Are you meaning the transformer part? The ballast?
I have scrapped these in the past.
The ones in the pressed metal case are filled with tar and are really messy. They also normally have a small block of wood to fill up extra space before filling with molten tar.
On the other hand, peel the back off, bash out the transformer, break it in half, because of the 'stacked laminations' design they do break in half.
Then pull all the tar coated fine copper wire out/off, you end up with a loose ball of fine copper wire.
The laminations fall apart too, into shread not HM insize...
Definatly better to sell them as transformers unless you can stand the absolute mess of tar and ricepaper that falls off as you do it, for the little extra dollar$.
The newer white painted ones have about 100gms Copper wire in them.
You have to peel the back off again, then use a cold chisle or axe head to split the row of laminations apart, then pick out the 100gms Copper coil, then push out the little iron square tiles inside the copper loop, theres a string of Ali in there too.
Those square iron tiles....about 16mm (or 5/8th inch) square. I think they could be sold to the 'craft work' people.
Its just a flat square of metal, but painted could work as a thin tile, for pictures or decorating.
It only occured to me last week how to paint them. Put them on a sheet of ali, oven tray would work, then use spray paint to paint them.
I figured at the time, to hold them to the tray (vertical like) to spray them, use
microwave magnets on the back side to hold the tiles in place.
Once dry, remove magnets and the tiles will drop off.
Im think they would use coloured tiles to make moasic (sp?) pictures
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