I also try and only break down transformers when all my neighbors are at work. But I also live right next to a Chrysler dealership and their service department is right next to my house, all day long you can hear impact guns, their industrial car wash firing up, all kinds of banging, and they’re always revving up those SRT challengers and chargers. So I can get away with a lot that I normally wouldn’t be able to. LOL Thanks for watching.
That was awesome!! When you started saying "the press" I was worried you had some fancy equipment I couldn't afford, but the table situation was brilliant.
I run a commercial lighting company and we just finally finished our 15th gaylord full. We ended up with about 20k lbs of copper. We have a 30 ton hydraulic press that we use sometimes, but the fastest way to do them is to put them on a hard surface (we use a 1/2" steel welding table), turn the weld lines horizontal to you, and smack the hell out of em with a 3lb sledge right on the weld with an angled swing towards you and using the edge of the head on the hammer. I can usually split the outer short iron away in 2-3 smacks. Then we have rectangular holes cut out in the table that allow for different size cores to sit in. Then smack the center short iron out of the copper coil and use a demo chisel of the correct width to finish it off.
Wow that’s a lot of copper and steel. I do the same thing with a 4 pound sledge. Where are you located? I’m in South Florida and I buy a ton of these from electrical contractors. Wait to you see my next video On how fast my press works. Thanks for watching
Dang, you still have all 10 fingers right?! That was a great video. The presses you made are so cool. Work smarter not harder. Those copper chunks add up fast.
Thanks man. Ive run them in similar ways but you got a better set up than I had. I was just using a vice on the back of my truck to hold things. it wasn't even bolted down. If I get bored this winter I might build a table and try a few runs of them. I think I used to profit like 17 cents a pound with the spread I had on them.
@@ProjectShopFl I used to buy them from the scrap yards so the margin was pretty thin. I'm gathering prices again to see if I can make money off them in this area.
@@ProjectShopFl I'm in Ohio now. by lima. I used to live on the other side of Pa so prices are a bit different and Ohio has weird laws that make it more difficult to buy and sell scrap.
Im glad I watched this video. I was trying to hit the copper off the steel rather than hitting the steel off the copper. Im going to give your approach a go, although it will be a month or more before I do. It takes me a long time to grab a bunch of microwave transformers scrapping, to be ready to process a bunch.
I went back in time to see if I could find the forklift. I remembered it was parked next to the transformer press. There it was. Looking forward to seeing it reassembled.
Thank you, I do not break those transformers down with a hammer all the time. I run them through my hydraulic presses and I only use the hammer when one doesn’t break all the way. I have other videos on it and I’m about to drop one on my whole process
A true scrapper...even though there is crap every, its really just like dollar bills all over in the form of metal. Nothing makes me happier than cleaning up my work area and finding bits of copper and aluminum all over!
M8 that was a good lesson . I woukd like to add that a hammer , isn't called a hammer, the real name is a speed wrench . Keep up the good work. God bless y'all.
We use the same Hammer but we don't use the same blades we use diamond blades and the reason why is because they create less dust and last longer.normally we don't cut too much steel with the diamond blades we normally just cut the copper. Good video thanks for showing us how you do it.we also don't hold our transformers We normally beat them on the ground and sit in a low profile chair.
I normally don’t beat them with a hammer. I was just showing how I would do it and have done it if you don’t have a machine like I do. My next video will show the capacity of my hydraulic presses. It’s pretty impressive
@@ProjectShopFl I'd like to see a video on how you made that. I used to use one years ago and I used to crack open sealed units and the transformers. Mine was an old log splitter with a steel block to make the shaft go all the way.it was really old and beat up but it worked really well. The press that you have looks really helpful and takes out a lot of the labor intensiveness. I think you make really good videos thanks for making them.
I think you have given a lot of thought to be efficient. You got this pretty well down to a science, nice job! There are guys out there who know hydraulics who can likely design a press to do that pounding and possibly cutting. Not criticizing your process cause it’s working.
Whoa! You're a beast! Can't believe you still have 10 fingers. Thanks for the video. You have convinced me to leave them intact and just be happy with the $06. a pound they will give me. Please be careful.❤ I was a nervous wreck watching you. 😳
They are worth so much more than six cents a pound. If use a grinder on the welds you don’t have to beat them like I do. Also I don’t normally break them like this I have hydraulic press is that do it way faster. I can do 3 to 4 a minute. I’m dropping a video on it soon.I’m just having issues with my editing software.
