Eletric Motors at 0.10 a pound what would you do?

I am currently getting 10 cents a pound for my motors, that 1 penny over tin prices here. I have called around all over the state (wv) to see if I can get better pricing and it seems to be 10 cents no matter where I call. I get about 10-30 motors a week... My question is should I be selling at this price or hoarding them up to wait for the market to improve or possibly get a truck load and sell out of state? Advice appreicated!

I get .30 for the motors and the steel just went up to .015 Not sure if it would be worth it to take to another state...

I am getting .15 in Kamloops, B.C. Canada................. it only went down once to .10 when everything came crashing down 2 years ago.... there are 2 other yards in town but they are both small timers..... next closest scrap yard is 2 hours away, next closest is almost 4 hours away.... not really worth me going that far in my beat up old truck... (my daily driver is only a mazda pickup)

so I wait until I have about 10 or more motors so I get at least 10 or 15 bucks..

Are you willing or to break them down? The copper inside is #2 and sells for about $3.10 per pound. Many of the ends of the motors I run across are Al and that sells for .65 per pound.(you have to remove every thing not Al or you don't get paid much) The remaining steel still gets .12 per pound here. For me I have the time to do the break down, in fact thats my business plan. I buy motors for .25/lb and break them down. Then if you wanted to hold onto it for a while just hold the copper. Best to you, Mike.

I break most if them down if copper.. alum goes as motors

**** wish I could get them for .10

me too, olddude! i would buy as many as i could and spend a whole day cutting and punching

MEEEeeeee too!!!!

Personally, I would strip the motors, depending on their size. You said you get 10-30 motors a week.. strip 10 of them and take note of the amount of work you do and the payout you receive, then decide how to proceed. At the scrap yard I work at, we have guys come in and buy motors all the time at .25 a pound. For some, it is what they do for a living.

Your yard may have a guy who just strips motors. They pay less to help cover his wages. Just a thought. I would strip them down.

For those with ambition to strip out the copper, once the end bells ( caps ) have been removed I use an old wood chisel bevel side down towards the laminates to vut each coil if your chisel is fairly wide you can grab a couple of coils each time.

Once you have made the round, toss the field coil into a fire, once cooled tap it the wire falls out.

For starters and generators i use the plasma to burn out the screw that holds the steel piece that hold the coils in place then the copper falls out, for the armature back to the wood chisel this time with the bevel side towards the commutator. Count 1 or 2 laminates from the commutator then work the chisel in-between these and work your way around the armature, again toss it into a fire once cooled the wire falls out.

I have a piece of angle iron welded onto a short stand in which holds the armature making this job easier, I made the stand short so that it is comfortable to sit at.

Regards
Gustavus

A major of my fan motors comes from HVAC companies. It is worth it, if you have several of them.

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

A major of my fan motors comes from HVAC companies. It is worth it, if you have several of them.

Not in my opinion if you can not harvest a minimum of 3 lbs of copper from an electric motor or transformer it belongs in breakage.

Scratch test the wire to see if it is aluminum or copper once you get it torn down to that point, once you identify motors and transformers that predominantly contain aluminum windings toss em into breakage whole the scrap yards won't know the difference.

Maybe a bit unethical but most yards have the guy working the scale steal his wages by cheating on weights a pound or two here and there adds up quickly.

Always ask in what increments the scale weighs, some scales are set as high as 10 lbs.

My last load was an old WD9 tractor it was so heavy I had to put wood blocks between the axles and trailer frame.to keep the tires from rubbing the fenders, I always travel to the yard in the wee hours under cover of darkness. Grab a couple of winks in the cab while waiting for the yard to open. It is much easier to avoid the D.O.T these guys are jerks even when your legal.

Regards
Gustavus

Originally Posted by gustavus

Not in my opinion if you can not harvest a minimum of 3 lbs of copper from an electric motor or transformer it belongs in breakage.

