Cashed In Some Scrap

[Jarl]

A friend and I got elected to 'get rid' of a bunch of old swing machines...aka floor scrubbers for a janitorial company. He works for them full time and I seasonally. Anyway, it took us two sessions to break everything down as far as we could. We ended up with six 55 gallon brute barrels full of scrap; breakage, cast aluminum, steel, #2 insulated and two barrels full of electric motors(over 700 lbs worth) and a little box of brass lol. We walked away with $311 and split it.

That pile saved my butt financially, winter being as bad as it was and the natural gas rates as nothing short of literal piracy...you do what you can to get by in a pinch.

I'm gonna be doing more scrapping this spring and summer. I have done it off and on for several years. But I love doing it...as an appropriately sinister hobby, where you get paid to destroy and brutalize things lol.

 

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[Bassmaster96]

Nice! Keep it up.

 

[billjustbill]

Going to garage and estate sales is a source for brass and copper. Here in North Central Texas, brass items just don't sell at garage sales. Some sellers don't understand that high priced brass decorations have gone out of style, but many others just want them out of the house and to get something for it.

Yellow Brass brings about $2.00 a pound and Red brass is a few cents more, so looking for old outside water faucets at estate sales can mount up, too!

Even old and worn silver plated tableware/hollow ware, and large "turkey" platters" can be checked for a stamp on the bottom that says "Silver over Copper". A large platter I purchased for $5 from a school fundraiser and weighed over 4lbs, so you can double your money selling it as No. #2 copper scrap.

Old electric motors go for about .28-cents a pound around here, so keeping an eye out for them at a low-buck price can't hurt.

Good luck this year and let us hope that Propane shortages and high prices will be behind us next winter.

 

[Jarl]

Thanks for the comments billjustbill. I just took in another pile on Monday...walked off with $108. This was my 'casual' scrap pile. I didn't go on a safari looking for any of it...I just picked it up when I saw it while out and about(parking lots, roadside 'free' to take, trash cans at work etc(benefit of being a janitor

Motors are about the same here. After I move, I am going to get a truck and do a little more 'scrap safaris' around town. I just love doing it.

 

[Jarl]

Thanks for the comments billjustbill. I just took in another pile on Monday...walked off with $108. This was my 'casual' scrap pile. I didn't go on a safari looking for any of it...I just picked it up when I saw it while out and about(parking lots, roadside 'free' to take, trash cans at work etc(benefit of being a janitor

Motors are about the same here. After I move, I am going to get a truck and do a little more 'scrap safaris' around town. I just love doing it.

 

[Pointman]

I pick up all kinds of metal when I coinshoot while I have seen others rebury their brass, copper and aluminum. I bet I have 40-50 lbs of brass and copper in 6 months of Mding. I have a good day when I find 2-3 lbs of scrap, even though I don't find a coin. Too bad I can't get something for broken glass, lol.

 

[ShiraObrien]

It’s so great to read when people understand the joy of scrapping. It’s a two-pronged joy really, one about how great it feels to be doing something for the environment, and two, when you earn a little something out of it. And three, of course, the God-like ‘I can destroy anything I want’ kind of power that Jarl is talking about. But you know, it’s really important to get a good price for the scrap that you’re selling because even though you might be happy with the small amount you’ve pocketed, sometimes you’re sitting on a goldmine and you don’t even know it. For my scrapping needs, I choose to go with the reliable SIMS Metal Management in North Haven. Maybe you should also find the best price for you before you settle on one dealer.

 

[ScrapperChad]

But I love doing it...as an appropriately sinister hobby, where you get paid to destroy and brutalize things lol.

xd. I've always loved to take things apart and destroy them ever since I was a kid.

I got to destroy a motorhome yesterday with my dad. My dad was gonna cut it down with the saw. But I talked him into a more fun and easier way.

I got his tow truck and tied chains through the windows and roof and used the winch to tear it apart. That was fun.

I took some pics of it destroyed. Wish I could've got a video of it being destroyed.



Those are just a few pics. I'll go through and get some more and start a thread here and on my forum.

Chad

 

[billjustbill]

....

Good luck this year and let us hope that Propane shortages and high prices will be behind us next winter.

Follow UP: I read where an excellent long range forecaster is saying that the 2014-15 winter will be at least as bad as last winter's cold and ice....

Might need to think about adding an extra 250 gallon tank/regulator and then get it filled while prices remain below last winter's almost "price gouging" prices.... and the shortages.

Scrapping might just be the ticket to paying the majority of that cost.... To stretch you new scrap money, call around for your best delivered price or keep a lookout for the smaller tanks.... Money goes a long way when you can find 20lb and 30lb propane tanks at garage sales. They're great for emergency heating and LP powered home generators. I've bought one of each size so far this year. The 20lb tank feels like it's over half full and the 30lb propane tank feels like it's FULL and filled to 80%.... Paid $5 for the little one and $10 for the larger one!

Almost forgot, when the local city lake had a "Clean Up Day" over a Memorial Day weekend, I picked up a 20lb "Blue Rhino" tank that was half full. It had been placed out next to the lake road next to an old gas grill with a rusty old LP tank. The Blue Rhino tank was Free, too!!

Good luck scrapping up until the first snow,
Bill

 

[Jarl]

Let's just hope winter is nothing like it was. :P