Most of those transformers I’ve been burned up, a lot of times by lightning. I get them from electricians that change them out. You should check out my latest video on how to make $900 an hour Scraping transformers th-cam.com/video/aL9jkAn8uyo/w-d-xo.html
I use a portable band saw to score the welds, the blades last a long time. Takes one brute force step out of the process ! I like your table with the sliding plates to knock out the cores. I unwind the copper as well to clean it up better, but I am not doing the volume that you are. New to the channel !
Do you get a better price for unwinding the coils? I’ve never thought about using a bandsaw before, I’ve done that with a grinder but cutting the welds to me is a extra step and coast $. This was the fastest and cheapest way I found to break them in my opinion, I know there are many ways. Other than a hammer mill, I haven’t seen anything that can break them down as fast as my press. I can easily do a ton + an hour. Thanks for watching and the info
@@ProjectShopFl Not sure if I get a better price but I don't like to leave anything to chance ! I have thought about making a jig for my hydraulic press to crack them but I am only a hobby scrapper.
@@CruiserMac I would bring one to the scrap yard that you haven’t unwound and see if it’s the same price, it should be number two copper either way. I hate to see people working harder than they have to.
You’re gonna want to watch the video I’m about to drop where explain how my hydraulic press works. If you’re going to get a lot of these you’re gonna wanna watch this video.
Awesome set up! Im an electrician specializing in lighting so i get piles of these after doing parking lot retrofit. 1000w poletops are where the money's at but wall packs are just fine. I would love to have such a streamlined system to break xfos so quickly. For the moment, the way i break them, ill put the xfo in the vise with the welds closer together facing the top, next, ill take a 7/8" cold chisel to the weld on the laminated core. When the chisel is lined up juuuust right, it only takes but 1 swift blow of the 4lbs to crack open 7/8" length of laminations. Reapeat process for both top welds and then bend the exterior core outwards till the bottom welds break. Next, ill sit the coil on the jaws of the vise and whack the top of the core to send it right through into the steel bucket and send the copper in the copper pile. As far as copper goes, do you clean up your coils? Do you know any good ways to get all that paper and lacquer or whatever polymerized substance off the copper coils to make more money off the copper (short from burning it, of course) or is it even worth it? Cheers from Québec, Canada
Hope you watch my other videos on transformers, you will learn a lot. I sell the copper as is, I just clip off the wires, The coils I get #2 copper as is. I think you would be wasting your time cleaning them. I'v done it in the beginning but it is unnecessary. I've beat them apart with a hammer and even made a machine to unwind the coils and clean the slack off.
i’ve actually been wanting to make a miniature electromagnet for my crane. Definitely going to be a future project. Do you have any ideas or suggestions on building an electromagnet?
@@ProjectShopFl I've been junking since I was a young man. If the transformers not too big pota-band. Deep through. I had used saws-all but and thank you using the hammer ahead light on. That move. Recently dismantled some 300 amp welders mostly I used the sawz-all I was about to give up and google scrapping aluminum transformers they were mostly aluminum. After watching your video I took my right angle grinder not cutting that aluminum. I seen the aluminum blade use it freaked me out with a blade the close to my finger, because I've had a few kick out of my hand, I hav a skill saw with a diablo. Metal blade it works great on metal but could find it. Too broke buy a meta) for the 9" right angle. Was ready to just scrap them . The next day I knocked one over seeing how you used the HAMMERto loosen the windings.. twala I seen the parting of the steel and how they were welded grabed the small right angle cut the weld hit it with a hammer .. it was quicker after that the big ones took a few extra blows they would be like the ones you used to cut the coils the pryed them open to get off . Did have too slice them twice. Mine had steel at top cut the weld with the thin cut 4-5" kind. took the hammer to the wedge shaped at the top laid them over hammered where you cut them I hit them. Up& down both all 3 stood it up and the coils slid right up. The all that remains was the giant capital E. Coils of aluminum and the big Es not much to clean up. If I had access like you do I would of figured it outmaybe. One time the changed the lights out to. LEDS. I got all 32 fuxures keep some off the housing by the wat they made good drawers. Add drawer slides they are sturdy. But those 30 grossed me nearly 1k scrap was higher. And I didn't have to buy them. You're right the color of the coils give the copper coils away. Just maybe the next big transformers look for the welds cut them make so e big capital Es I'm old school. The transformers way back didnt apart t Like this they seems to interlocked. but they were COPPER! Thanks for reply. Hope your able to make sense of what I'm trying to hunt and peck. Typing. But to be honest I'm 70 find yourself a jib crane look them up on the UTUBE I do because no matter what I do someone made video. By the way I have a jib crane. Mine is an over braced. They have under braced. if you limited in overhead area. Why I say this SAVE YOUR BACK. Again thanks. From TEXAS
The "E I" laminated transformer with the alternating layered (non welded) are held together with a glue. If you soak it for about 5-10 min in water that's close to boiling temperature you can then hammer the corner and it will break the bond. Once a few sheets come out the rest will simple keep falling with a little shake between hammer strikes.
