AC Unit

I'm a mom and am very new to this. My mom is giving me a roof top AC unit that is still working (14 yrs old). She is getting a new one. I don't need it, but thought we could scrap it. Found some scrap yards that will take the whole unit rather than me trying to figure out how to piece it out. .30 per lb. is the most I have found so far. I have no idea how much it weighs. They will be removing it with a crane. Am I wasting my time? I would have to get a trailer to haul the thing down to the scrap yard. If we can actually make something on this, then great. Wondering if I will get more piecing it out. Can anyone give me an idea how much these things weigh or if it is worth my time?

Thank you very much!

How are you getting this thing down?

They will be removing it with a crane.

No pics, on a 2nd story roof.

You can take it straight in as is and get the going rate for tin/shred. Here it is .1 a lb. Or you can take the time to tear it apart, you will find copper, aluminum, and steel in those suckers. If you take the time to strip it you will make more than taking it straight in. If you have the time and some basic hand tools you can tear that sucker apart and make more money on it.

If you get stuck at all throughout the process, use the search feature to find the answer, if you cant find it, feel free to post a picture and ask for help, we like pictures. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kris Kringle

Tater Dude I think she said Crane

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Yeah, sorry. Glossed right over it.

So they won't account for the other metals inside, basically just the weight of the unit per lb., correct?

Yep the $.30 per pound you got quated is taking consideration of other metals. But lets say it weighs 100 lbs your going to get $30. If you took the time to seperate it out you could get double that or more.

I was confirming what the CMHN guy said about making more $$ ripping the **** thing apart. I don't want to have to do that if I can help it. Yes, I found a place that will give me 30 cents a lb. for the whole unit. I'm guessing it weighs more than 100 lbs. since they are removing it with a crane. Just thought someone on here might have a ball park guess as to how much one of these old units (roof top mounted) would weigh.

If it's still in working order I wonder if she would have any luck selling it on Craig's List instead of scrapping.

Depending on where you live, a member on this forum might buy it from you. Might even pay a bit more than yards, see a lot of these yards think their time is worth something, yet every time go to a yard I can see this is not the case.

Thank you for the suggestions about selling or someone on the forum maybe being interested. I will keep that in mind. I'm in AZ. Don't actually have the unit yet though.

Have a trailer waiting on site the day your crane is scheduled to arrive, there should be enough room left on the trailer to dismantle the AC unit if you choose to go this route. Then if you abandon the project for some reason the AC is already loaded and ready to fly.

As for selling a working unit taken out of service if the copper pipes have not been sealed off to keep the moisture out you may as well scrap it, no one is going to buy a unit that has been exposed to moisture.

I'm not talking rain here, there is enough humidity in the air to foul an open and exposed refrigeration system.

If by chance moisture found its way into the system there could be the possibility of an ice ball forming at the ends of the capillary tubes rendering the system useless, you would have to call in a technician to evacuate the system add a new dryer and re-charge it with refrigerant.

To evacuate, the system is hooked up to a vacuum pump, any water in the system will boil out at room temperature, this procedure could take hours maybe a day or longer depending on the size of the unit.

I'm not even sure if the technician is permitted to reuse the refrigerant that was evacuated from the system.

Regards
Gustavus

I'm wondering why pay for the crane? Toss it over the side. Most of those units dont weigh too much and half the job of tearing it apart might be accomplished for you. What is the crane costing?
(ok ok, probably not practical to just toss it over, but maybe slip the tech $5 to have an "oops" moment :) )

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kris Kringle

If I am not mistaken she said the unit was in for 14 Years and it is Still Working I Would take it as Still working means it is still blowing Cold

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Wouldn't be unheard of that a unit this old is functioning and could last another 14 years without so much a hiccup.

A refrigeration unit is not something you can judge by just looking at it, if the unit is still hooked up to power first thing I would check is the sight glass, put a hand on the high side compressor line to check for heat, should get hot enough that you can not keep your hand there long.

Once satisfied with these simple tests would then proceed to hook gauges onto the access valves then take readings from both the low and high side, this will tell you how good the compressor is performing, if the reed valves are cracked or broken there will be no pressure or vacuum, a broken connecting rod same thing. The motor would run and sound perfect.

Next shut the unit off and hook an amp meter onto one line, restart the unit and take note of the amperage draw.

Any respectable shop reselling a used unit standing behind warranty would now use a meggar to check out how good the insulation is on the internal motor wire windings. The meggar will show if the insulation has broke down.

It is difficult to answer one person directly when your speaking to a whole forum in general, my advice is generally overboard. I do this for a couple of reasons to give advice to others happening upon this thread by chance then to stimulate conversation on the topic.

You will note that I have even asked a question myself in some of my replies.

