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
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 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.
that's crazy to see both copper, and aluminum in the same motor its usually just one or the other not both, It sucks when they put aluminum in motors. they burn out fast and dont last long and run so much hotter than copper. all this Chinese crap. Were I work we have some old old motors that are still going strong, but when one takes a crap, its replaced, and were replace more of the replacements than we do the old motors we use. Get so sick of the crappy crap from China
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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
most have all copper wire and you get about 6 lbs. but it's a hobby for me. gives me some mad money, I do conveyor maintenance for a living. Thanks for watching
..yep, I'm glad I watched, too...now I know I'll keep selling them as sealed units...I do it for money, not fun, and time is money..plus, I just got updated prices today...25 cents/lb for sealed units, $3.09 for #1 copper...I think I am better off getting them moved for 25 cents and moving on to the next project...way too much time/effort, plus, got to figure in cost of oxy/acetylene, etc..it's not cheap...and too slow, same reason I sell electric motors as is and don't take them apart...now, something like copper/aluminum radiators, I always saw the ends off, fairly quick with a good sawzall blade and well worth the effort to get clean prices...it's all about a balance between time, cost, effort, and prices....
@@maxguod ...I don't use/have any type of torch setup to cut scrap...I keep cutting to a minimum, use a sawzall when cutting is necessary...yet another reason I think it isn't cost effective/return on investment to cut open sealed units..just sell 'em as sealed units...
@@dyer2cycle Sawzall is always good , many applications , many projects . Torches are a need for scrapping and mobile mechanic work , etc . Was under the idea by your comment - that you scrap a lot . Just sayin to help , idk where you are from - sorry reply is 3 months late -
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.
I agree that scrapping, in most cases, is not worth it even if you consider your time worth $3.00/hr. especially when even a fast food worker get more than 4 times that.
yes you are right, I say scrapping can be a lot of work for a little money, but sometimes it pays well, most of these units have about 4 lbs. of copper in them and to me are worth the time. It may be faster and cheaper to cut them open with a cutting disk, you can cut one open with less then 1 disk, and cut the first copper end with the cutting disk and air chisel the copper out, I do it that way with a motor in the video that I just uploaded
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.
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
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 $30.00 to fill. and last for quite awhile
using a cutting torch is NOT cost effective..i use a 4 1/2 angle grinder w a thin cutoff wheel,, buy them 100 f 50-40$ off e bay,and take your time,, just 2 days ago i used 1 wheel cutting(.45 cents) open 2 ac compressors,,only a plasma cutting torch is cheaper,,,i used to use a forked steel bar to knock out windings, that air hammer is Carpel Tunnel Syndrome in the making,,,makeup a small hydraulic press,get a 1/4 thick steel plate 10x10, sharpen one end, use that to sever stator in half,, put severed piece in vise w uncut end facing up,top of stator just below vise jaws, tighten ,use long pry bar to lever out copper,,fast,and no loud air comressor running to wear out,and run up your electric bill,,cheaper and just as fast,,
Use your grinding wheel to cut one side of the windings off then build a fire and throw it in there pull it out and the windings will slide right out a lot easier than trying to use all them other tools a lot faster too.
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
It took you 30 minutes to get $ 2.65 or $5.30 an hour minus gas, electric, fuel to go to the scrap yard and your losing money 🥺 I appreciate your explanation and effort and realize I don't want to be a scrapper 😅👌
well most units are all copper and would yield about 4 lbs. of copper about $14.00 the fuel to cut it open is about 50 cents. so that is about $28.00 an hour, minus a few bucks for gas electric and fuel, you can do it with an angle grinder and use less then one disk at 54 cents each. I would not be going to the scrap yard with each unit I take in 2 to 400 lbs. when I go in so not much cost in fuel when you take a lot in. and it pays a lot better then sitting in front of the tube. thanks for stopping by
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 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
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
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
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.