that sounds cool and I might even try it, but in five or 10 minutes with a grinder I could probably knock out five or 10 transformers. I’m looking at production, and efficiency.
I am an electrical engineering i dream to get transformer like these for my projects...... I can also sell them in high prices after re winding them ❤️❤️❤️
Nice video. I'm in the process of breaking down some large industrial ups backups from a warehouse renovation. The transformers I'm lookin at are as big as a watermelon.
Your blowing my mind cracking them open with a hammer like that!🤯 I have always cut them with the disk. I forgive the thought of "why are we getting a hammer lesson" I will try it on the next unit I find.👍
The hammer works good if you have something solid to place the transformer on. The blades work good to, they just wear out and you got to keep buying them. That’s why I like that hydraulic press it does not wear out. Mostly. Lol Thanks for watching
@@MatthewHensley8304 What do you mean cut off the bottom? I’d like to see a video of how that’s done. I don’t actually break all those transformers down with a hammer. That’s just a fast way I learn to do it without a press. I made this video for people that don’t have a press. My hydraulic presses can process well over 1 ton an hour with ease. Thanks for the info and thanks for watching
Those smaller ones with the alternating E cores, you can just hammer a hatchet right down the middle(length wise, parrarel with the lamanets). The lamanents will just spread apart and the hatchet will only be cutting the copper. Much much easier and faster.
I found your channel. i enjoyable your videos i have watch a few of them so far and sub to you. . but you need to slow down on moving the camera around, i fell out of my chair three times. LOL. i would like to know where and how you found the transformers. thanks. i do a little scrapping, but all i find is a few little ones. you have a nice place there.
I now have a nice go pro camera to shoot the videos. My camera skills are a work in progress, and I have some videos explaining how I get the transformers that I will be dropping soon. Thanks for watching
I’m sure that works great, I think I even tried it once but it is not as efficient as my hydraulic press. And I made this video to show the simplest means of breaking them down. Just a hammer, no power tools.
@@ProjectShopFl amen that's how I'm doing it basically the most I have is far as power tools go ar an angle grinder and the sawzall and those are only two recent additions so it's definitely appreciated putting these videos out brother and my God would I be happy if I had a hydraulic press lol
That Hurts,i've a lot of fun with transformers.If you make a new secondary winding you can get vor example a high current Transformer,or a a high voltage transformer. I build a 10ft tall Tesla coil,powered by 8microwave transformers under oil and i get 14feet lighthing out of it.... A friend Used a big old Transformer,transfered in high voltage secondary.
In my opinion tesla was one of the greatest people to Greece this earth, it’s a shame what they did to him. I would love to see videos of your tesla coil if you have any. Thanks for watching
Miami prices are so low I think your loosing money do some research on prices it might be worth it to drive an extra hour or two your hard work has me hooked on your channel I subscribed cant wait to see your next adventure. Joe from Niagara falls ny
The prices in south Florida always seem low to me. I don’t sell to a local scrapyard their prices are even lower than what I’m getting. I drive an hour and a half already to get better prices.
Thank you, i have eyed some of the transformers i have thrown to f-it-bucket over the years, that if i would have a easy way to slap that copper off that would be a few extra bucks on pocket, but i have been busy workin so no. next time i'm gonna give em a hammer treatment!
They are definitely worth breaking open especially if they are copper. Wait to you see my next video on transformers, I’m going to break down how much you can make per hour. Good luck and thanks for watching
@@ProjectShopFl Im new.. I have a few. I was just waiting for you to say, this is what I recycle.. So Im still a little unsure what Im trying to get out.. thanks for the video.. I guess I have to open it up and find out myslef..
