What do you rip off low-grade? - Page 3

With the low grade boards, just like others have said, take off anything that pays more than $.15-$.17/lb. I get aluminum heat sinks (leave the steel ones on), flyback transformers separate and go with motors/transformers (pop the underside of the board a couple times with the "peen" side of a ballpeen hammer and they usually bust loose) and any wires go into the insulated wire bin. My yard calls low grade boards "breakage" so it doesn't matter if they're broken! I also toss in cut-off plugs and connectors from electrical cords in with the same stuff. If I was doing hundreds of pounds of these a month I probably wouldn't bother, but at the low volumes I process it makes sense.

Most of my low grade stuff comes out of TV sets. A lot of guys don't seem to think TVs are worth the effort, but I've gotten pretty good at getting them apart and the materials sorted in a reasonable amount of time. I leave the CRT in the case with its steel frame and then put the back cover back on. Then the rest goes out into the trash; our local trash company picks 'em up without complaint. I picked up 2 monitors and three TV sets just yesterday, so they are still plentiful, although I wonder how long that will last with everyone going to flat screens.

95% Tin/ 5% Antimony solder at your local hardware store or plumbing shop will work just fine. That 'other' forum has plenty of info on how to do this safely and accurately. Hope this helps you!

TVs and CRTs are what got me into e-scrap. The more people are buying flatscreens the more CRTs they are leaving on the curb. I think we have a few more years of the transition to go. Cha-ching$$

Lol, I just picked up 8 or so on Sunday and two tonight and a projection earlier this morning. Send them my way man I need money! ggariepy, you can take the shells to Goodwill they will take them, I just took 13 and got a write off for it.

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

I take the 'delay line' from the boards. Origanally I thought there was gold on them, now I'm not sure. It looks like gold where the wires attached to the glass sometimes. I think the solder is silver solder.


I also get the crystals, theres several sorts.
They have a glass plate inside with really fine beautiful etchings on them. And gold looking solder on the cap & base edge & inside.
Common crystal & inside it. I think theres silver in there too.

Sorry about the size of the pics, still learning.... I did find out that a bad crystal will cause the 'green screen of death'.

Now who can I sell the crystals to?

Originally Posted by happyisthealero

Lol, I just picked up 8 or so on Sunday and two tonight and a projection earlier this morning. Send them my way man I need money! ggariepy, you can take the shells to Goodwill they will take them, I just took 13 and got a write off for it.

Really? What on earth would they want with a gutted TV set? It never would have occurred to me to take these to them, I thought they were only good for trash...

Straight to China. Don't tell me they don't, used to get all the tv's that were donatted to them and then sudenly was tolled they are shipping all tv's and monitors over seas. Maybe not China but someware.

Originally Posted by happyscraper

Straight to China. Don't tell me they don't, used to get all the tv's that were donatted to them and then sudenly was tolled they are shipping all tv's and monitors over seas. Maybe not China but someware.

i doubt it every goodwill ive seen has a 40 yard dumpster out back and its always full of electronics and mixed household, just saying