Should you strip it, should you break it down?

I know when a lot of you saw the title you rolled your eyes but this is the way I look at it. Keep in mind that this is only my opinion. Scrapping ewaste is only part time for me and I get it all for free. It’s one of the perks of my job.


I’ve seen many threads about hard drives and if it’s worth it to break them down. The same goes for pc power supplies or copper wire you’re thinking about stripping.


When I bring a truck load of ewaste home, it’s a wide variety of things such as computers, data switches, printers, routers, servers, monitors, phone systems, phones and boxes of assorted cables. I will sort through everything and see what can be sold for better than scrap value and the rest is scrapped.


I do pull the power boards from the power supplies and I strip the larger copper wire I get. Hard drive boards are removed but the hard drives are destroyed.


So how long did it take me to break down the power supplies on a load of computers and how much were the power boards and pigtails worth. I could care less! Neither do I care about the time I spent on just the hard drives. I don’t weigh everything or crunch numbers. I look at how much I made on the whole load and I’m never disappointed.


Last week I brought home a box of phones and some copper wire. Yesterday morning I spent about an hour and a half stripping the wire by hand (PITA) and ended up with about 8 pounds of #1 copper.

With the phones, I had to remove the belt clips and the Li Ion batteries. It took 15 minutes to remove those and box them up. I ended up with about 35 pounds of phones at $4.00 a pound and I’m getting $1.30 a pound for the batteries.

Most loads I bring home are a lot larger with more low value items but I still have not ever been disappointed.

Agreed........I strip most of the power supplies (Except the slim ones)........All server power supplies are broken down.........I don't strip much wire and HD's boards are pulled the rest is either crushed or sent to ewaste buyer........Alot of aluminum and copper in those power supplies especially the bigger ones.........As long as at the end of the month the wallet looks fatter than when the month started I did ok

When it comes down to breaking stuff down my favorite saying always applies.

YMMV.

What is worth it to me, may not be to Jimi, or Hobo, or anyone else. What they break down might not be the best way for me or others. I look at things from a full time, this is my job view. So somethings...aren't worth it for me. The folks who do this part time or as a hobby, have their own priorities an views.

Just cause you do things different doesn't mean your doing it wrong..usually.

Sirscrapalot - Scottie, beam me up a beer! - Star trek crew after a long day exploring.

1) Get a decent, reliable scale.
2) Accumulate a good sample size of an item.
3) Weigh out the items and make a record of the gross weight and what you paid for it (if applicable).
4) Break the items down and keep everything in separate containers.
5) Weigh out the parts taken from the items.
6) Open a spreadsheet and record the weights and values by category.
7) Compare what you would get for selling whole vs. breaking down.

I see it differently. ( Probably because i'm getting to be an old fart. )

Time is your most important resource. You can always make more money but you can't make more time.

You don't think about these things when you're younger because you think you'll live forever. ;)

So ... once you get the concept it's all about time management.

You manage your money to get the most bang for the buck don't you ?

Wouldn't it be sensible to manage your time in the same way ? Get the best return for that hour of time spent working ?

After all ... it's like the old saying : " Time is money "

There is another aspect to it as well.

There's a certain endgame when i give my power supplies to the local scrappers. When it comes right down to it ... we are competing for the same ewaste resource. It's not like i don't like the local guys, but, it's better for me if i can get them to waste their time and energy chasing small amounts of copper and aluminum.

That way i can go for the silver,gold and platinum. >:)

I tend to agree, time is money. I crunch the numbers and see if I can make a minimum certain amount per hour. If not, then I don't break down. While I am a part timer too, I see this as a business, and it needs to make enough to make it worth my time. Time is always short.

I do the broken down value compared to as-is value comparison. If I get something that is not worth my time to break down, I don't do it. Computer PSUs I cut the wire and plugs off, and that's all (my yard requires plugs to be cut off). Power boards go as shred steel, unless I can hammer off some aluminum heatsinks. Then there's that. Other than that, even though I am doing this part time, I still think of it as a business. How much can I make per hour? That's my mindset.

whether it's time or money... nothing is really wasted as long as you have the right mindset