What a great load of personal insight. Will definitely be using. Thanks so, so much. If I could be so bold. A have a bit of advice. Instead of statements of “garbage” for those other hammers, per your usage. A better statement would be. Good hammer, design etc. yet, that said. For this need, this hammer works best for this usage. My girlfriend works for company looking to promote tools, etc. they passed on offers based on comments by content creators. Again thanks for info.
I saw you were using a railroad spike...I keep two for that exact purpose. I would like to know, in general of course, who or what is your source for transformers? I am up by Chicago so no competition here......
Electricians that have bucket trucks and do lighting maintenance. These transformers come from parking lot lights, I live in a lightning capital of the country so I get a lot of them
I have been using tin snips for 8 years. I buy them specifically to cut transformer wire. They are the only things that I have found that can cut them in one snip because of the long blades and are spring loaded. That’s very important to me on repetitive stuff. I did not know they made snips for copper wire, thanks for the info I’ll be looking in to that.
The older the microwave, the greater the chance of both coils in the transformer being copper. The inverter microwave does not have a lot of copper in it .
What kind of press machine do you have, and who or were would I enquire with to buy transformers,? I have seen them in micowaves,parking lot lights and even speakers
My press machine is custom built and I buy transformers from electricians. I’m about to drop a video where I explain the whole process and breakdown on those machines and how much money you can make per hour. It’s like $900 an hour, You’re gonna want to watch that video.
I use a old sawzall to cut the copper core off on one side and pound out the windings.... I only scrap the steel... Copper hasn't been high enough yet.... Waiting for $5
I was going to use one for a second press, but I traded it for that vice I have. Have you seen my other videos where I show that hydraulic press in action?
@@ProjectShopFl Its not. It's just cheaper than using a grinder if one doesn't have a hammer. You should still try it though. But get a harbor freight one instead of home depot. Or...a cold Chisel and hammer.
Years ago I did but I was not impressed. It could have been the air hammer was from Harbor freight, lol Are you talking about for the welds or the copper? Do you break them apart with an air hammer. I’d like to see someone else do it maybe I was doing it wrong. Thank you for watching
I actually use a Skil saw blade to cut large transformers all the time. It’s kind of sketchy on the smaller ones because if you hit the steel the blade don’t like that. 95% of the transformers that I get I can run through those hydraulic presses. There’s a giant bandsaw sitting there I’m Thinking about fixing it and trying to use it for the ones the hydraulic press won’t break. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for watching
I don’t sit there and break them down with a hammer. I made this video for people that don’t have a hydraulic press like me. My hydraulic presses can easily process 3-4 a minute at an average profit of $5 each for copper transformers. I did not build the hydraulic press because there is a tiny ass amount of money in recycling transformers. I built those hydraulic presses because I triple my money recycling transformers. Let’s take the low end, 3 transformers per minute times $5 apiece.That’s $15 a minute profit. $900 an hour. If that is a tiny ass amount of money then I must be doing something wrong. I’ll work hard to increase those numbers. Thank you for your feedback and thank you for watching.
@@ProjectShopFl If you could make $900/hour doing this, everyone would be doing it. No fucking way you make that much in hour. There is not that much copper in ANY of those transformers to make $5 pure profit per transformer. Especially not those smaller ones.
@@Claymore1977 Well being someone that has owned a company called ETR, Electrical Transformer Recycling for the past 10 years I would have to disagree with you. I said my AVERAGE profit on a copper transformer is $5. I’ll be making a video tomorrow and I’ll show you.
Hey fellow scrapper, great video! We've got a whole box saved up to process and this will save us time and money!! Thanks for the informative video! Come check us out sometime!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :D
The only problem is most of the time these are burned up and have been replaced by an electrician. Now I do get good used ones when I do parking lot lights that have been changed out to LEDs. 99% of the time the lights still work they’re just changing them to LEDs for the cost savings.
Damn hurts to know all of those transformers are gonna get just scrapped for a few dollars of copper . I do electrotechnics and i have very little resources , where did you get all of them from? like i'd be happy to even have one of those things .
I get them from electrical contractors. They mainly come from parking lot lights. Most of these are burned up and cannot be reused. I live in South Florida the lightning capital of the country, it cooks these all the time. Lol
@@Claymore1977 You’re absolutely right. I live in the lightning capital of the country most of these have been burned up from lightning strikes. Sometimes there’s even a big gobs of melted aluminum or copper. Those ones really stink though. Thanks for watching
As soon as you said to hit it over a leg on the bench to keep the noise down for the neighbours,respect, lot of ppl wouldn’t even consider it👍🏻
I also try and only break down transformers when all my neighbors are at work. But I also live right next to a Chrysler dealership and their service department is right next to my house, all day long you can hear impact guns, their industrial car wash firing up, all kinds of banging, and they’re always revving up those SRT challengers and chargers. So I can get away with a lot that I normally wouldn’t be able to. LOL Thanks for watching.