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
thanks for the tip, I have been cutting them open as of late with a 4 1/2-inch angle grinder, just got a cheap plasma cutter and plan to try it soon on cutting them open, thanks for stopping by and have a Happy Thanksgiving
For the cutting all those little tie strings there why not just chuck the whole magnet bit in a fire for a little while. Get 4 or 5 together and throw it on a wood fire or something and it would doe away with a lot of the tedious parts
NQ Australia, scrapyards paying 70c a kilo for electric motors/compressors or 1.50 a pound, when they’re only paying $4 per kilo for bright copper or $8 per pound…it’s hardly worth the trouble
yes I understand for some it's not worth the time but for the guy that likes to relax and tinker in the shop on a rainy day it would be a few extra coins
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 use an Angle grinder to cut the end off takes 30 seconds then take a long screwdriver pound through the other end and hit ends with a hammer and the windings will pop out.
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.
if it had been all copper like most it would have been about $14.00 in copper and the gas is about 50 cents. the gas costs me $30.00 to refill and $15.00 for the oxy. and the bottles last a very long time. you can cut one open with less then 1 cutting disk too, and I pay about 57 cents per disk, I guess the gas is cheaper here in Oklahoma
that is nice to know, not the best compressor to use for such a video, but it keeps it real for the new scrappers, you never know when you will get one like this, I did get this one free with other stuff that I picked up so a made a few dollars on it, and the video has done well. thanks for stopping by
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
I could be in the shop breaking it down or sitting watching tv and don't make a dime doing that, most that size have about 4 lbs. of copper worth about $14.00 and the price may go up soon with all the electric cars they are talking about building in the next 10 years
Thank you, Joe, this video did really good for me, it may have done even better had the windings been all copper, I may have to try to remake this video and hope all the windings are copper, I have some condenser units that I can get the compressors out of to do the video. I am about to retire, and I may check with a heat and air company in town about buying some compressors and see how I do.
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
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
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
no a hacksaw would be very slow, and some of these won't fit in most vice's, an angle grinder is the fastest way to cut the end off of the copper, and the air chisel with a Y shaped bit will pull the winding out fast and easy channel locks you pull one set at a time and do a lot of prying, I have some newer video's of using the angle grinder and air chisel, much faster and very easy
@@Okiescrapper I should have said if you don't have power tools .But you are correct on the angle grinder and air chisel Good video I might add . Have a great day . 👍✝️
The motor is usually going to be worth more as a motor to build something useful. Something that would be more valuable then reclaiming the scrap. Provided the motor is still able to run and you can remove it with damage. If you were producing something that needed such a motor and had to buy one that price is what it is worth in that case.
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.
Drill a couple of holes in the compressor for the oil to weep out, put the thing in a shop press, crush it a couple of different directions and pull out your copper and aluminum.
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
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.
ok so you are saying $28.00 an hour is not worth it. electric is cheap here in Oklahoma. torch cost about 50 cents per unit razor blade last for months, as do gloves, most of these units will yield 4 lbs. of copper $14.00 each the short iron will almost pay for the cost of the compressor if you were to buy them.
may you are paying way too much or oxy, a tank full is only $30.00 here so I use about 50 cents to make the cut, and most units this size have about 4 lbs. of copper or $14.00 in copper then sell the steel for short iron and you would make back almost what you would have paid for the unit just from the steel, a single 4.5 inch cutting disk would cut it open too and I get them for about 54 cents each. or a guy could use a plasma cutter to cut them open too
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
That's a B series compressor, made by Bristol compressors, not every motor had full copper windings, i know we experimented with various windings, trying to cut costs, I built those for nearly 20 years, until they closed up and moved to Taiwan.
wow thanks for the info Todd. 20 years yeah I think that you would know. I still have the top with the plate trying to make some sense on how to tell the aluminum one's from the copper one's, Thanks for stopping by
that is peanut butter, he is used to me making all that noise, I cut most end's off now with the angle grinder, and I use the air chisel to drive out the windings, a lot faster
@@Okiescrapper Louis Rossmann has hundreds of UA-cam videos:board level repair fixing Mac books, right to repair initiatives, NYC real estate shenanigan exposure, live ebike rips thru lower Manhattan, etc... Yet videos of his cats gets the most eyeballs, 3 times faster.. Keep ur channel focused on what you do. Just add peanut butter.
