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Pot Metal...what to do with it

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    scrappinlife started this thread.
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    Pot Metal...what to do with it

    So I'm not sure how most yards are out there, but the ones that I deal with don't have a category or price scale for pot metal.
    Most of us know what pot metal is....it can be light gray, dark gray, sometimes have a golden rainbow type color to it, when but always cast, always non-magnetic, when broken will have a gray color like aluminum, and always heavier than aluminum but lighter than steel.
    Do most of you guys slip this in with your cast aluminum, knowing that the guys at the yard will usually only check it with a magnet, or do you put it in your shred pile. How many of you guys actually has a yard that has a category for this?


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    Mechanic688's Avatar
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    I had quite a bit of mine separated from my cast alum. and the workers at the yard checked one piece and then threw it in with the cast alum, same price.

    P & M Recycling - Specializing in E-Waste Recycling.
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    It's called die-cast at my yard. Pays $.15. Fence post tops, piece the holds the blade on a ceiling fan, various parts of cheap plumbing fixtures, ornamental things, some parts in doorknobs, etc.

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    ScrappinRed's Avatar
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    My yard buys it as cast aluminum and have told me to just mix them together
    ~You have to start somewhere to get anywhere~

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    in the past I called it Zink-Die cast. it used to be much less then aluminum, and the yards would do there best to keep it out of the aluminum. However in recent years the price now exceeds Aluminum. we did an acid test to tell it apart from aluminum. I don't remember exactly but if tuned black it was one or the other. Old auto grills and some trim in the 1950s and 60s 70s were made of it, window crank knobs some door handles as well as carburators. The items mentioned here sound right also. I have not taken any it in a few years but I will call the locals and update this post with a price. It sounds like when they let you mix it into your aluminum its like letting you mix your #1copper with your #2copper paying for #2. It may pay for you to ask about Zink-Die cast. If anyone else knows about the acid test please speak up..
    Lightfoot

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    SIMS graded it differently today. 0.30/lb for die cast, 0.60/lb cast al.

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    Apparently my yard likes to keep me guessing as to what they want to classify it from trip to trip. Also, I guess there are a few things that I bring in that are borderline and I've been going to that yard for years so I tend to get the better grade. They do buy die cast and aluminum separately and when I went a few weeks ago die cast was .16 and cast was .43. From what I've been told scrappinlife, you are incorrect about the die cast weighing more than the cast. The guy at my yard said that die cast was lighter than cast and you would be able to see dimples and other markings like it was formed in a die cast. The best thing I ever did was get the guy at my yard to come check out my stuff and help me get an idea of what stuff would be classified as. I tend to get a pretty good quantity of the same stuff all the time so its nice to easily be able to sort it out.

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    I have a small foundry, and I have been able to get all my metals for it, from my scrapping efforts. Die casting alloys are based around Zinc (Zn), and are great because of the low melting temps and its ability to transfer high detail from the molds. Zinc alloys are best used in parts that dont have any real structural duties, because of its tendency to fracture easily under stress loading (Most Zinc alloys contain Aluminium in them). I need to be careful that I always keep Zinc out of my Aluminium alloys when I need to make any structural items, because of its ability to fail just when you need it most.
    Die cast alloys are easy to spot from the surface texture of the part you are looking at. If its all smooth and has an almost silky feel to the part, with high detail and crisp edges, then it is most likely to be die cast. Cast Aluminium parts are generally done using sand casting methods and tend to have a grainy surface to them, with more rounded edges and less detail. Most Aluminium car engine parts (like intake manifolds and coolant fixtures, bell housings, etc) have the telltale signs of being sand cast on their surface and design.
    The acid test mentioned above, refers to the presence of Magnesium (Mg) in the alloy, which can be a real hazard to the hobbyist like myself (auto ignites in the furnace and forms thermite that burns at over 3000 degrees). I test every single piece of alloy scrap now for Mg, by filling a small area on the scrap and putting a drop of white vinegar on it. If the freshly filled sample starts to fizz or turn black, then it has Mg in it, and it goes into a holding bin, well away from my other alloys. On guy falkes night, I always have a small film canister with some fillings from some Mg scrap, thrown on an outdoor fire from a safe distance, it makes a great display.
    If you do get enough Magnesium alloy gathered up, it can get a much better price than standard cast Al alloys, as its used in high end castings due to its strength and light weight compared to all other alloys (and it needs a special furnace with an inert gas atmosphere).

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