Scrapping Small Electric Motors

[MilitariaCollector]

I'm new to scrapping, and am trying to figure out what is worth picking up, and what isnt. I saw a few electric weedwackers, and an old vacuum, and decided to see what I could get out of them. I pulled the motors out of them, and pretty much broke them down as far as I could. Do the scrapyards take electric motors? Do I have to disassemble them even further? Is there a way to get the copper coils out? Generally speaking, how much could I expect to get for a motor?

 

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[hobo finds]

.15 to .20 a pound for them by me in So. AZ.

 

[hypoman]

If you have access to washers and dryers, those motors are really heavy. Fan motors are smaller but still good ones as well. If you have the time to wait till you have a barrel full of them it might make it worth your while. I personally consider motors to be worth their weight in gold because the poundage adds up fast and the is easy access to them(for me)

I would not break them down anymore than that. You could remove the copper but it is a rather lengthy process. Now on the bigger motors, don't attempt to disassemble them they are heavier that way.

 

[Emperor Findus Cladius]

Most of them I would leave as is and sell them as electric motors, we get .20 a pound here. That large one in the top middle though, I might look at cutting the wires from one end and pulling them out the other, then you have copper wire which is worth much more. I do that with the motors I pull out of the compressors of refrigerators. I have filled one five gallon bucket full of those wires, and have another bucket about 1/4 full, with 8 or 9 motors to pull the wires out of. It is pretty easy to pull the copper windings from them, just remove the string, snip the wires on one side of the moter and pull them out the other side.

 

[pygmy]

Wayne, how do you get the motor from the fridge compressor ?

 

[Shortstack]

Most of them I would leave as is and sell them as electric motors, we get .20 a pound here. That large one in the top middle though, I might look at cutting the wires from one end and pulling them out the other, then you have copper wire which is worth much more. I do that with the motors I pull out of the compressors of refrigerators. I have filled one five gallon bucket full of those wires, and have another bucket about 1/4 full, with 8 or 9 motors to pull the wires out of. It is pretty easy to pull the copper windings from them, just remove the string, snip the wires on one side of the moter and pull them out the other side.

Those coils of copper wire in the fields are epoxied into place and your won't be able to pull them out of the field frames. You can only cut them at each end and collect the loops. The wire in the commutators is also solidly epoxied into place and it's not worth copper scrap value to put the time in to cutting the small bits out. Your best bet is to junk the motors AS motors.

 

[Emperor Findus Cladius]

Wayne, how do you get the motor from the fridge compressor ?

After drilling a couple of holes and draining the compressor oil, I use an angle grinder with a thin metal cutting blade. I cut right above the seam all the way around. The motor is generally then held down with 4 bolts. Remove those 4 bolts, cut the remaining wire and you have the motor removed. The casing of the compressor then goes in with the rest of the scrap steel. I will do this for both refrigerator and AC compressors, but as a rule do not remove the windings off the motor for the AC units as they have a varnish coating and are a pain to remove. I have a couple I might try using varnish remover and see if that helps. All refrigerator motors I have removed have been easy the remove the windings.

 

[Emperor Findus Cladius]

Most of them I would leave as is and sell them as electric motors, we get .20 a pound here. That large one in the top middle though, I might look at cutting the wires from one end and pulling them out the other, then you have copper wire which is worth much more. I do that with the motors I pull out of the compressors of refrigerators. I have filled one five gallon bucket full of those wires, and have another bucket about 1/4 full, with 8 or 9 motors to pull the wires out of. It is pretty easy to pull the copper windings from them, just remove the string, snip the wires on one side of the moter and pull them out the other side.

Those coils of copper wire in the fields are epoxied into place and your won't be able to pull them out of the field frames. You can only cut them at each end and collect the loops. The wire in the commutators is also solidly epoxied into place and it's not worth copper scrap value to put the time in to cutting the small bits out. Your best bet is to junk the motors AS motors.

