How does the scrapyard know what to pay for washingmachines?

**miyamuto** · 09-21-2018, 02:20 AM

How does the scrapyard know How much metals its in a washingmachine for example? Or an unstripped wire?

**Snowman18** · 09-21-2018, 02:47 AM

Originally Posted by miyamuto

How does the scrapyard know How much metals its in a washingmachine for example? Or an unstripped wire?

Weight it up on the scale, by chance do you know how much a M923 Military truck weighs.

Take 10 pounds of insulated wire strip the plastic off then weigh up the two fractions then you'll know how much plastic to deduct for a ton of wire.

Your on your own with the washing machine.

**miyamuto** · 09-21-2018, 02:51 AM

So If you bring unstripped wire to the scrapyard, they stripp it before they pay you?

**Snowman18** · 09-21-2018, 03:07 AM

Originally Posted by miyamuto

So If you bring unstripped wire to the scrapyard, they stripp it before they pay you?

Yea sure why not, this experience would be a good lesson for ya.

Before everyone became environmentally conscious one of the yards I dealt with paid me $0.10 a pound to burn wire. With a three ton flat deck and a gravel truck full of insulated copper it was easy to make twelve hundred in an evening.

Dump it all into a big pile toss on some diesel then flash it up, after the flames died down pump cold water onto the pile to stop the copper from oxidizing.

We had the best returns ( 76% ) that the yard ever got back from a burn and this was after our sticky fingers.

Tells me the guy doing this job before us had a heavier hand.

Thirty percent is factored in for the plastic when copper wire is being purchased or burnt.

**Snowman18** · 09-21-2018, 03:23 AM

Using this technique you could probably still get away with burning copper wire to remove the insulation and get oil from the process to use as heating fuel maybe even turn it into diesel.

Pyrolysis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures in an inert atmosphere.^[1] It involves the change of chemical composition and is irreversible. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements pyro "fire" and lysis "separating".
Pyrolysis is most commonly used to the treatment of organicmaterials. It is one of the processes involved in charringwood, starting at 200–300 °C (390–570 °F).^[2] In general, pyrolysis of organic substances produces volatile products and leaves a solid residue enriched in carbon, char. Extreme pyrolysis, which leaves mostly carbon as the residue, is called carbonization.
The process is used heavily in the chemical industry, for example, to produce ethylene, many forms of carbon, and other chemicals from petroleum, coal, and even wood, to produce coke from coal. Aspirational applications of pyrolysis would convert biomass into syngas and biochar, waste plastics back into usable oil, or waste into safely disposable substances

**eesakiwi** · 09-21-2018, 04:41 AM

I was getting a 66% return on random electrical wire after burning too. Yep, you need to cool it down right after burning or it oxidises & ruins the return.

Last week I ended up selling 88Kg of plastic coated wire for NZ$174. I could have got just over $300-$330 for it if I burnt it.
But it's not so environmentally friendly these days & my good secluded spots not available to use any more..

I did that pyroalisis thing once, small scale. The solvent it made was far far more flammable than petrol.
Hydrogen sulphide fumes stopped me finishing the experiment.

**hobo finds** · 09-21-2018, 07:35 AM

No burning wire for me the yard won't take it.

**SKWrapper** · 09-21-2018, 01:07 PM

Originally Posted by miyamuto

How does the scrapyard know How much metals its in a washingmachine for example? Or an unstripped wire?

Because they already know about how much metal is in an average washer and un-stripped wire so they just pay by weight. They also go by how much metal is selling for so the price per pound or ton can vary by day. The price of metal is down now because of new tariffs.

To further clarify, it doesn't matter if you bring them a washer, dryer, stove, car door or a solid beam if steel or iron, if it's ferrous (meaning if a magnet sticks to it), they weigh all of it together and you get paid per pound. As the seller you are responsible for knowing if you have aluminum, stainless steel or copper you want to save before putting it into the ferrous pile etc... Yes typically they take the whole appliance even with the cardboard, paper and plastic in it etc...

No they don't strip wire before they pay you for it. Same thing as with ferrous metal (washers etc...) they pay by weight.

There are 2 grades of wire, a wire with not much copper and alot of insulation is "low grade" - extension cords etc...

#1 wire is thicker wire with less insulation.

#1 wire pays more than #2 per pound. If you bring them a container of mixed wire and don't separate it, they will not separate it for you. They will weigh all of it and pay you for #2.