Idk why scrappers waste all this time for a few cents more. 🙄 if you do the math you're making less than minimum wage in the time it takes you to tear all this stuff apart
it's not a few cents if you do the math right, a unit this size will most of the time give you about 4 lbs. of copper that is about $14.00 if you do 2 an hour it adds up to $28.00 minus about $4.00 for electric and gas or cutting disks as you can cut one open using less then one disk at 54 cents each so you can make about $24.00 an hour the shell will go for short iron and you will make almost what you paid for the unit, and a lot of scrappers scrap as a hobby and are not worried about how much they make. and some do it for a side income and are glad to make a few bucks at home with out having to punch a second time clock, some guys spend all afternoon watching a football game with nothing to show for it, and others will tinker in their shop and make a few bucks from scrap, hope this helps you understand where others may be coming from, it's not always about the money, you could also say why do guys spend all that money and time on hunting and fishing gear and not make any money back from it. Thanks for stopping by, have a great Thanksgiving
If the compresor has a plate with 3 letters and after those 3 #s like 225 for sure the wire on the inside is gonna be aluminum but it you get a 330 and up all the inside wire will be copper for sure
I would use a 4' grinder with metal cutting thin blade cut both sides of windings then punch out with punch and hammer and not many has aluminum windings most are copper.
@Okie scrapper 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.
yeah the term tin is used lightly in the scrapping community, talking about light iron thin steel like you said car bodies appliances, like the term tin roof. it's light iron, also known as shred
@@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!
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
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!
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
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 ua-cam.com/video/_LXUfLAG4bg/v-deo.html
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
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
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
my granddad was a scrapper, (old school), it rubbed off, i tear everything apart before it goes. most people call themselves scrappers and dont separate or cut nothin. what a waste
most will tell you it's not worth the time,
they do back a few years scrap yard was payin like 250 a car i made almost 600 tarin it down and separating, love the blast furnace, im buildin a new one right now. love the show btw
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
Consumables cost more than profit but thanks for video
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,
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,
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
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...
Great video here....I mever bothered with scrapping these out never really thought it would be worth it
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
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 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.
that's crazy to see both copper, and aluminum in the same motor its usually just one or the other not both, It sucks when they put aluminum in motors. they burn out fast and dont last long and run so much hotter than copper. all this Chinese crap. Were I work we have some old old motors that are still going strong, but when one takes a crap, its replaced, and were replace more of the replacements than we do the old motors we use. Get so sick of the crappy crap from China
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 🤔🤗
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
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
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
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
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
save the oil from inside these compressors - great for refilling hydraulic jacks
I never thought about using it in a hydraulic jack, nice tip
I've been using it as free bar oil for chainsaw for years.
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
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
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
I have always thought about taking these apart. Now I know I never will. Not worth the time or cost.
most have all copper wire and you get about 6 lbs. but it's a hobby for me. gives me some mad money, I do conveyor maintenance for a living. Thanks for watching
..yep, I'm glad I watched, too...now I know I'll keep selling them as sealed units...I do it for money, not fun, and time is money..plus, I just got updated prices today...25 cents/lb for sealed units, $3.09 for #1 copper...I think I am better off getting them moved for 25 cents and moving on to the next project...way too much time/effort, plus, got to figure in cost of oxy/acetylene, etc..it's not cheap...and too slow, same reason I sell electric motors as is and don't take them apart...now, something like copper/aluminum radiators, I always saw the ends off, fairly quick with a good sawzall blade and well worth the effort to get clean prices...it's all about a balance between time, cost, effort, and prices....