Scratch test the wire to see if it is aluminum or copper once you get it torn down to that point, once you identify motors and transformers that predominantly contain aluminum windings toss em into breakage whole the scrap yards won't know the difference.

Maybe a bit unethical but most yards have the guy working the scale steal his wages by cheating on weights a pound or two here and there adds up quickly.

Always ask in what increments the scale weighs, some scales are set as high as 10 lbs.

My last load was an old WD9 tractor it was so heavy I had to put wood blocks between the axles and trailer frame.to keep the tires from rubbing the fenders, I always travel to the yard in the wee hours under cover of darkness. Grab a couple of winks in the cab while waiting for the yard to open. It is much easier to avoid the D.O.T these guys are jerks even when your legal.

Regards
Gustavus

If that is what you do, good for you. To me, regardless of how many motors I get, it is not worth spending the countless time in ripping each one apart for the little bit of copper.

I turn all the motors in as sis, and get paid per pound for each one. That is what my post was referring not, not about ripping each one apart to collect the copper.

In response to whether or not to sell motors at a cheap price, I also get about 30 cents per lb. for motors and the yard I go to is considerably lower priced than other yards in my area. I choose not to go to those other yards with my scrap because I don't do enough volume to make it worth my while to go someplace farther away, because I do this strictly as a "paid hobby" and whatever extra money I'd make would be lost in gas. So if your only getting 10 cents per lb. the yard your going to is drastically under-priced and you've got the following choices: hold your motors until the yard gives a better price, strip out the copper provided you have the time, look for a different yard that will give a better price, or continue selling them to the yard you go to with the knowledge that your being paid a price way below average.

Originally Posted by gustavus

if that is what your already doing and your happy with the proceeds, your question is moot.

The average starter has $12.00 worth of number 1 copper, I strip em. Fractional HP motors get tossed into the breakage bin. Why give the scrap yard the gravy.

Some of the yards I deal with are 4th generation in the original location.

In my intro "Semi Retired" old and stale like a beer gone flat from sitting too long, my usefulness in life is near and end.

Do you have any suggestions for me GeorgeB, perhaps I should have an auction sell off all my toys sell the farm and go into an old age home then feed the pigeons.

Sounds like fun.

Regards
Gustavus

The electric motors that I am referring to, are just the ones I get from HVAC units. I know and realize there is copper in them, but patience wise, I don't have them to stand there and rip each one apart. Yes, I do realize I am throwing away good money, but the amount of work that would be required to put into them, I am okay with not doing it.

Also, no need to get defensive. If your wanting to sell your "toys", home, and go into a retirement home, well that is your choice.

We have several other threads on this topic and what the conclusion is on all of them is this: No one can make this decision for anyone but themselves. It is a matter of how many motors you get, how busy you are, and a myriad of other factors. So....no one is right and no one is wrong about this. It certainly isn't worth getting any hackles up about. And GeorgeB I, for one am very happy to have you on the forum with us. You have a lot to offer and I enjoy your posts. Please don't leave us.

I'm getting .37 for motors right now. If I were only getting .10, I'd go ahead & break them down. But as you mentioned, at 10-30 motors a week, it wouldn't take too long save save back a few tousand bucks worth for a longer haul. Mine go 60 miles....I don't take them in til I have 2-3 tons.....bout once a year. Usually a $1500-2000 load.

I'd say the decision should be based on how far you would have to go for a decent price.

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

The electric motors that I am referring to, are just the ones I get from HVAC units. I know and realize there is copper in them, but patience wise, I don't have them to stand there and rip each one apart. Yes, I do realize I am throwing away good money, but the amount of work that would be required to put into them, I am okay with not doing it.

Also, no need to get defensive. If your wanting to sell your "toys", home, and go into a retirement home, well that is your choice.

Please accept my apology for my rudeness GeorgeB, I'm not aging as gracefully as i would like.

Best Regards
Gustavus