Lets talk pots and pan and other kitchen items.

I have read where some on you talk about scrapping pot's and pan's and utensil. Question is, what do you look for? How do you separate it?

There are some pots in Al. and SS, I can throw them in as they are, no need to take off the handle.

I have a whole box of aluminum pots and pans I'm waiting to scrap. They are old and I got them from a house clean out. I took the ones that were in good shape.

Take the time to remove steel or other non metal parts to make sure that you get clean prices. With utensils, be on the look out for silver. Took 2 to a jeweler friend of mine. I need to go pick up $20. Not bad for 2 spoons.

I had 24 pounds of aluminum pots, pans, trays, skillets...etc...I was kind of "off" today at the yard, but was still evaluating their honesty and demeanor...ended up getting 9 cents a pound because of the plastic handles on some of the pots and pans...I understand where they are coming from...but was that a **** move on their part? the guy that graded and weighed me out was giving off bad vibes, shooting down every question I asked like if they buy pewter or carbide and "they buy it as steel"...they've also done a few things like I had two al/cu radiators and an aluminum coil laying down by the scale with all my other stuff and when I looked at my receipt I had just 9 pounds of aluminum coil...I felt like that was low so either way i'm finding a new yard...

Originally Posted by DopenScrapple

I had 24 pounds of aluminum pots, pans, trays, skillets...etc...I was kind of "off" today at the yard, but was still evaluating their honesty and demeanor...ended up getting 9 cents a pound because of the plastic handles on some of the pots and pans...I understand where they are coming from...but was that a **** move on their part? the guy that graded and weighed me out was giving off bad vibes, shooting down every question I asked like if they buy pewter or carbide and "they buy it as steel"...they've also done a few things like I had two al/cu radiators and an aluminum coil laying down by the scale with all my other stuff and when I looked at my receipt I had just 9 pounds of aluminum coil...I felt like that was low so either way i'm finding a new yard...

Plastic handles on aluminum pots and pans = dirty aluminum no questions asked

Now if the yard guy was in a good mood and the boss allows him to give advice on sorting, he may have told you to pull out the clean ones. Just remember that it is not the yard's job to sort your material or even tell you how to sort it. They make more money off you if you don't sort it. on any mixed items, 99% of the time they are going to pay you for the lowest item.

I get it, it's on me...and he gave me the heads up...and they made more money today...but now they may risk losing me and the couple hundred pounds I bring in a week...small potatoes but still. I'd rather they say well 24 x 60 cents is 1440, but we're giving you 10 cuz this was "breakage" instead of saying oh your 24 pounds of AL is actually only 21.5 pounds so you get ~2.40 cents...idk then again a lot of the pans came out of a construction dumpster on a residential property that I was denied permission to be in from the owner but I did it a few nights anyways. I guess that's karma for ya...those ill gotten gains always turn to gravel...

sorry to derail but i'm doing some google searches and now I'm afraid I might have turned in 30 pounds of carbide or titanium wire...possibly welding wire...I found it in an apartment complex dumpster that is undergoing renovations and I found it with a bunch of coax cable and I just thought the two were related...then again idk why I would have found 30 pounds of a high dollar wire all bundled up like that...

I find the bigger name scrapyards are better to deal with.
They make their money on metal turnover.
The more they pay for the metal, because of the higher grade it comes in as, the bigger their percentage of profit is.
Its better for them to educate their sellers about the metals and how to break it down.

Because they do that their seller makes more money, and comes back because they know they are not being ripped off because of bad grading. That way they get a higher value metal that takes up the same space as the lower value metal, with a higher $ return.

The bigger companys don't want their workers trying to upgrade their own metal because its sorta dangerous and can cost them more in the long run.
Its better to just get the metal, at its highest value, then turn it over once and sell it. Every time they turn it over, it costs them money.
They want more metal at higher value and to turn it over quicker. With less overheads, they are not chasing the small dollar.

Luckily, my non ferrous yard buys all my pots and pans as old aluminum for approx .55 WITHOUT removing handles or screws. They also buys screen doors and similar items with screws for this price. Lot less work

Keep them incase you have a bear encounter

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

I don't know how many times I've set behind some people in line for non-ferrous while they set in their vehicle and let the yard guys sort out their mixed pile of crap. I'd be telling them to get their lazy butt out and sort it so I don't have to pay an employee to do it for you.
My yard is constantly shocked that I bring everything in presorted and ready to weigh, 5 min in and out. Sorry for the rant.

As Mech indicated, some yards will sort for you and some won't. Others, it depends on the day, the worker and the scrapper. It just amazes me how many uneducated scrappers are out there. Can't tell you how many times I've seen people come in with extrusions from screen windows or storm windows and they didn't cut the ends off. They left the cast aluminum connectors on. My main yard will then grade this as sheet aluminum instead of extrusions. For the average person off the street that 40 cents compared to 58 cents. Maybe there time is worth more than the effort. This goes for other items as well. How hard is to clean your copper (remove brass and any areas of solder) to get mostly #1? There are guys in all the time that can't be bothered.

My yard is pretty clear. If there is anything on it, it is not clean. And I don't get different prices for sheet vs extruded.