angle grinder/die grinder?

i was wandering what i should get for the sealed units to open them up? i was thinking about going to walmart and getting a cheap angle grinder what kind of blades work the best for sealed units and how many can you cut through and does it cause sparks that can ignite the oil and go boom? im in the process of taking a sealed unit apart with a hacksaw so if you cut the top off it and leave the motor inside is it a unsealed unit lol im looking to spend no more than 25 dollars will it last? does brand name matter?

There should be sparks as it is a steel housing around that copper. Should not go boom if so let us know and I would assume fewer posts if it did blow up! Just be safe open a few up and see how it goes.

Originally Posted by hobo finds

There should be sparks as it is a steel housing around that copper. Should not go boom if so let us know and I would assume fewer posts if it did blow up! Just be safe open a few up and see how it goes.

lol thanks so have you ever opend one up? have you ever had one catch fire? you know cause of the oil i try and drain out all the oil i can.

oh i see thanks for the info 60 plus pounders? are those the ones that come from the central a/c's? how much does the tanks from window a/c's weigh? i took in 3 tanks as is and it was 75lbs they were from window a/c's. is there really 3 lbs of copper in the compressers from a window a/c the tall round ones it sure did not feel like 3 lbs to me.

I take apart many compressors, but they are the ones from refrigerators and freezers. I prefer not to mess with the AC compressors as the windings on the motors have a heavy coating of varnish/shellac, and are a pain to mess with. The windings on the fridge compressors do not have this same coating, so it is easy to cut and remove the windings from the steel they are wrapped around. I use a angle grinder from Harbor Freight (around $15), and thin metal cutoff blades, again from Harbor Freight ($8 for a pack of 10). Have not had a problem with either, and can generally cut open 2 1/2 to 3 compressors with one blade.

Originally Posted by wayne1956

I take apart many compressors, but they are the ones from refrigerators and freezers.

I prefer the fridge/freezer compressors over the a/c ones myself. Less cutting required.

They are like a beer, pop the top and done

I forgot to mention you can get the items cheaper from Harbor Freight if you have one of their common 20% off coupons. The prices I mentioned are without the coupon (or as Ron White would say, "koop'n")

Originally Posted by greytruck

Yeah the 60+ pounders are the central a/c compressors. Those i cut the top half off and pour out the oil instead of hanging those up.

I would say that there isnt 3 lbs in a window unit compressor, mabey 1 lb. But they all very in sizes of compressors and the size of the a/c itself. The best ones are the big central air ones, now those will have a couple pounds of copper in them unless there is Aluminum windings inside of them. What saved me time is if you can look threw one of the holes on the compressor and if you can see the windings threw the hole, Use a flashlight to see and scratch it to see if the windings are copper or Aluminum. Only will work on some of the bigger compressors, not all of them. I found 2 AL compressors this way

hey thats a good idea especially for me=) best idea yet thanks

Originally Posted by greytruck

Yeah the 60+ pounders are the central a/c compressors. Those i cut the top half off and pour out the oil instead of hanging those up.

I would say that there isnt 3 lbs in a window unit compressor, mabey 1 lb. But they all very in sizes of compressors and the size of the a/c itself. The best ones are the big central air ones, now those will have a couple pounds of copper in them unless there is Aluminum windings inside of them. What saved me time is if you can look threw one of the holes on the compressor and if you can see the windings threw the hole, Use a flashlight to see and scratch it to see if the windings are copper or Aluminum. Only will work on some of the bigger compressors, not all of them. I found 2 AL compressors this way

hm so about how much copper would be in one of the skinny tall window compressors? not sure how much is in it but the copper from that is heavier then the copper i got from a fridge one that was short and round they are both copper maybe since the fridge was newer they use less copper? the window a/c was very old so i bet they use more copper.

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

Hmm, I thought I had replied to this post....

Ok, the bigger units for heatpumps, I find they do not have much more Copper than a good fridge compressor, and sometimes they have Aluminium. All of the time they are far harder to get into....
So I just sell them as sealed units and because they weigh a lot more, the $$$"are still good and theres no extra time taken, no mess at all, and no grinder disc used up either...

I cut open the fridge and freezer compressors. Depending, the cylindrical shaped ones seem to be best cut just above the base plate, the odd shaped egg ones, above the seam.
I save the good cylindrical shaped casings to weld to the right (emptyed and opened) gas bottles to make into ornamental cannons.
There's a thin Copper tube inside most compressors. take that. Maybe some Aluminium, get that too.
Unbolt or cut thru the bolts holding the Iron core/Copper windings on.

Then put them aside for later to cut thru one end of the windings with the angle grinder, or a hacksaw, then pull the windings out the other side.

The Iron core & Compressor casing = HMS Iron.
The compressor part, has Aluminium in it = Contaminated Ali or whatever they call it.

Get someone who uses a angle grinder for a job to teach you how to use it, use the correct size disc with the correct guard.
Use safety glasses and earmuffs.
Have the handle screwed into the left side of the grinder.....
The guard at a 8-2 o'clock position looking direct at the disc face.
Hold the grinder so if it grabs it will pull itself away from you.. And so the sparks stay within the guard, basically rest the 2 o'clock part of the guard on the job to steady the grinder.




NZ$1800..¿?. I know where I can make some nice $$$ from ScrapMetal....

so is the empty motor part also hms? after the wire is out of it and what is the price of hms vs shred if shred is .06 a lbs?

Normally there's a Aluminium bearing on the shaft, most of the time its CastIron though.
There's Aluminium cast into the motor part of the shaft, the cylindrical chunk on its centre.
The pistons often got a Aluminm conrod or end cap and sometimes there's a Aluminium 'oil scoop' pickup on the end of the shaft held on by a tiny grubscrew.

I have separated them, but the noise, hard labour, blood sweat and tears made it not worth it.
Irony, Aluminium.

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

Normally there's a Aluminium bearing on the shaft, most of the time its CastIron though.
There's Aluminium cast into the motor part of the shaft, the cylindrical chunk on its centre.
The pistons often got a Aluminm conrod or end cap and sometimes there's a Aluminium 'oil scoop' pickup on the end of the shaft held on by a tiny grubscrew.

I have separated them, but the noise, hard labour, blood sweat and tears made it not worth it.
Irony, Aluminium.

so do you have some examples of hms? i saw on you tube that a guy said the chunk of steel where the windings were was hms or is it just shred? if shred is .06 a lbs what is hms price?