large low speed generators

Hi Folks:

I just spent two hours going over your forum and it is awesome. I am not a full time scrapper, but I have a considerable amount of scrap in the back yard. I'm always collecting stuff and I bought a couple of old hydro generators for $1,500 and spent another $2,500 moving them about 8 years back. I have read through most of the forum pages on motors and scrapping and it does seem that the general opinion is that it is marginally economical to go through and disassemble them for scrapping. I have three GE horizontal, synchronous (have slip rings and separate rotor coils), 600 rpm, 300 hp generators that are not worth repairing. They sat outside for 20 years and the insulation is crap so I want to scrap them. Also, I have two 500 hp vertical, induction (no slip rings), generators that are 180 rpm and they also sat outside too long and are ruined.

The lower the speed of the generator (or motor), the more copper is contained in it. So are the majority of the motors being scrapped by you guys high speed (1800-3600 rpm) or is a mixed lot of high speed and low speed? The 180 rpm generators look like they have significantly more copper than the 600 rpm units.

The 300 hp generators weigh approximately 8,000# each according to GE and the book weight for the 500 hp units are 22,000 # each. Unfortunately, the manufacturers did not break it down into copper versus iron. These are low speed generators so will I get more than 10% weight as copper?

Also, what metal grade are large casting put into? A friend told me the 300 hp units are "original run" cast iron and was worth more, although I think he is full of it.

This is a big project for myself and any advice or insight would be very much appreciated. Thanks


Will

Hi Will I can't answer your questions, but might suggest photos if possible, for those who can

These are pictures of the units. The installed ones have been removed to my back yard. Have any ideas guys? There is a decent amount of copper in them but a lot of cast iron. Thank you

Woah! Those come off of drilling rigs?

They came out of a dam.

they came from a hydroelectric power plant. I removed everything in 2002 and put it into storage. I have tried to sell for the last 10 years for re installation but no bites. The units were running in 1995 but the powerhouse got sold to a yuppie for a garage for his new giant house and was going to throw it all away. The only other non ferrous items I got were three 24" diameter bronze gate valves with bronze bodies.

Any ideas on taking the generators apart? The stator coil bars (square) are thumb thick and each rotor coil is wrapped with a hundred or so wraps of 1/0 or so awg copper wire. Also, I do have a 10,000 # cherry picker/crane to work with. The frame/stator is cast iron and I don't have a band saw big enough to cut it in half.

The other generators unfortunately are in what appears to be a weather tight enclosure but they are steel so I can torch them, but they are heavy duty. I think they came out of a flood pumping station in Virginia, so they were designed heavy.

Can you use a hot saw on them?

whats a hot saw? Is that a burning bar?

No, it looks like a gas powered chop saw with a 16" metal cutting disc on it. Fire departments use them a lot.