a/c compressors copper content?

[mike1]

i was thinking about the copper content of a/c compressors i did this one and it had 2lbs num1 and 1lb num2 is 3lbs right for this type? its the tall window a/c one do all motors have 2 different sizes of wire in them? do all compressors of this type have the same amount of copper or does it vary by size of the a/c? do the central a/c compressors have the most weight in copper or is it the smaller ones?

[Patriot76]

First I would refer this question to one of our resident experts, Freon Joe comes to mind. I know there are others and I apologize for not remembering them off the top of my head. One of the advantages of getting old is the brain becomes lighter because it does not hold as much. I know there are several threads on the topic because I have read numerous and never found the answer I needed. There is no doubt it is there, but I got tired of looking and ending up taking a shortcut to find an expert.

This response is from my limited experience. The ratio of number one and number two copper depends on how closely to the solder a person separates it. The number two I end up with is small compared to the number one. Two different sized wires in the motor is common based on my experience. As far as the amount of copper in the compressor and motor I can only say that some scrap yards pay less for larger motors (this is for electric motors in general) because the return is less per pound. Now the experts can answer if this is average and correct any inaccurate statements I made.

I am offering this thread, not because it was mine, but because there are numerous web sites and insights and I was to lazy to copy and paste them all.

https://www.scrapmetalforum.com/scra...+in+the+sticks

[KzScrapper]

I can't offer much help as I haven't opened many up despite being in the biz...The amount of copper in each type of compressor can be inconsistent though. The very large compressors have more value as a core then they do as scrap.

My yard takes them as shred but if you drain the oil the payout is a little more. When I replace A/C systems I will remove the coils, wire and copper pipe and the rest goes in the steel pile , including the compressor, unless it has core value. Maybe sound like a waste but there's only so much time in the day.

Here's a link to the different types of compressors.
https://www.airconditioning-systems....ompressor.html

[eesakiwi]

I have found that the bigger AC compressors don't have much more Copper wire than a standard fridge/freezer compressor.
They are also about 3 times harder to get into with even a 9 inch angle grinder, so they chew up twice the amount of disc.

Then, often the Copper wires wound onto the core & that's still stuck inside to casing (unless you know exactly where to cut it apart, which involves cutting right around the 'spot weld' marks on the casing as well as around it...)

Then, it's got a 1 in 5 chance of having either Aluminium wires, or a mix of Ali/Copper wires...
And all that time you have been lumping around a compressors that's 3 times as heavy as a fridge one.

I sell them 'As is' and it involves even less work than nothing, and they still pay me good $$$ for it.

You simply don't get more $$ for spending more time working on a AC compressor. All you do is 'Spend time' ( & waste grinding discs)