eesakiwis adventures

Just wanted to say I enjoy your thread and your posts. I know I said this earlier, but you are specific, entertaining, and educational. Please continue to share your adventures. May the scrap force be with you.

I echo Patriot76's sediments. I enjoy you very different perspective on scrapping, and you are entertaining in your writting. 73, Mike

Have not done much lately, cut open some fridge compressors incase I needed the $ quicker a few days ago. I probably have $100 worth all up.
I picked up a laptop & computer to scrap, along with a Stainless steel shower tray, and a hose for my dishwasher. From Curbco.

I have two broken dishwashers and need at least one to work before I scrap the other one for its Stainless steel. Normally its just the little Black Box (brain) that's broken & I have some spare ones anyway.
Once ones fixed, I can sell my Stainless steel, along with the Copper/Ali radiators & Copper wire#2.
It'll be good to have a nice wee payout for some scrap.

I tried to fix a clothes drier a week ago, it was scorching and sending out smoke.
So I took the back off and vacuumed the lint up, noticed the bearing is very worn, but still turning, and put the back back on, and now the motor starts up, runs a couple of seconds and stops.
Dunno why its decided to do this..? It sounds like a cutout switch is turning off.

I have a nice looking fridge/freezer, that was for scrap, I messed about with it and think the thermostats broken. It might be possible to fix, everything else is good with it. Clean and modern.

The other one I had, also scrap, was a 'Frost free' one.
The old owner said that he "Had bought a new one anyway & all thats wrong with this is the moving fins sometimes stick in one place, and make 'click click' annoying noises".
So I fixed that and am using it now. Its great. Clean and the freezer has no frost ice in it & it gets down to minus 15°C or lower.
(My normal fridge went down to minus 8°C at the most, it had leaking door seals too, scrapped it already...)

Last night I got another 20 Thin client computers to scrap, and about 12x. 17" & 19" monitors, maybe sellable if I put time into it.
The thin clients are circa 2001- 2005. I scrapped the basic ones, and put aside the ones with the extra sockets on its back.

Then today, I sold a 40inch Plasma screen, Panasonic, for NZ$100. Its the same as the one I am using.
So I bought a $10 steak for a nice feed....
The flatscreen , I was surprised to find out it picks up digital TV. Nice!
Since I have not had TV reception since they changed from analogue to Digital a couple of years ago.
I can get around it with a set top box, but its too much work.

Spring is sorta starting to arrive, it really still is winter, but this winter has been very mild.
The local ski fields are open for another 6-8weeks, but the daylight is getting longer now. Last summer was great, actually too hot if anything.

Since its Saturday tomorrow, and I have some cash, I might try checking out some yard sales, there's only about 8 of them on average. It'll only take a few hours and it will be nice to check out what they have these days since its been a long time since I went to one.

Spotyah tomorrow/e

Your a hustler! Nice read

eesakiwi whenever I get a frost free frisge always check where the lasr owner last set the thermostat if it has been set for maximum cold this is a good indication the defrost timer is shot. The majority of timers are inexpensive and easy to replace.

Sometimes you'll find a fridge were the heater element affixed to the evaporaor has burned through and may have burned through some tubing letting the freon escape, if the fridge compressor is still operational plug the unti in then put your ear to the back of the upper portion ofthe fridge cabinet, you will hear a rushing sound with spiting, this is a good sighn that the fridge still has all its freon. You can do the same test with a freezer, the sound your hearing is liquid freon leaving the capiliary tube as it changes into a gas.

Freezers are another story very often they'll form a leak freon on the high side, for cospmetic reasons the manufacture install the tubing for both low and high side encapsulated with in the inner walls of rhe freezer. The high side coils lay on the bottom of the freezer subject ot moisture and water since the tubing is made of irn will eventually rust.

In the past I have on ocassion isolated the high side coil on the freezer then installing a salvaged externial condensor coil from the back of an older fridge. This modification has many advanatges, the newly installed coil is now cooled via a more free moving air by convection and will cool the hot liquid refridgerant in the new high side coil much faster also saving energy as the compressor will cycle less than before. Only a water cooled condensor would improve on energy savings.

Yoiur dryer with the worn bearing is putting extra stress on the start windings on your electric motor, inside that motor affixed to the motor windings as a thermo over load protection device, if you have a clamp on volt meter check the amp draw on start up. My bet it;s going to be higher than spec, this extra engergy creats heat that trips the over load protector.

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Originally Posted by eesakiwi

Last night I got another 20 Thin client computers to scrap, and about 12x. 17" & 19" monitors, maybe sellable if I put time into it.
The thin clients are circa 2001- 2005. I scrapped the basic ones, and put aside the ones with the extra sockets on its /e

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I don't recall your ebay or the like situation there so take this as you will. One of the things that can often sell off older computers (check competed sales) are the power supplies. If one of the Thin Clients work then you can use it to test all the power supplies. Again I don't know your situation but this has worked for me when most of the rest is not worth attempting to sell.