@@dyer2cycle if you use acetylene to cut scrap you are wasting money . You can buy a two piece propane tip for the torch - way cheaper
@@maxguod ...I don't use/have any type of torch setup to cut scrap...I keep cutting to a minimum, use a sawzall when cutting is necessary...yet another reason I think it isn't cost effective/return on investment to cut open sealed units..just sell 'em as sealed units...
@@dyer2cycle Sawzall is always good , many applications , many projects . Torches are a need for scrapping and mobile mechanic work , etc . Was under the idea by your comment - that you scrap a lot . Just sayin to help , idk where you are from - sorry reply is 3 months late -
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.
I agree that scrapping, in most cases, is not worth it even if you consider your time worth $3.00/hr. especially when even a fast food worker get more than 4 times that.
yes you are right, I say scrapping can be a lot of work for a little money, but sometimes it pays well, most of these units have about 4 lbs. of copper in them and to me are worth the time. It may be faster and cheaper to cut them open with a cutting disk, you can cut one open with less then 1 disk, and cut the first copper end with the cutting disk and air chisel the copper out, I do it that way with a motor in the video that I just uploaded
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.
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?
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
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
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 $30.00 to fill. and last for quite awhile
....and then factor in fuel savings from burning the scrap oil for heating.
Awesome
using a cutting torch is NOT cost effective..i use a 4 1/2 angle grinder w a thin cutoff wheel,, buy them 100 f 50-40$ off e bay,and take your time,, just 2 days ago i used 1 wheel cutting(.45 cents) open 2 ac compressors,,only a plasma cutting torch is cheaper,,,i used to use a forked steel bar to knock out windings, that air hammer is Carpel Tunnel Syndrome in the making,,,makeup a small hydraulic press,get a 1/4 thick steel plate 10x10, sharpen one end, use that to sever stator in half,, put severed piece in vise w uncut end facing up,top of stator just below vise jaws, tighten ,use long pry bar to lever out copper,,fast,and no loud air comressor running to wear out,and run up your electric bill,,cheaper and just as fast,,
Use your grinding wheel to cut one side of the windings off then build a fire and throw it in there pull it out and the windings will slide right out a lot easier than trying to use all them other tools a lot faster too.
must use last bit of torch cutting in an intro reel! That was pretty spectacular!
That is Resin not shellac shellac hasn’t been used since the 1940s
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
It took you 30 minutes to get $ 2.65 or $5.30 an hour minus gas, electric, fuel to go to the scrap yard and your losing money 🥺 I appreciate your explanation and effort and realize I don't want to be a scrapper 😅👌
well most units are all copper and would yield about 4 lbs. of copper about $14.00 the fuel to cut it open is about 50 cents. so that is about $28.00 an hour, minus a few bucks for gas electric and fuel, you can do it with an angle grinder and use less then one disk at 54 cents each. I would not be going to the scrap yard with each unit I take in 2 to 400 lbs. when I go in so not much cost in fuel when you take a lot in. and it pays a lot better then sitting in front of the tube. thanks for stopping by
Let’s not forget your, my, and 345k other viewers has netted him a hefty profit 😉
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
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
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 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
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
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.
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
A pair of side cutters would be easier than that knife wouldn't it?? But nice video
5
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
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.
So take out the aluminum and copper and put the case back together
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 tip of the flame is the hottest part, adjust your position accordingly and you will cut faster.
thanks for the tip, I have been cutting them open as of late with a 4 1/2-inch angle grinder, just got a cheap plasma cutter and plan to try it soon on cutting them open, thanks for stopping by and have a Happy Thanksgiving
For the cutting all those little tie strings there why not just chuck the whole magnet bit in a fire for a little while. Get 4 or 5 together and throw it on a wood fire or something and it would doe away with a lot of the tedious parts
NQ Australia, scrapyards paying 70c a kilo for electric motors/compressors or 1.50 a pound, when they’re only paying $4 per kilo for bright copper or $8 per pound…it’s hardly worth the trouble
yes I understand for some it's not worth the time but for the guy that likes to relax and tinker in the shop on a rainy day it would be a few extra coins
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 use an Angle grinder to cut the end off takes 30 seconds then take a long screwdriver pound through the other end and hit ends with a hammer and the windings will pop out.