They must be in there different than refrigerator motors then, as those motors if you snip one end you can easily pull the windings out the other end.

 

[pygmy]

Wayne, how do you get the motor from the fridge compressor ?

After drilling a couple of holes and draining the compressor oil, I use an angle grinder with a thin metal cutting blade. I cut right above the seam all the way around. The motor is generally then held down with 4 bolts. Remove those 4 bolts, cut the remaining wire and you have the motor removed. The casing of the compressor then goes in with the rest of the scrap steel. I will do this for both refrigerator and AC compressors, but as a rule do not remove the windings off the motor for the AC units as they have a varnish coating and are a pain to remove. I have a couple I might try using varnish remover and see if that helps. All refrigerator motors I have removed have been easy the remove the windings.

I'll try that to see if it's worth the expense of a blade and how many compressor shells I can cut open with 1 blade.

 

[snake35]

Strip it all thats my policy!

 

[Emperor Findus Cladius]

Wayne, how do you get the motor from the fridge compressor ?

After drilling a couple of holes and draining the compressor oil, I use an angle grinder with a thin metal cutting blade. I cut right above the seam all the way around. The motor is generally then held down with 4 bolts. Remove those 4 bolts, cut the remaining wire and you have the motor removed. The casing of the compressor then goes in with the rest of the scrap steel. I will do this for both refrigerator and AC compressors, but as a rule do not remove the windings off the motor for the AC units as they have a varnish coating and are a pain to remove. I have a couple I might try using varnish remover and see if that helps. All refrigerator motors I have removed have been easy the remove the windings.

I'll try that to see if it's worth the expense of a blade and how many compressor shells I can cut open with 1 blade.

I have been purchasing the cheap blades (10 for $5) from Harbor Freight, and it generally takes 1 1/2 blades, so I can open 6 - 7 casings. The amount of copper windings I get more than pays for the blades. The ones I end up leaving as motors (windings too hard to remove) also will more than pay for the blades with the difference in price I get between steel and electric motors.

 

[2Shoes]

I burn the motors in a fire and this usually get the plastic sleeves in alot of the motor gone or the epoxy or whatever they use in it burned off. Then you can snip one end and work all the wire out. Can be a Pain in the @2. But if you ahve an evening and nothing to do it can be worth the effort. Best to place them on a something to catch the smaller wires that fall out.

 

[pickaway]

I keep them, i just removed the copper out of 4 sweeper motors not cost effective but it all adds up, i used a ban saw to cut it the square parts, not the shaft.

 

[DemonWolfe]

I use a small hacksaw and cut through the windings at one end nd pull them out the other, its better for me seeing how noone around here takes the motors, as of yet anyway, did a few small fans today, not much copper in the small ones but didn't have anything better to do, its cold and raining outside.

 

[theirratonalist]

Yeah, I do the same as DemonWolf. I pull the transformers out of microwaves, cut the end off one side, then pry the "copper" out from the other side... I write "copper" because microwave transformer coils are notorious for being made from aluminum.

 

[cdltpx]

The dump over here charges some $20 just to dump a load and the majority of the things dumped are small appliances. I always said if we ever go to war we could go to those old landfills and extract all the copper and iron we need. I never scrapped anymore cause I have seen too many scrappers go to the scrap yard and destroy their tires some of these yards have shards of metal that render a tire junk. I would have to buy a truck that was just for junking stuff cause the cars I have are just too nice to conduct this type of business I think I need to start an ebay account and get established selling stuff online. I have some barrels might fill them with motors etc that way I would have an ace in the hole if I ever needed some fast cash.

 

[theirratonalist]

I agree. I think the mines of the future will be the landfills of the past.

 

[pickaway]

I use a small hacksaw and cut through the windings at one end nd pull them out the other, its better for me seeing how noone around here takes the motors, as of yet anyway, did a few small fans today, not much copper in the small ones but didn't have anything better to do, its cold and raining outside.

What i do now also, the stacked metal plates wore out to many blades on the saw...