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giddyup99
Penny Pincher Member
USA
154 Posts |
 Posted - 07/30/2009 : 20:36:23
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Anybody here melt down their aluminum for easier storage? Me and the neighbor got together and melted a bunch of cans over a bonfire the other night. Fun, but maybe not practical over the long run? We got a couple of 3 lb loaves out of the deal. They look pretty good.
Is scrap aluminum just a standard price with the metal guys, or is there different grades like copper. I guess what I'm asking is do I get more bringing in unaltered cans or if I melt them down and scoop out the impurities and oxidized junk on top? I think the city recycle place only pays aroung $.25 a lb so If I'm reducing that to $.15 or something by melting it, I'm just wasting my time.
I usually just give the cans to the boy scouts or babe ruth baseball teams, but if I can pile up a few hundred pounds and not have it take up all my garage space; I'd probably hang onto it.
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Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. |
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Market Harmony
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1274 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2009 : 23:52:16
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quote:
Originally posted by giddyup99
Anybody here melt down their aluminum for easier storage? Me and the neighbor got together and melted a bunch of cans over a bonfire the other night. Fun, but maybe not practical over the long run? We got a couple of 3 lb loaves out of the deal. They look pretty good.
Is scrap aluminum just a standard price with the metal guys, or is there different grades like copper. I guess what I'm asking is do I get more bringing in unaltered cans or if I melt them down and scoop out the impurities and oxidized junk on top? I think the city recycle place only pays aroung $.25 a lb so If I'm reducing that to $.15 or something by melting it, I'm just wasting my time.
I usually just give the cans to the boy scouts or babe ruth baseball teams, but if I can pile up a few hundred pounds and not have it take up all my garage space; I'd probably hang onto it.
Got a picture of your bars? I don't know about the rest of your message, but I'd like to see your handy-work... there might be an opportunity for you to sell them for more than the scrap yard would take them. |
goto the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org |
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jtm3
Penny Pincher Member
USA
187 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2009 : 08:49:00
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how hot was your fire?
What did you use to form the ingots.
Every time I throw a can into a fire it seems relatively unchanged. it just looks crushed. |
Copper Cent Hoarding Wiki
coppercenthoarding.wikia.com
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Edited by - jtm3 on 08/02/2009 19:07:14 |
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Bluegill
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1964 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2009 : 16:19:55
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quote:
Originally posted by giddyup99
Is scrap aluminum just a standard price with the metal guys, or is there different grades like copper.
There are different grades with different prices. There is new cast, old cast, extrusions, No. 9, irony aluminum. Just to name a few.
I don't think a scrap dealer is going to take your word on the purity of your melted down aluminum. If they buy it, they might not give you the best price. But ask them, you never know... I would not melt it down, but that is just me.
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Edited by - Bluegill on 07/31/2009 16:20:33 |
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Cupronickel
Penny Pincher Member
USA
110 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2009 : 16:35:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Bluegill
quote:
Originally posted by giddyup99
Is scrap aluminum just a standard price with the metal guys, or is there different grades like copper.
There are different grades with different prices. There is new cast, old cast, extrusions, No. 9, irony aluminum. Just to name a few.
I don't think a scrap dealer is going to take your word on the purity of your melted down aluminum. If they buy it, they might not give you the best price. But ask them, you never know... I would not melt it down, but that is just me.
Agree. Melting cans and losing weight due to oxidation, doesn't make economic sense. A yard is going to look at that frothy mess and probably pass on buying. |
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giddyup99
Penny Pincher Member
USA
154 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2009 : 19:50:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Market Harmony
quote:
Originally posted by giddyup99
Anybody here melt down their aluminum for easier storage? Me and the neighbor got together and melted a bunch of cans over a bonfire the other night. Fun, but maybe not practical over the long run? We got a couple of 3 lb loaves out of the deal. They look pretty good.
Is scrap aluminum just a standard price with the metal guys, or is there different grades like copper. I guess what I'm asking is do I get more bringing in unaltered cans or if I melt them down and scoop out the impurities and oxidized junk on top? I think the city recycle place only pays aroung $.25 a lb so If I'm reducing that to $.15 or something by melting it, I'm just wasting my time.
I usually just give the cans to the boy scouts or babe ruth baseball teams, but if I can pile up a few hundred pounds and not have it take up all my garage space; I'd probably hang onto it.
Got a picture of your bars? I don't know about the rest of your message, but I'd like to see your handy-work... there might be an opportunity for you to sell them for more than the scrap yard would take them.
I'm at the lake right now and my bars are at home...I'll snap a pic for you once I get back. I hadn't really thought of selling them other than to a scrap yard. |
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. |
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giddyup99
Penny Pincher Member
USA
154 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2009 : 19:56:11
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quote:
Originally posted by jtm3
how hot was your fire?
What did you use to form the ingots.
Every time I throw a can into a fire it seems relatively unchanger. it just looks crushed.
Not sure exactly how hot the fire was. Obviously over the melting point of aluminum (around 1300 deg.), but not hot enough to melt copper (2000 deg) as we tried that too.
We just used a cast iron bread pan and a muffin tin to make the ingots. |
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. |
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giddyup99
Penny Pincher Member
USA
154 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2009 : 20:10:41
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quote:
Originally posted by Cupronickel
quote:
Originally posted by Bluegill
quote:
Originally posted by giddyup99
Is scrap aluminum just a standard price with the metal guys, or is there different grades like copper.