I have been using the angle grinder for some time now and I now use a air chisel with a Y shaped chisel to drive the wire right 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.
$2.40 worth of copper $5.60 worth of gas 🤔🤔
if it had been all copper like most it would have been about $14.00 in copper and the gas is about 50 cents. the gas costs me $30.00 to refill and $15.00 for the oxy. and the bottles last a very long time. you can cut one open with less then 1 cutting disk too, and I pay about 57 cents per disk, I guess the gas is cheaper here in Oklahoma
Japanese appliances were using copper but Chinese mostly use aluminum.
that is nice to know, not the best compressor to use for such a video, but it keeps it real for the new scrappers, you never know when you will get one like this, I did get this one free with other stuff that I picked up so a made a few dollars on it, and the video has done well. thanks for stopping by
@@Okiescrapper if you can keep tabs of the brand name of the compressor or the appliances you can identify which use copper or aluminum.
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.
why not use a cutting wheel? Oxy-Acet is a pain for cutting thin gauge sheet ... (at least for me) although he made it look easy
in this video I use a cutting disk. and the compressor has all copper, take a look ua-cam.com/video/_LXUfLAG4bg/v-deo.html
Looks like it would be more profitable if you scrapped the whole compressor in stead of taking so much time to break it down.
I could be in the shop breaking it down or sitting watching tv and don't make a dime doing that, most that size have about 4 lbs. of copper worth about $14.00 and the price may go up soon with all the electric cars they are talking about building in the next 10 years
350,000 views and only 14,000 subs come on people this guy makes great videos hit that sub button and thumbs up for him
Thank you, Joe, this video did really good for me, it may have done even better had the windings been all copper, I may have to try to remake this video and hope all the windings are copper, I have some condenser units that I can get the compressors out of to do the video. I am about to retire, and I may check with a heat and air company in town about buying some compressors and see how I do.
Take all of them at that stage 25 motors in the burner throw some gasoline on them and woolaw have your self a adult beverage
your in the money now
yep the video is making me a bunch, it's doing real good. one of my top videos
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.
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
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
A vice and a hacksaw is the fastest way to cut the winding end off .Then a chanel lock to pull the winding out .
no a hacksaw would be very slow, and some of these won't fit in most vice's, an angle grinder is the fastest way to cut the end off of the copper, and the air chisel with a Y shaped bit will pull the winding out fast and easy channel locks you pull one set at a time and do a lot of prying, I have some newer video's of using the angle grinder and air chisel, much faster and very easy
@@Okiescrapper I should have said if you don't have power tools .But you are correct on the angle grinder and air chisel
Good video I might add .
Have a great day . 👍✝️
The motor is usually going to be worth more as a motor to build something useful. Something that would be more valuable then reclaiming the scrap. Provided the motor is still able to run and you can remove it with damage. If you were producing something that needed such a motor and had to buy one that price is what it is worth in that case.
if I didn't scrap them I would have a few hundred laying around the place, Thanks for stopping by
Probably would've been just as far ahead if you used a grinder with a thin cut disc.
yea about the same cost, the disk may have been faster
If your have right tools for other projects to open them up then yes between copper and aluminum an five minutes of your time you will make money
I have a plasma cutter now, and a 4.5-inch angle grinder works great too, most are all copper 4 to 6 lbs.
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.
Drill a couple of holes in the compressor for the oil to weep out, put the thing in a shop press, crush it a couple of different directions and pull out your copper and aluminum.
I put them over a 5 gallon bucket with expanded metal on top and let them drain out one of the holes that are already in them, Thanks for watching
cut off wheel on a grinder works best to get copper wires out. cut tops on one side and they pull right out other side.
get a diamond cutoff wheel ,they cost a bit more ,but save on changing wheel all the time.
yeah I have one I like it, it's about worn out, they run about $10.00. think I have one listed on my amazon page
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😀
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.
