I need help breaking down aluminum/copper radiators

Ok, I took apart a commercial fridge and I have three large aluminum/copper radiators and really would love to extract the copper tubes. I purchased a 1/4 in piece of metal to yank them out after cutting alon the sides of each tube. That worked for a little but that was really straineous. Is there an easier way.

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/scrap...Bvideo%5D.html

Breaking down aluminum/copper radiators can be done easy enough if aluminum is still kinda new and still soft then you cut the long way with a razer knife to free each tube one by one . Generally the tube is a lite weight copper. If the fins are older and more brittle it's hard to cut and a pain in the butt. Off the top of my head I could be off a touch on the $ amount ,but I once did a test with a 8 pounder , I received $8 as is , and cleaned $12 or so - I don't have much sorrow to sell them as is, and since I am generally very stubborn about giving a way any Metal not in it's true final best form. The fact that I avoid cleaning them and sell as is time after time tells me it's not really worth it. Often dismantling is a seat of the pants feeling that you get, in time you start to know what is worth going for - just by looking . I have gotten to a point I know the weight of metal by handling and seeing so i can estimate fast now .
IMO yards offer a sweet hart deal on some annoying dismantling items like - copper bearing - car batteries -some electric motor types - aluminum/copper radiators
By the way I once cut my thumb with one of them CU AL radiators & the cut area is still numb and i feel will never be really the same. .

Thanks, I think I will pass on this one and turn them in whole.

Baseboard radiators are a little easier.

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/disma...pper-pipe.html

Thanks for the good word. I actually forego trying to reep that copper and picked up 2 forty gallon tank this morning.

Never tried to do one but it sounds like you can make $10 hour processing them over selling them as is. That would be worth it to me.

I at least cut the steel part off the ends and turn it in that way. Then I turn in the steel ends with the remaining copper as motor/copper bearing

Originally Posted by jghilino

Never tried to do one but it sounds like you can make $10 hour processing them over selling them as is. That would be worth it to me.

Not so sure about that first you better have a truck load to do for 10 an hour next is the cost of razer blades and there is some oil annoyance in the tubes and also some of the really oxidized ones the AL is kinda unsellable if you actually had a bucket of the white powdery corroded AL . Some weight of a CU/AL on some that are old is the grime caught in the Finns . Years of build up dirt and some oil stays behind i feel there is a loss of sell able weight when you mess with the old dirty ones. But yes when you come across a new soft AL that cut like butter go for it .Also once in a wile you will find a nice thick tube heat exchange (AL/CU) those are worth the time
The AL/CU I also figure you need to factor the whole picture ACs are a bit time consuming - To me AC's are get the easy CU and go BUT if copper hits $4 at the yard then lets talk Moters compressers wire after all if you have CU/AL you have them also.

What i really like is when i come across an old car radiator that is brass tubes with copper fins.

A rare find - I once found one did not even know it till I cashed in .Mine must of came out of a tractor just 2 rubber pipe intakes