Breakers and motor starters

**metallmike** · 01-05-2013, 05:02 PM

Greetings. I am new here and have found some very cool info so far. I have recently been scrapping breakers and starters. I have read here that there can be palladium found in breakers. I am having trouble distinguishing two types of contacts that I have found. One is obviously silver. The other is magnetic which is very confusing. Is palladium magnetic? How do I tell the difference between palladium and silver?

Cheers

**etack** · 01-05-2013, 05:52 PM

If you are doing breakers and motor starters odds are you don't have Pd. if they are magnetic they might contain Ni. do you have any pics?

I love these.
Eric

**SanFordNSonrevisted** · 01-05-2013, 06:01 PM

Breakers like the panel box ones?
Never thought of those. Have quite a few from my construction days in a box in the basement.

**etack** · 01-05-2013, 06:14 PM

House hold breakers contain silver but they are a lot of work to get at. Think .75-1g a pound in silver. Larger 480V have more but they are most of the time AgWx contacts about 40% silver.

Eric

**gustavus** · 01-05-2013, 06:26 PM

When it comes to precious metals never believe what you hear only what you see, a simple to make testing solution - stannous chloride becomes your eyes.

Grab a copy of Hokes Refining Precious Metals Wastes from SCIBID, http://www.scribd.com/doc/2815953/Re...astes-C-M-Hoke

Or read the info on the URL, Stannous Chloride

DMG gives better results for palladium, http://goldrefiningforum.com/~goldre...hp?f=58&t=9158

Testing precious metals by the same author, does not involve refining only how to identify a precious metal. http://www.scribd.com/doc/14426836/T...etals-CM-Hoke1