Also I use a thumb drive with ubuntu (32 bit) to do testing. 73, Mike

Quote:

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Originally Posted by eesakiwi

I figure I might start putting in here what I find and stuff.

Most of my scrap comes from a small free scrap dumping area. Its 10 blocks from home.
I use a plastic coal sack and car safety belt as straps. Car safety belt, when tied in a knot, always comes free when you untie it by finger. And it spreads the load on my shoulders.
The most weight I have carried is about 60kg - 130lbs - ten blocks home.
Last weekend it was a 55kg 3000watt UPS inc 15kg batterys, 20 blocks to home, from a dumpster. That was a great dumpster find that day. Made two trips, also got a homebrew barrel and superdooper reflux condensor and heating matt. New trailer lights etc etc.
Homebrew alcohols legal here, even though I don't drink alcohol.
I don't have a car to transport my scrap and find its generally better to just pay my neighbour for use of his vehickle. I pay generously, its a huge saving compaired to paying for my own, and its normally about the same as what I get for my Ali cans
The Ali cans normally come from another neighbour, who I give any recycleable beer bottles (750ml) that I find in my travels too.
He gives those bottles to a friend if his, who gives him free 'homebrew alcohol' in return as he needs them to bottle his homebrew for storage, and swaps...
So you can see how far recycling can take you.

Lately I have been scrapping down electronics, computers etc, from a guys backyard. He was into the ewaste thing till the company went bust. He's still got hundreds of CRTs to get rid off, but the Goverments gonna sort that out later. In the meanwhile he cannot use his yard, so I suggested that I do the work in return for the ewaste, I dispose of the plastic and he sells and keeps the $ from the sheetmetal.
That way there's no time wasted for him. He's got his own business on the property too.

So far I have been saving up metal from the start of this year. Have about 160kg #2 Copper, 25kg Brass, 250kg + Ali and sacks of plastic coated wire. Sack of Ali/Copper.

Today I got.
A motorbike battery, 20 odd floppy drive boards, Ali extrusion 12ft long box section, several coils plastic coated wire, 3 computer power supplys, 6 ft Copper tube with Brass fittings, small Cu wire drier motor, some Ali mesh.
I found a computer xp home with hdrive and two microwaves. I will scrap the microwaves and take the computer home to see if it works. I can swap computer stuff with another guy who fixes washing machines etc.

At home there's 4 fridge compressors and 2 microwave transformers to break down.
Since I expect to get another fridge compressor tomorrow, and more soon, I wait till I have ten or more before scrapping them. The cases I fill with transformer & motor iron cores & tack weld shut & sell later as 'HM insize' @ NZ$220 ton. That $ goes back to the scrap dropoff areas owner, so I try & get the maxamim $ for it, for him. To keep things turning over happyly. He's picking up two ton + of sheet metal from my property soon. Its all superclean and as he gets a good price for it, deserved.

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eesakiwi This thread needs to be updated.

I still have that UPS supply, I had to shift it last week to move a cupboard into a different place in the hallway.
Not long after that post I had sold a LOT of scrap at one time & got NZ$3000 ( US$2000+ ) for it, just after that metal prices dropped a little so it was good timing.

That area I used to go to, the owner closed it. 'Shred' prices were dropping & there was a increase of people dumping mattresses & old couches there.
About a year ago he closed up his rental car/truck business & sold most of the property's ( I think ) & retired with his huge boat in his house in Queenstown.
It's a very scenic tourist town on the edge of a lake with mountains about it & a restored Steam powered boat called the ' Earnshaw 'on it, several ski fields about & lots of historic gold mining history to boot.
I have seen the scenery used in the Hobbit movies & ( I'm 100% sure ) Stallone's 'Get Carter' on the golf course.
Of course there's Bungy jumping, jetboats, parragliding, gliding & gondolas to keep you adrenaline pumping too.

I'm still doing scrapmetal as I find it but not nearly as much as before. At the moment just cutting down & up a tree on my property that's got just a bit too big. It will provide some firewood in the finish.

I still have my 1000+ computers worth of escrap, which is good considering the rapid rise of the Gold prices & a slight decrease in the NZ$ vs US$ from 70 cents to 65 cents. The longer I leave it the better $$ I will get I think.

That and fixing up some A4 B5 & B6 Audi's that I have. That's been a fun but steep learning curve as nobody keeps the maintenance up on them, so they all develop the same problems & need the same parts replaced.
Probably not the best car to buy unless you get it cheap, know what is wrong with it, want learn a LOT, have some weird liking of zemblanity & then just replace everything that's needed.

The house is something that's ongoing but with slightly above freezing point temperatures & rain & $$ is not helping much at the moment. Summer should see the job done though.