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1 Posts |
 Posted - 07/10/2007 : 23:50:19
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Air conditioner disassembly safety & Electric motors
Well I’m new to scraping (I’m guessing that’s the right term?) after reading a few online articles on the subject and this forum I’ve decided to give it a try, I’ve already got a small pile of items to strip on my back porch that I picked out of junk piles I saw just in the last two days driving to work and back.
My first question is about two items I saw today that I passed on. I was at a friend’s apartment and found two old AC units next to his dumpsters but I didn’t take them because well I know they have copper in them (and these were big heavy units) I’m more then a little afraid of the Freon in them. I remember years ago hearing about Freon being heavier then air and once you got it in your lungs you couldn’t get it out, it would displace the air.
As someone with bad lungs to begin with I’m wondering how to “safely” strip them? Is this really even as big a hazard as I think it is.
My second question is should I bother striping the copper out of electric motors? I took apart my first fan last night and when I got the motor out I ripped off the plastic and got out wire snips and took the copper off of it, leaving me with a Tupperware full of short bits of copper wire.
Is that kind of thing worth the bother or should I just leave the wire wound around the motors and just bring them in when I have a bucket full of motors?
Thanks for any info/advice you all may have.
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pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2007 : 14:19:50
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Welcome to the forum, Draskinn. Here is my advice on the motors-
Most, if not all scrapyards will pay for either pure or near pure scrap (pure as in just one type of metal, 95%-100% copper, 95%-100% aluminum, etc.) I was able to sell some broken up aluminum lawn chairs after removing the webbing, though there were still a little bit of steel with the chairs (the rusted screws that wouldn't come out.) Since it was 99% aluminum the scrapyard took them.
Think of it this way, the scrap yard can only stay in business and be profitable if the metals come separated. It costs time and money to separate the copper from a fan motor and most scrap yards would rather the scrap seller do the work.
As for the air conditioner question, that is a tough one. Since the law was passed to prevent the cheap and easy removal of air conditioner gas (an ozone damaging vapor) the freon/coolant must be disposed of properly, so air conditioner repair businesses must have the equipment to remove the old gas from air conditioners. I suppose a company that repairs air conditioners or heating has the equipment to do the job, though the cost of getting the freon out might make it expensive and not worth the bother of recycling air conditioners.
Sorry for the discouraging news, though for every source of scrap that you can't get, there will be two sources you can.
Good luck and welcome aboard the forum.
I should have chosen "Cut-n-Paste" as a forum name, since that is what I do, mostly. |
Edited by - pencilvanian on 07/11/2007 14:23:06 |
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1 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 06:24:51
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Ac units will make you good money fast with just a few.
I find them and scrap them all the time, the more & bigger the better.
There is CU#2 pipe, insulated wire, motor, and CU/AL Rads.
The Rads you have to remove the steel from the sides before turning them in.
As far as freon and ozone go, it's not a big deal, I cut the CU pipe with bolt cutters and run away upwind untill just air is comming out, them I cut it up some more. I really don't like getting a blast of the stuff in my face but it happens sometimes. I have asthma and never had any trouble after this. I do take a shower afterwards though. |
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wavecrazed
Penny Sorter Member
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2007 : 18:39:18
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Ac units are good sources of scrap. The motors are selling now for 10 cents a lb and dont have to take them apart much. The fan blade on some motors are aluminum. Cut off the wire and find a place that buys it unstripped. I get 1.00 a lb now for it. The steel is good to. The copper core is good. Take a sawsaw and cut off the end tanks. You will get around 1.30 usa a lb for the core. They call it refers.
scrappin" all over |
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11 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2007 : 05:30:18
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To Coolmodee:
If you want to cut the lines and vent out the refrigerant, that's fine. But if I see you do it, I'm reporting your ass to the EPA so I can collect the $25000 fine. It's people like you that have no requard for the enviroment that have helped cause the global warming mess that we are in . These laws were passed to prevent the unregulated release of Refrigerant into the ozone layer. This is a big deal.
To the original poster, I would grab those units, and advertise in your local pennysaver. You might get 25 bucks or so for them. Especially since it's still summer. |
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Jason
Penny Pincher Member
USA
138 Posts |
Posted - 08/15/2007 : 01:33:43
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| This topic reminds me of my younger and dumber years. I huffed freon on several occasions. I still don't know why i'm alive today. And, oh yeah, that whole global warming thing, I plain don't believe in it. |
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c140cessna
Penny Collector Member
USA
419 Posts |
Posted - 08/15/2007 : 20:22:40
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Global warming is a scientific FACT. I'm a scientist (mechanical engineer) and understand these topics fairly well. "Fossil Fuel Man" has had a fantastic impact on the thermal character of earth in the past 100 years. We should try to respect the proper management of waste freon .....it has a horrible impact on our upper atmosphere ozone.
I'm all about scrapping myself....but try to respect the fact that we all share this earth. I'm not a tree hugger or anything like that ...but being a jack-hole with freon is just like dumping motor oil down the drain....plain stupid.....for the minor amount if money you save/make by not following proper disposal.