With the lights, air compressor, torch, Sawzall blades, razor blades, gloves and your time it's not worth it.
ok so you are saying $28.00 an hour is not worth it. electric is cheap here in Oklahoma. torch cost about 50 cents per unit razor blade last for months, as do gloves, most of these units will yield 4 lbs. of copper $14.00 each the short iron will almost pay for the cost of the compressor if you were to buy them.
....uses up 6.00 of oxy to get 7 cents of copper...
may you are paying way too much or oxy, a tank full is only $30.00 here so I use about 50 cents to make the cut, and most units this size have about 4 lbs. of copper or $14.00 in copper then sell the steel for short iron and you would make back almost what you would have paid for the unit just from the steel, a single 4.5 inch cutting disk would cut it open too and I get them for about 54 cents each. or a guy could use a plasma cutter to cut them open too
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.
That's a B series compressor, made by Bristol compressors, not every motor had full copper windings, i know we experimented with various windings, trying to cut costs, I built those for nearly 20 years, until they closed up and moved to Taiwan.
wow thanks for the info Todd. 20 years yeah I think that you would know. I still have the top with the plate trying to make some sense on how to tell the aluminum one's from the copper one's, Thanks for stopping by
weld a small pipe nipple inside your barrel . That you could put a small candle on .To relight your torch
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!!??
@11:10 that shop cat is fearless...
that is peanut butter, he is used to me making all that noise, I cut most end's off now with the angle grinder, and I use the air chisel to drive out the windings, a lot faster
@@Okiescrapper Louis Rossmann has hundreds of UA-cam videos:board level repair fixing Mac books, right to repair initiatives, NYC real estate shenanigan exposure, live ebike rips thru lower Manhattan, etc... Yet videos of his cats gets the most eyeballs, 3 times faster.. Keep ur channel focused on what you do. Just add peanut butter.
Idk why scrappers waste all this time for a few cents more. 🙄 if you do the math you're making less than minimum wage in the time it takes you to tear all this stuff apart
it's not a few cents if you do the math right, a unit this size will most of the time give you about 4 lbs. of copper that is about $14.00 if you do 2 an hour it adds up to $28.00 minus about $4.00 for electric and gas or cutting disks as you can cut one open using less then one disk at 54 cents each so you can make about $24.00 an hour the shell will go for short iron and you will make almost what you paid for the unit, and a lot of scrappers scrap as a hobby and are not worried about how much they make. and some do it for a side income and are glad to make a few bucks at home with out having to punch a second time clock, some guys spend all afternoon watching a football game with nothing to show for it, and others will tinker in their shop and make a few bucks from scrap, hope this helps you understand where others may be coming from, it's not always about the money, you could also say why do guys spend all that money and time on hunting and fishing gear and not make any money back from it. Thanks for stopping by, have a great Thanksgiving
If the compresor has a plate with 3 letters and after those 3 #s like 225 for sure the wire on the inside is gonna be aluminum but it you get a 330 and up all the inside wire will be copper for sure
I have the top to that unit on my wall the plate is on top I will check it out, Thanks for the info, and I will pass it along, Thanks for watching
Metal thicker than 1/4" is not considered tin.
That iron transformer block would have paid for more
tin iron steel what does it matter if your yard pay's the same for all of it
I would use a 4' grinder with metal cutting thin blade cut both sides of windings then punch out with punch and hammer and not many has aluminum windings most are copper.
yep most have about 4 lbs. of copper, cutting disk works good and fast too, less then one disk to cut one open,
@Okie scrapper 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.
yeah the term tin is used lightly in the scrapping community, talking about light iron thin steel like you said car bodies appliances, like the term tin roof. it's light iron, also known as shred
@@Okiescrapper Is there a source for Tin, the metal. that you know of?
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!