How big of a pile do you accumulate before making a run?

Some guys fill up the truck and go to the yard.

Other guys have some space and let things accumulate before going to the yard.

Here's my current pile, built up over the course of about a month.



The pic was taken from a second floor window, about 15 feet above the top of the pile. It's roughly 11 feet by 17 feet overall, the deepest part of the pile is maybe 3 feet high.

Not sure how to estimate how much weight is here, but I'd put it around 1000 lbs, roughly. Inside the garage is where the higher-value items are kept; probably another 50lbs of motors and transformers, 10 lbs of insulated wire, and 3-4lbs of bare bright copper wire. The garbage can next to the fence by the lawn chair is all aluminum; got two more cans full of steel.

Is this more or less than what you guys take per load? This will take me and my partner a couple of hours to just get onto the trailer, and we might have to make a second trip.

I make a run when the shred pile starts getting too big, since I dont have a lot of space in my garage that's atleast once a week, sometimes two.

When I take in my shred I usually take in whatever else I have on hand as well. I'm not good at hording or saving up the more valuable materials. I get impatient and can't help but cashing it in.

Originally Posted by BRASSCATCHER

I take in my shred about once a week or when I get the stink eye from the wife.

Ahaha, me too.

Shred covers my costs (gas, blades, etc.), and the other stuff is my profit. I usually turn in the non-ferrous about once a month, depending on how fast it piles up. Copper is slow, but I seem to get a lot of brass, lately. Aluminum, too.

I go to the yard when I have a full load (actually loaded and in my way) or, when I'm running low on funds. Otherwise, I let it pile up until the prices increase just a bit.

I usually try to get about 1000lb of shred, thats about all i'd be willing to put on my trailer,if i take the time to pack it properly it rides well. then i always want a decent mix which could be any or all of alum,copper,brass,coils,compressors,lead,stainless steel,batteries.The shred pays for the gas,tools,blades,etc,etc. my money is in the other stuff,so i gotta get a good variety to make it pay off, have to drive 30 miles to the scrap yard.

I take in a trailer load of shred every day and once a week I take in a load of non-ferrous. I have a great yard I deal with so it doesn't pay for me to sit on stuff hoping the market goes up.

Depending if the price is high or low depends on how much i store. If price is over 200 a ton I will store it for a week or two and if its low at like 170 a ton i will wait till its back up. I try to keep the pile stacked so its not a tangeled mess, easyer to move, or falls over when windy. usually pull in around 1300 to 1500 in the C10 and only have a 800lb payload in the tacoma, so thats the non-ferrous truck

I wait until my trailer is full. Depending on what I'm hauling it's 4000-12,000

When I hit capacity on my truck+ 200lbs it's time to go! Shred stacked high and "good stuff" underneath.

When the amount of ali cans I have will pay for the petrol etc used in the trip (I pay others for the use of their vehicle & time/petrol/no muck arounds).

When the stacks of towers are all higher than I can reach it's time to haul them in. Probably should crush them but they stack better un-crushed.

my place is walking distance so I can go any time. many take in just a shopping bag of cans or a couple pounds of copper ect.
steel is basically rubbish so mine is gone as soon as I have a hatchback full, usually 500lbs which isn't much at all but still, it's rubbish.

I guess it depends on your spending habit, if your not good at holding small amounts of cash then save your precious metals until you can get a big payout, like $2000 or something, that way you can do something good with it, me, if I take in 20lb of copper, which would of been a bit of work to get, $60 goes like nothing so it would feel a waste, so in copper, millberry copper, i'm going for big daddy.. 1 tonne, may take a while but that's what I wanna take in.

We will see today or tommorow. Typically steel is 3,000 to 4,000 at a time, on a 16' trailer. Ferrous is built up till I have at least 100 pounds of each type.