Iron/steel stripping - how far do you go?

Morning all.



So I recently stripped out a 12V92TA detroit engine - I had to disassemble most of it to get it out, and it never got sold as an assembly. In order to double the value of these 2+ tonnes, I payed a worker 40% of the total value of the scrap loads (after inspection from myself), for a 10% profit. Now I have all the tools necessary to bring the block down to bare minimum, and I hired an apprentice heavy duty tech to do this so he was more than eager to rip into it.

My question is : Having just started hiring people to do some of the scrapping separation, has anyone had experience as to whether or not this is worth the time on a small scale VS spending energy on picking up more mass and selling it off as low grade iron (mixed tin). I don't think hiring by the hour is a profitable venture, but I'm also at the point where I can try this out.

Right now I have an F350 frame a cab to get rid of, already stripped the parts of value - I'm debating loading it up as is and dumping it, or getting another young tech to completely strip it.

I meant the large iron pieces, in order to get Heavy (or whatever different yards call it) vs tin, which seems to be double the price in scrap. I don't bother with smaller cars, mostly large equipment and bigger trucks - parts are a quick easy removal and catalogging for me, and is where the money is at.

Ex: Engine blocks - If I bring them in with liners and plugs/capping, they charge me 70/tonne. When I strip them bare, it's 140/tonne + the tin recovered. Just wondering if someone has had some longer term exposure and experience with higher value per tonne or spending that time looking for more tonnage at lower value.

It may be a matter of personal preference. Some guys don't have the patience,or the tools, or the skills for extensive breakdown. They favor production and they're really good at it. Other guys might favor the added work / added value style.

IDK about paying for labor though. A few other things to consider are wear n tear on your tools, energy costs, wear & tear on your transport vehicle to the scrapyard, and most importantly distance to the yard. One of your workers could get hurt on the job. They might turn around and sue you for damages. There are a lot of businessy things to take into consideration.

We're in a rural area here. I never got into steel but one of the local guys used to be. He was of the view he needed to move at 50 tons at a time in order for it to be cost effective. He's been out of the game for awhile now but the basic idea does seem to hold true. They generally don't move anything less than a wheeler load of mixed shred from this area at a time.

It might / might not be profitable for you to do steel. It all depends on your circumstances. Every situation is different.