Light balists

Hi i was wondering i did 2 balists and got 12oz i was wondering if that was true for all of them? They were not pcb ones od course dont want cancer=). One i have now is 3lbs something oz whole with wires cut. Will weigh results whem im done.

By 12oz you're referring to copper, yes? If so that sounds about right but no it's not always that much, there is dramatically less in electronic ballasts which have recovery more like a computer power supply

I was getting 80-100 grams of Copper from the bigger flourescent tube transformers.

It was something that i just put aside untill i needed the Copper $ & knew that with x hours work i could get enough Copper weight.
Its not that hard to peel the backing strip off & punch out the inner Iron squares, or split the 2 lines of ' E 's

Recycle place here will buy em as sealed unit. I take the xopper out of sealed units always takes a while but i like more money lol.

Ok here it is copper transformers i had 2 inside the balist i got 7.2oz of #2. The total weight was 3lb 2.6oz. I just put the tar back in with the steel. It is messy though but it gives me more copper. I didnt steip the wires i sniped off im waiting til spring lol to cold. Warm weather wire stripes better anyway=).

If cutting open sealed units and ballasts takes you awhile then you're not actually getting more money, not if you count your time as valuable. Without an efficient way to clean compressors or ballasts you're losing time that coild be spent getting more material.

Thanks for the tip. Good to know=). Its more of a hobby now since i got a job ugh. Gotta do something to add money to it the pay sucks lol i get 291 foe 40hrs its cause im single they take out a butload=( m gross is 360.

Originally Posted by mike1

the pay sucks lol i get 291 foe 40hrs its cause im single they take out a butload=( m gross is 360.

That's not a buttload. Back in the late 90's, you would take home around $270 on a gross of $360.

I did take some Tar filled ballasts apart once. But I didnt bother with doing that since then.

The mess it made was bad, it didnt smell very good either, and since they didnt have ' [ No PCB's ] on the casing...
Well to me that ment there might be PCB's.
And along with the tar mess was a mix of thin paper insulation impregnated with that tar, & some little wooden block packers, also inc tar. And of course the steel casings got tar too.

Nah, they got sold as 'Transformers'

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

I did take some Tar filled ballasts apart once. But I didnt bother with doing that since then.

The mess it made was bad, it didnt smell very good either, and since they didnt have ' [ No PCB's ] on the casing...
Well to me that ment there might be PCB's.
And along with the tar mess was a mix of thin paper insulation impregnated with that tar, & some little wooden block packers, also inc tar. And of course the steel casings got tar too.

Nah, they got sold as 'Transformers'

Yea definately messy. If you dont count time the copper all adds up you would have to do 3 balists to get slightly over a lb of #2. I dont get them often though so when i get them i take out the copper to go with the rest lol.

Originally Posted by mike1

Yea definately messy. If you dont count time the copper all adds up you would have to do 3 balists to get slightly over a lb of #2. I dont get them often though so when i get them i take out the copper to go with the rest lol.

For the love of g-d count your time. It's the one thing none of us will ever have an infinite amount of on this plane.

Originally Posted by JJinLV

For the love of g-d count your time. It's the one thing none of us will ever have an infinite amount of on this plane.

Your time and health is worth more than the little bit of money. Save the dangerous stuff for someone else. (Unless you are the next Telsa.)

Originally Posted by JJinLV

If cutting open sealed units and ballasts takes you awhile then you're not actually getting more money, not if you count your time as valuable. Without an efficient way to clean compressors or ballasts you're losing time that coild be spent getting more material.

Maybe spend the extra time socializing and meeting the future Mrs. Mike ?



That would change his tax status from single to married filing jointly. Mrs. Mike goes to work and doubles their joint income. Have a couple of kids and the govt. ends up paying them money after the earned income credit is applied.

I dunno .... just a thought.