Computer wire grading

About the only thing I want off a computer would be CAT5 cables, and power cables. Anything else, i.e. that angel hair wire is worthless to my machine.

Originally Posted by olddude

unless you can find an economical way to strip them. if you do let the rest of us know.

Actually, there is a way. Pyrolsis.

In a nut shell, this process involve heating the plastic (wires in this case) in an oxygen free environment (a SS reactor) to the point of evaporation, around 500-600 C.
Distilling and condensing some of the gases back to fuel (e.g. diesel or other longer C chains) and burning the rest of the gases.
What's left in the reactor is the metal wires + carbon black that can easly seperated by sifting.

4 products are obtained: Clean wire, Carbon black, liquid fuel and combustible gases.

I have experimented with this before, using a small pressure cooker and copper piping loaded with 1 pound of wires each time. The combustible gases fitted with a bubbler and burned under the reactor once the reaction had started... in a sense, this system is somewhat self supporting.

I have never scaled up this process, mainly due to lack of room and supply of wires, but my estimates were and remains that the reactor should hold around 150-200 lb of high gague wires, and electrically heated.

It takes some setup and there is a learning curve, but it can be an awesome thing to do and may be very lucrative assuming you find a use/buyer for the products.

i love this forum

Originally Posted by alperin

Looking for input / current prices you guys are getting on the following wires found in computers

-Power supply : are these copper, ones I've stripped look like stranded aluminum, of course could be copper tinned.

-IDE cables: Current price? - why not call a local yard? no point me telling you its 50c a lb if the yard will give you 25c

-SATA: Copper? Are the connectors gold plated?

-Misc / speaker / signal: These also appear to be either stranded aluminum, or tinned copper. - as above
Thanks!

just my thoughts.

I just bought about 300 lbs of them as a favor and the heck if they were not ALU!!! I was most ticked.

Oh and I don't take them because I don't export. I use all the wire that I buy domestically. There is value in them for scrappers. If you are going to sell to a yard or an exporter. I believe they are considered low grade though.

Those go in the tote for our #1 insulated, our yard buys it that way;

M688...But aren't a lot of the power supply wires alum?

What I see is tinned copper, making it look silver. There not actually using silver to plate that wiring.

Originally Posted by samuel-a

Actually, there is a way. Pyrolsis.

In a nut shell, this process involve heating the plastic (wires in this case) in an oxygen free environment (a SS reactor) to the point of evaporation, around 500-600 C.
Distilling and condensing some of the gases back to fuel (e.g. diesel or other longer C chains) and burning the rest of the gases.
What's left in the reactor is the metal wires + carbon black that can easly seperated by sifting.

4 products are obtained: Clean wire, Carbon black, liquid fuel and combustible gases.

I have experimented with this before, using a small pressure cooker and copper piping loaded with 1 pound of wires each time. The combustible gases fitted with a bubbler and burned under the reactor once the reaction had started... in a sense, this system is somewhat self supporting.

I have never scaled up this process, mainly due to lack of room and supply of wires, but my estimates were and remains that the reactor should hold around 150-200 lb of high gague wires, and electrically heated.

It takes some setup and there is a learning curve, but it can be an awesome thing to do and may be very lucrative assuming you find a use/buyer for the products.

Using the above process you can recycle tires. You will be left with the metal inside of the tire but will end up with alot of gas they can be used to heat you home and reactor along with diesel fuel. There was a guy down here who use to take all tires for free and he used them to heat his home during the winter...powered his truck and all ways had more fuel than he could burn. Ontop of all of that...he was paid by some of the bigger shopped to haul away the tires even tho he would of done it for free...but he would not tell them that lmao (take what you can). But he has now moved away from here and so I do not know if he is still doing this or not in another town. But I do know that doing this with used tires you will/can make a good amount of fuel and usable gas.

Originally Posted by easyrecycle

Using the above process you can recycle tires. You will be left with the metal inside of the tire but will end up with alot of gas they can be used to heat you home and reactor along with diesel fuel. There was a guy down here who use to take all tires for free and he used them to heat his home during the winter...powered his truck and all ways had more fuel than he could burn. Ontop of all of that...he was paid by some of the bigger shopped to haul away the tires even tho he would of done it for free...but he would not tell them that lmao (take what you can). But he has now moved away from here and so I do not know if he is still doing this or not in another town. But I do know that doing this with used tires you will/can make a good amount of fuel and usable gas.

Yes, i totally agree easyrecycle, basically any plastic or rubber.

Iv'e seen a video on youtube where they use the gas to power a regular engine generator.
Sure can seve some money on electricity bills.

There are companies out there who sell biodiesel, maybe they would agree to buy the extra fuel generated if done on larger scale, as far as i know, tires should produce nearly pure diesel product.

The coke can be sold to iron/steel smelter.

Originally Posted by easyrecycle

But he has now moved away from here and so I do not know if he is still doing this or not in another town. But I do know that doing this with used tires you will/can make a good amount of fuel and usable gas.

Out of pure curiosity, would a process such as this is something,you, as a recycling company would consider to incorporate in your business?

Originally Posted by samuel-a

Out of pure curiosity, would a process such as this is something,you, as a recycling company would consider to incorporate in your business?

This can become off topic very fast..so if you like more input from me on this ask me in a new thread (just call me out on it and I will reply)

But..in short we are incorporating a bio diesel into our business with waste veg oil. Its safe to make and there is little to no gas that you have to worry about catching and burning inside of a building...our setup will be INSIDE of a building.

So yes..we are doing something like this..but not the same deal.

What happend to the other posts in this thread?