THE Random Chat Thread - AKA "The RCT" - No shirt or shoes required - Open 24 / 7

[releventchair]

Good morning everybody it’s Saturday yay

Mornin Evan!

 

[CreekSide]

Good morning everybody it’s Saturday yay

Going fishing?

 

[CreekSide]

It was nice and cool this morning. Not bad now for being almost 1pm. It’s probably 70s now.
Yep 75

 

[pepperj]

I just started my copper scavenging this last week, newer light ballast don’t have much but a motor I found out has a lot more.View attachment 2227771

Not muin the new ballast, just be aware tge older ones had PCB in them. Sorry I can't give you a letter code for bad ones as I forget.
This might help.

Key Methods for Identification
Manufacturing Date:
Ballasts manufactured before July 1, 1979, are considered to contain PCBs.
"No-PCB" Label:
A ballast that is not labeled "No-PCB" or "Non-PCB" should be assumed to contain PCBs.
Manufacturer Code:
For some manufacturers, specific letters or number combinations within their date or catalogue codes indicate the presence of PCBs.
Manufacturer-Specific Clues
Aerovox:
A code where the fifth digit is "F" (for "Fluorescent") indicates PCBs.
General Electric (GE):
A final letter of "N" or "A" indicates PCBs. If the code ends in "T", it may contain PCBs.

 

[robertk]

Not muin the new ballast, just be aware tge older ones had PCB in them.

Are the old ballasts good for anything? I've changed a few old fluorescent fixtures to use LED, so the ballasts are just hanging there doing nothing.

 

[newnan man]

 

[Chilli]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. Its nice knowing you have people in your corner doing so. 👍👍

 

[Chilli]

I crazy thinking here but I'm thinking about buy a wire stripper.
No not the pole type either!
I won't be able to do fatty cables, but some mcm sizes.
What the local yards pay, and the recovered rate of bare copper is large.

For $500 buys a bench operating stripper, plus having a knowledge base of working a stripper an old scrapper can entertain himself in the winter.

View attachment 2227750

NOTE TO READERS:
"No dollar bills will be used to get this stripper to perform"

Copper theft is big here and costing building sites from homes to big builds millions collectively. You guys have that problem too?

 

[robertk]

Copper theft is big here and costing building sites from homes to big builds millions collectively. You guys have that problem too?

Oh yeah. And not just copper. Pretty much anything that isn't locked up or nailed down can decide to grow legs in the middle of the night, and that tendency increases with population density.

 

[pepperj]

Are the old ballasts good for anything? I've changed a few old fluorescent fixtures to use LED, so the ballasts are just hanging there doing nothing.

Probably about a 1/2 pound per ballast.

 

[ARC]

Probably about a 1/2 pound per ballast.

Do you just scrap the whole thing or have to open it ?

 

[pepperj]

Copper theft is big here and costing building sites from homes to big builds millions collectively. You guys have that problem too?

I was a problem at a dollar a pound.
So nearly $6.00 it's the wild west.
Ma bell is having the trunk lines cut.
Burning the greasy cabling at night is a big thing.

 

[ARC]

Do you just scrap the whole thing or have to open it ?

Pepps.

 

[pepperj]

Do you just scrap the whole thing or have to open it ?

You can sell as a ballast, or do the dirty and open it.
I never opened them, just flipped 10-15 ton bins at a time. Sent them to China for recovery.

 

[robertk]

Probably about a 1/2 pound per ballast.

I'd agree with the guy in the video -- by the time you consider the labor and all, it doesn't really seem worth the effort at current prices. They can all just stay right where they are for now. It's not like they're taking up any extra space.

 

[robertk]

I never opened them, just flipped 10-15 ton bins at a time.

Tons?? I'm pretty sure I could collect every ballast within 50 miles and not have a ton, much less ten or fifteen.

 

[pepperj]

Tons?? I'm pretty sure I could collect every ballast within 50 miles and not have a ton, much less ten or fifteen.

The retrofit of office towers in Toronto.

 

[pepperj]

Went and picked up a 2010 Hyundai Sonata that has like new tires 255/65/17 on it. 2006 Honda 4 door. Both cars have aluminum rims and a set of winters.
The guy gave 6 small batteries, plus the 2 in the cars.
So basically I recoup my investment from the batteries/rims. Have a set of like new tires, and winters for the Honda.

Not bad for $250, the guy asked for $225 but I was thinking $250.
He wants to move out some scrap in the near future.
Tomorrow is the auction pick up.

 

[pepperj]

 

[pepperj]