That was awesome!! When you started saying "the press" I was worried you had some fancy equipment I couldn't afford, but the table situation was brilliant.
I do have a press for the transformers. Check out my other videos.
I run a commercial lighting company and we just finally finished our 15th gaylord full. We ended up with about 20k lbs of copper. We have a 30 ton hydraulic press that we use sometimes, but the fastest way to do them is to put them on a hard surface (we use a 1/2" steel welding table), turn the weld lines horizontal to you, and smack the hell out of em with a 3lb sledge right on the weld with an angled swing towards you and using the edge of the head on the hammer. I can usually split the outer short iron away in 2-3 smacks. Then we have rectangular holes cut out in the table that allow for different size cores to sit in. Then smack the center short iron out of the copper coil and use a demo chisel of the correct width to finish it off.
Wow that’s a lot of copper and steel. I do the same thing with a 4 pound sledge. Where are you located? I’m in South Florida and I buy a ton of these from electrical contractors. Wait to you see my next video On how fast my press works. Thanks for watching
Dang, you still have all 10 fingers right?!
That was a great video. The presses you made are so cool. Work smarter not harder. Those copper chunks add up fast.
Thanks, in 10 years I’ve only gotten my thumb once from a deflection. Lol
Thanks man. Ive run them in similar ways but you got a better set up than I had. I was just using a vice on the back of my truck to hold things. it wasn't even bolted down. If I get bored this winter I might build a table and try a few runs of them. I think I used to profit like 17 cents a pound with the spread I had on them.
Wait to you see the video I am about to drop about these transformers. There’s way more than $.17 a pound profit. Stay tuned and thanks for watching
@@ProjectShopFl I used to buy them from the scrap yards so the margin was pretty thin. I'm gathering prices again to see if I can make money off them in this area.
@@scrapmanindustries Where is your area? You’re going to want to see the video I’m uploading right now
@@ProjectShopFl I'm in Ohio now. by lima. I used to live on the other side of Pa so prices are a bit different and Ohio has weird laws that make it more difficult to buy and sell scrap.
Im glad I watched this video. I was trying to hit the copper off the steel rather than hitting the steel off the copper. Im going to give your approach a go, although it will be a month or more before I do. It takes me a long time to grab a bunch of microwave transformers scrapping, to be ready to process a bunch.
I don’t get many microwave transformers, the majority of the ones I get come from parking lot lights. Good luck and thanks for watching
I went back in time to see if I could find the forklift. I remembered it was parked next to the transformer press. There it was. Looking forward to seeing it reassembled.
My back is looking forward to seeing it too. lol 👍
Fella, you are a bruzer for sure. Swinging that hammer just like a PRO. Very good information given to us all. Peace.
Thank you, I do not break those transformers down with a hammer all the time. I run them through my hydraulic presses and I only use the hammer when one doesn’t break all the way. I have other videos on it and I’m about to drop one on my whole process
@@ProjectShopFl Look forward to see the whole process for sure. Keep up the great work with real down to earth information that is right ON!!!
A true scrapper...even though there is crap every, its really just like dollar bills all over in the form of metal. Nothing makes me happier than cleaning up my work area and finding bits of copper and aluminum all over!
I love finding lost Scrap, you’re right it’s like finding dollar bills. LOL thanks for watching
Invest in a slow speed chop saw with the metal saw blades. Not a grinding but a true saw. Cut through like butter.
I’d like to see a video of that. i’ve already invested in hydraulic presses that’ll break five per minute, and never wear out.
I love the slide plate scheme.
M8 that was a good lesson . I woukd like to add that a hammer , isn't called a hammer, the real name is a speed wrench . Keep up the good work. God bless y'all.
Thank you and thanks for watching
Lmao
We use the same Hammer but we don't use the same blades we use diamond blades and the reason why is because they create less dust and last longer.normally we don't cut too much steel with the diamond blades we normally just cut the copper. Good video thanks for showing us how you do it.we also don't hold our transformers We normally beat them on the ground and sit in a low profile chair.