M41/0.48USMI:US1Cu160000,CA1Cu282000,CA5Ni30000 |
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wavecrazed
Penny Sorter Member
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 09/25/2007 : 07:24:09
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Took apart an electric fan motor yesterday. It was about 3/4 horse power. Unscrewed the ends and the rotor on bearings pulled out. Some of that looks to be cast aluminum. I then took a sawsall and cut a line all the way through it from top to bottom. Doing this in my large vice on the work bench. I was then able to remove the houseing by hammering it open and the copper coil was hammered out. Then I cut the ends off the copper with the sawsaw. I hammered them a lot and distored them previously. I would recommend to make one nice cut through the copper wire sticking out on one end only. the other end should pull out. The copper is wrapped in paper, string and glue. I think a torch would be a good start at burning off this paper. Cost, one sawsaw blade, 2.00$ electric for saw...????. metals recoverd aluminum, 2.4 lbs of copper, and some steel. Probally around 5 dollars of copper. More than the .10 there paying a pound at the recycler.
scrappin" all over |
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horgad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1641 Posts |
Posted - 09/25/2007 : 08:20:11
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I am not getting into the freon disposal debate, but back in the day when there were no laws regulating freon disposal the risk that I always heard about had nothing to do with your lungs. It had to do with your eyes. That stuff comes out super cold and if you get a blast into your eye, you can get a case of "frozen" eye. So IMHO goggles are a must.
You must be logged in to see this link.
"11A1. Precaution. Since Freon 12 is practically odorless and nontoxic, it is not necessary to wear a gas mask when servicing equipment that contains it. However, it is essential that proper protection be afforded the eyes by the use of goggles or large-lensed spectacles to eliminate the possibility of liquid Freon 12 coming in contact with the eyes and causing injury by freezing the tissues of the eyes. This protection is necessary and should be taken whenever loosening a connection on a system in which Freon 12 is confined." |
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - 09/25/2007 : 18:01:09
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quote:
Originally posted by horgad
I am not getting into the freon disposal debate, but back in the day when there were no laws regulating freon disposal the risk that I always heard about had nothing to do with your lungs. It had to do with your eyes. That stuff comes out super cold and if you get a blast into your eye, you can get a case of "frozen" eye. So IMHO goggles are a must.
You must be logged in to see this link.
"11A1. Precaution. Since Freon 12 is practically odorless and nontoxic, it is not necessary to wear a gas mask when servicing equipment that contains it. However, it is essential that proper protection be afforded the eyes by the use of goggles or large-lensed spectacles to eliminate the possibility of liquid Freon 12 coming in contact with the eyes and causing injury by freezing the tissues of the eyes. This protection is necessary and should be taken whenever loosening a connection on a system in which Freon 12 is confined."
I am in the HVAC/R industry. Most older commercial and residential A/C units contain R22. Freezers and coolers are different. Most new units installed these days contain R410a. R410a is non-ozone depleting. R22 is being phased out. Releasing any refrigerant into the air is irresponsible. Freon is actually a trademark of DuPont's for its refrigerants, but it is used generically by a lot of people.
Deal
p.s. Yes you can get good money for scrapping A/Cs. However anyone cutting and running, is probably stealing an A/C.
I'm so sick over pennies....I frequently trade a dime or two for the whole "take-a-penny" container if sufficient coppers exist. That will get you some odd looks. |
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wavecrazed
Penny Sorter Member
USA
69 Posts |
 Posted - 11/09/2007 : 20:59:26
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Wow I just found out that some of the electric motors have aluminum base and copper clad windings. I just sawed open some swimming pool motors to the tune of 2 dollars each for sawzall blades and and hour of labor to find out the stuff is aluminum. Dang it man. You can tell first by just scratching or cutting some of the windings and you will see silver instead of copper.
scrappin" all over |
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4 Posts |
Posted - 11/16/2007 : 10:40:04
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| How about recyling the cloroflorocarbons for a profit? Surely someone locally would love to have an affordable source of R12 for their vintage automobile a/c unit. I own two(wife says we only need one)67 mustangs that are still on R12.Leaks over the winter(just a few ounces), every summer I have to scrounge for just enough to get it up to operating pressure-expensive. Come up with a trade center for cleaning and redistributing all the old R12 and reselling to car buffs. Might charge only a small fee to remove and resell to car buffs. Solves (temporarily) the environmental issues.Yes I know, I should get the leaks fixed and switch to R134A. |
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deleted
24 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2009 : 15:44:43
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hurmm, Global warming. Damn thoese Chinamen... its there fault.. =-p
I just found this while surfing..
Toxic smoke from Puerto Rico fire a health risk
You must be logged in to see this link. |
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Edited by - n/a on 10/24/2009 16:22:23 |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2009 : 17:05:16
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quote:
Originally posted by bulldognagy
How about recyling the cloroflorocarbons for a profit? Surely someone locally would love to have an affordable source of R12 for their vintage automobile a/c unit. I own two(wife says we only need one)67 mustangs that are still on R12.Leaks over the winter(just a few ounces), every summer I have to scrounge for just enough to get it up to operating pressure-expensive. Come up with a trade center for cleaning and redistributing all the old R12 and reselling to car buffs. Might charge only a small fee to remove and resell to car buffs. Solves (temporarily) the environmental issues.Yes I know, I should get the leaks fixed and switch to R134A.
Nah, that R12 is much better. I have several cans of it in my hoard. If I ever put the 69 Charger R/T SE (I only have 1) back on the road, it might come in handy. Or I could just sell the cans. What is the going rate for R12 cans now?  |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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Air conditioner disassembly safety & Electric moto
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