There are different grades with different prices. There is new cast, old cast, extrusions, No. 9, irony aluminum. Just to name a few.
I don't think a scrap dealer is going to take your word on the purity of your melted down aluminum. If they buy it, they might not give you the best price. But ask them, you never know... I would not melt it down, but that is just me.
Agree. Melting cans and losing weight due to oxidation, doesn't make economic sense. A yard is going to look at that frothy mess and probably pass on buying.
Yeah, I knew I was losing some weight due to oxidation. I scooped out all the junk off the top so the bars look pretty good. They store a heck of a lot easier than bags of cans, but I figure even if I'm losing 10-15% of the value its worth it, because I can wait until the price is high and make it up. Without having to make 30 trips with a load of cans. Plus, its pretty fun. |
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. |
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jonflyfish
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
693 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2009 : 22:10:33
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| It's amazing what one can learn on this forum. |
The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; second is war. Both bring a temporary (and false) prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunities. |
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Gr33nday43
New Member
Uzbekistan
10 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2009 : 21:19:47
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| Be sure to post the pictures soon, I'd love to see them. |
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lewbo
Penny Pincher Member
USA
221 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2009 : 21:47:41
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| Yes, please post pictures and maybe some of how you did it, seems like a fun activity for those late night parties. |
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giddyup99
Penny Pincher Member
USA
154 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2009 : 21:11:43
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Ok guys, here is my bar, sorry it took me so long to get to it. Its just a hair under 3 lbs.
It looks pretty good from this side:
But the other side I get this unsightly shrink cavity.
Market, maybe you have some input for me. Do all metals do this? Or is this just a property of aluminum? Anything I can do to minimize or eliminate it? I may try casting something in sand just for kicks and see how that turns out
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Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. |
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jtm3
Penny Pincher Member
USA
187 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2009 : 21:28:16
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Very nice giddyup!
Do all metals do this?
Yes
Check out "Preventing Casting Defects" at Backyardmetalfoundy.com
I think thats what I will do with all my cans.
Do you know the purity of aluminum in cans?
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Copper Cent Hoarding Wiki
coppercenthoarding.wikia.com
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Market Harmony
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1274 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2009 : 21:39:43
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quote:
Originally posted by giddyup99
Ok guys, here is my bar, sorry it took me so long to get to it. Its just a hair under 3 lbs...
...Market, maybe you have some input for me. Do all metals do this? Or is this just a property of aluminum? Anything I can do to minimize or eliminate it? I may try casting something in sand just for kicks and see how that turns out
First of all, I think that bar looks absolutely awesome. You did a great job! It will certainly sell for much more than spot if you put it up on eBay or maybe even here on the realcent buy / sell / trade section.
All metals shrink when cooled, some more than others. And some cool faster than others. It's based on the heat coefficient of the material. Density of the metal also play a part. For example: silver will not shink as much as aluminum, given the same conditions.
The depression effect that you have is due to the cooling of the metal. When you pour it into the mold, at first it is a nice even molten bath of metal, but the sides will cool faster than the center, as that is where the heat is lost. As it cools, it shrinks. When it shrinks, the center of the bar actually pulls toward the outside. When it pulls towards the outside, the only place where the center to go is down. i.e. This displacement from the cooling causes the center to fall in order to fill in the shrinkage from the outside.
You can try to heat the mold before you pour so that there is slower outside shrinkage due to decreased heat loss from the ingot to the mold.
Good luck on the sand molds. I don't know much about that part, but keep us informed. |
goto the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org |
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hobo finds
Penny Hoarding Member
838 Posts |
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jtm3
Penny Pincher Member
USA
187 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2009 : 22:49:10
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| I would love to buy it if you could hold up the listing long enough for me to cash in my zincs from my latest bank run. |
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jtm3
Penny Pincher Member
USA
187 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2009 : 22:51:31
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quote:
Originally posted by hobo finds
$.48 cents for the ingot, Better than what I got for cans.. You must be logged in to see this link.
That's per pound right?
This is 3 pounds.
I would be willing to pay $3-5 plus shipping, but who know what it will go for on the realcent auction forum.
Maybe more mabe less |
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Cupronickel
Penny Pincher Member
USA
110 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2009 : 16:50:08
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| Very nice looking ingot! Don't worry about the shrink, even JM cast 100 oz Ag bars have them! |
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AGgressive Metal
Administrator
USA
1937 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2009 : 16:55:44
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| Very nice! I'd pay well over the scrap price for sure. Honestly, that is a really nice bar for backyard work. |
And he that hath lyberte ought to kepe hit wel / For nothyng is better than lyberte / For lyberte shold not be wel sold for alle the gold and syluer of all the world.
-Caxton's edition of Aesop's Fables, 1484 |
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jtm3
Penny Pincher Member
USA
187 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2009 : 18:07:50
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Can we see some of your muffin ingots.
Great work in the loaf bar! |
Copper Cent Hoarding Wiki
coppercenthoarding.wikia.com
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Kurr
1000+ Penny Miser Member
2906 Posts |
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Bluegill
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1964 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2009 : 18:32:14
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You did do a nice job there. 
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Melting Aluminum?
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