Best Regards
Gustavus

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shendog

I'm wondering why pay for the crane? Toss it over the side. Most of those units dont weigh too much and half the job of tearing it apart might be accomplished for you. What is the crane costing?
(ok ok, probably not practical to just toss it over, but maybe slip the tech $5 to have an "oops" moment :) )

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I'm guessing the crane is going to be there for the new unit anyway, one hour minimum so you might as well move anything that needs moving.

This guy, Gustsvus came out of nowhere with a wealth of information. Nice bro!
AC's i will break down everything. but thats because my yard wont pay more than shred price for a whole appliance. .30/# is actually a good price, but the education you7 get from breaking one down and seeing aprox what the components are and what they are worth will do you much better in the long run. It will give you a jump start on a whole new venture.

If you have the means, i highly recommend it. it is so choice

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Filthy

This guy, Gustsvus came out of nowhere with a wealth of information. Nice bro!
AC's i will break down everything. but thats because my yard wont pay more than shred price for a whole appliance. .30/# is actually a good price, but the education you7 get from breaking one down and seeing aprox what the components are and what they are worth will do you much better in the long run. It will give you a jump start on a whole new venture.

If you have the means, i highly recommend it. it is so choice

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Thank you for you kind words, I came into this world like everyone else, with a blank memory card.

Every scrap of knowledge of I have gained is by reverse engineering other peoples discards, repairing some for resale.

I seen to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, if I may expand his this I will tell a bit more about my thirst.

As a youth spent some time in Haney Correctional where I entered into a 6 month long course in automotive mechanics, the parole board granted me a parole after 4 months, rather than take my freedom declined my parole so that I could complete my course.

Shortly after my release married an upper Fraser Valley girl, getting into scrap to pay the bills, gleaning goods from the scrap I was getting to maximize my income would save anything that could be sold to other shops as cores, good usable tires to these shops, good usable tire casings to the re-cappers, engine blocks and cylinder heads to the re builders, transmissions to the re-builders. Equipment such as forklifts and welders that could be repaired were then sold.

There was a transmission shop that I sold cores to that had just opened it's doors for business, I said to James one day it looks like you guys could use an extra hand, his reply was yes but we do not have the money. I offed to work for free providing that I was not stuck on the floor just doing Re and Re, I wanted into the rebuilding room to learn how to fix automatic transmissions.

I worked there a bit over a year before James was decapitated in an auto accident, I did not particularity care for his partner and decided it was time to move on.

Scraping appliances, sometimes it is only a broken belt on a two year old dryer, why scrap it when the belt only cost you $6.00 and a bit of labor. Once realizing this I read up on refrigeration then started fixing some of the junkers coming in.

Anyone getting a fridge in for scrap, first thing to check it where the temperature dial is set. It it's maxed out you have a winner on your hands. The defrost timer has malfunctioned.

On frost free fridges a defrost cycle is programed to take place every 6 hours which lasts about 20 minutes, this clears the evaporator of excess ice by a heating coil that has now come on, the water from this ice is routed through a plastic tube to a pan in the lower compartment where it will evaporate into the room.

To further check if it is the defrost timer, plug the fridge in, find the timer insert a flat blade screw driver then slowly advance it until the unit starts. Replace the timer the mechanical ones are cheap while the electronic ones will cost you more, usually you can find a deal on ebay for the more expensive timers.

What happens when the defrost timer packs it n, the evaporator clogs up with ice blocking the flow of air which cools the fridge down.

Many window AC units only require cleaning the lint and other debris from the fins to allow the free passage of air to once again flow freely.

Now you have something to sell for more than scrap.

Don't waste your time on chest freezers they're more often leaker's on the high side. A freezer has insulation set between two sheets of metal, were all familiar with the lines of ice that form on the inside of the freezer. This is the low side of the unit, now gently run your hand down the outside wall of the freezer when it is running you will find warm spots this is where the high side coils are hidden.

The high side coil is also looped onto the inner floor, well that ice to see on the inside of the freezer when you peek inside has also formed on the backside hidden from view and this is why you should never unplug an empty freezer this water will melt find it's way to settle out on top of the inner floor then rust out the tubing of the high side, it may only be a pin hole for the refrigerant will leak out rendering the unit worthless.

A leaker can be repaired by installing an external high side coil salvaged from an older refrigerator. Not worth the bother unless you want a cheap unit for yourself.

Just around the time I started learning about appliances, I had bought my wife a brand new matching set washer and dryer these were only 6 moths old when we resold them.

You do not have to be licensed to repair your own equipment, they did however make it more difficult to obtain refrigerants. Sorry I cannot make any comments here on how to reclaim it, other than to say it can be done

I will comment though that refrigerants are a liquid when compressed with a very low boiling temperature turning the liquid into a vapor when given an escape route. This is the principal of how refrigeration works.

Various refrigerants used in the past, propane, ammonia, brine aka salt water, sulfur dioxide then the freon family.

Again thanks for the kind words.

Regards
Gustavus