Fridge and AC Compressors

I am new to the forum and I love the place already. Really useful information from very nice people ...



I am getting started with recycling and have some questions, I still haven't been able to figure out clearly, please guide me ...

1) What sort of compressor have copper and what have Aluminum ?

I read somewhere that the smaller ones 8,10,12 lb have Aluminum and Larger Ones 20,24,26 lb have Copper

Someone else told me the 110 V are Copper and 220 V are Aluminum ...

Is there any reality to this ? How do you judge which ones would have copper ? Is there a way to tell / estimate without opening / cutting ?

2) What is the average amount of Copper in a Compressor ? 5% ? 6 % ? 10 % ?
Say if I have a compressor weighing 10 lbs, how much is Steel, How much is Copper and How much is Oil ?

3) What is the difference between Oil and Oil Free ? Is the make different ? Does one have more copper than the other ?

4) At what price do the scrap yards sell these compressors sealed units ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in anticipation.

Compressors that are wound with aluminum will often times have a ( A ) in the model number and the copper wound will have a (C ) in the model number.

I say often times because it does not always hold true. Nothing more disappointing then opening one up and finding aluminum.

Prices vary, you need to call yards in your area to find out, but if I were you, I'd spend my time cutting them suckers open ! It's worth every minute, as one of our wise scrappers ( I think it was Mick) said recently about compressors.....the key is to work fast !!

Thanks for the info guys ... Any idea about the percentage of copper ? Is price different for Al and Copper compressors ?

To me, electric motors are not worth tearing apart. With compressors, I cut the case off with a torch, which just happens to burn out any excess oil, and sell the inside as electric motor. 20 minutes for $2 worth of copper, or 2 minutes and 10 cents worth of torch juice for $2 worth of electric motor and another 10 cents for the case to make up for the 10 cents of torch gas.

I get $2.25/lb on copper and $.075/lb on steel OR I can sell a load of electric motors for $.34/lb. Hmmm...don't take long to save up a couple thousand dollars worth of motors.

Originally Posted by c4f5

To me, electric motors are not worth tearing apart. With compressors, I cut the case off with a torch, which just happens to burn out any excess oil, and sell the inside as electric motor. 20 minutes for $2 worth of copper, or 2 minutes and 10 cents worth of torch juice for $2 worth of electric motor and another 10 cents for the case to make up for the 10 cents of torch gas.

I get $2.25/lb on copper and $.075/lb on steel OR I can sell a load of electric motors for $.34/lb. Hmmm...don't take long to save up a couple thousand dollars worth of motors.

It seems like you are get less than a pound of copper from the compressor. What would be the actual size (weight) of the whole compressor in this case ? So it seems like $2 Copper + $2 Motor + $0.10 Case = $4.1 Per Compressor. If I buy a sealed unit from a yard, how much would it be ?

Is the copper inside the motor really insignificant to try to open it and bring it out ?

Alphauby...there are other threads that address this issue....keep reading...and have a great weekend.

Dee, we don't have all weekend. The world is ending in a few hours!

31 minutes according to my clock now. And I have been out cleaning up outside and getting dirty all day, when I should have been inside with my wife getting dirty all day.

A friend's grandaughter said she was glad the *rupture* didn't happen !! parrothead.....thanks for the good laugh from your above post.

Next date is December 2012 :-D ... LOL

Hey I am interested in buying electric motor scrap if you have then please reply to this post or you can mail me
Haseeb@tariqbrothers.com

Originally Posted by khokar

Hey I am interested in buying electric motor scrap if you have then please reply to this post or you can mail me
Haseeb@tariqbrothers.com

Ok I'll bite.
I have a bunch of motors, where do I ship them to? Or are you going to come pick up ? How much are you going to pay for them?
Are you going to send me a check? Gosh so many questions I have!

lol injunjoe !!!

Dee I just did a search, this guy is from Pakistan. Boy that is a long way to ship a few motors!

I think he needs to offer a pick-up service,,

Actually I am looking for quantity like 100000 to 200000 lbs. That's why I asked u people for help if u knw?