I normally don’t beat them with a hammer. I was just showing how I would do it and have done it if you don’t have a machine like I do. My next video will show the capacity of my hydraulic presses. It’s pretty impressive
@@ProjectShopFl I'd like to see a video on how you made that. I used to use one years ago and I used to crack open sealed units and the transformers. Mine was an old log splitter with a steel block to make the shaft go all the way.it was really old and beat up but it worked really well. The press that you have looks really helpful and takes out a lot of the labor intensiveness. I think you make really good videos thanks for making them.
woooow, 2 minutes into this and i am literally getting seasick.
It’s a work in progress. LOL I’ve gotten better
Thank you so much. I needed this. I just have to figure which ones need a grinder
Glad I could help!
I think you have given a lot of thought to be efficient. You got this pretty well down to a science, nice job!
There are guys out there who know hydraulics who can likely design a press to do that pounding and possibly cutting. Not criticizing your process cause it’s working.
Thanks, This was built on a harbor freight budget. You should check out the my other videos on this. th-cam.com/video/aL9jkAn8uyo/w-d-xo.html
Good work man. Giving me that copper fever
I’m always on the hunt for copper! lol Thanks for watching
Whoa! You're a beast! Can't believe you still have 10 fingers. Thanks for the video. You have convinced me to leave them intact and just be happy with the $06. a pound they will give me. Please be careful.❤ I was a nervous wreck watching you. 😳
They are worth so much more than six cents a pound. If use a grinder on the welds you don’t have to beat them like I do. Also I don’t normally break them like this I have hydraulic press is that do it way faster. I can do 3 to 4 a minute. I’m dropping a video on it soon.I’m just having issues with my editing software.
Seems like a lot of work for some copper, couldn’t these transformers not be reused?
Most of those transformers I’ve been burned up, a lot of times by lightning. I get them from electricians that change them out. You should check out my latest video on how to make $900 an hour Scraping transformers
th-cam.com/video/aL9jkAn8uyo/w-d-xo.html
Incredible respect for your business.
Thank you, and thanks for watching
I use a portable band saw to score the welds, the blades last a long time. Takes one brute force step out of the process ! I like your table with the sliding plates to knock out the cores. I unwind the copper as well to clean it up better, but I am not doing the volume that you are. New to the channel !
Do you get a better price for unwinding the coils? I’ve never thought about using a bandsaw before, I’ve done that with a grinder but cutting the welds to me is a extra step and coast $. This was the fastest and cheapest way I found to break them in my opinion, I know there are many ways. Other than a hammer mill, I haven’t seen anything that can break them down as fast as my press. I can easily do a ton + an hour. Thanks for watching and the info
@@ProjectShopFl Not sure if I get a better price but I don't like to leave anything to chance ! I have thought about making a jig for my hydraulic press to crack them but I am only a hobby scrapper.
@@CruiserMac I would bring one to the scrap yard that you haven’t unwound and see if it’s the same price, it should be number two copper either way. I hate to see people working harder than they have to.
I love 35 minute videos that show me how to do something that can be done in a 3 minute videos...anyway
Make a better video then, lets see it!
thanks for the advice friend i think i maybe starting to get more of these!!! much love buddy
You’re gonna want to watch the video I’m about to drop where explain how my hydraulic press works. If you’re going to get a lot of these you’re gonna wanna watch this video.
@@ProjectShopFl im gonna watch all your videos. ill try not to look like im duplicating, not my style friend
@@sharontipsxtramoney4156 Why reinvent the wheel? Do what works best, who cares where it comes from.
Watched a lot of his vids and he's doing great work
thanks
Mount Baker Mining and metals sells a hammer mill and sluce set up that fits on a work truck
I've seen that its a cool setup. Thanks for watching
Awesome set up! Im an electrician specializing in lighting so i get piles of these after doing parking lot retrofit. 1000w poletops are where the money's at but wall packs are just fine. I would love to have such a streamlined system to break xfos so quickly. For the moment, the way i break them, ill put the xfo in the vise with the welds closer together facing the top, next, ill take a 7/8" cold chisel to the weld on the laminated core. When the chisel is lined up juuuust right, it only takes but 1 swift blow of the 4lbs to crack open 7/8" length of laminations. Reapeat process for both top welds and then bend the exterior core outwards till the bottom welds break. Next, ill sit the coil on the jaws of the vise and whack the top of the core to send it right through into the steel bucket and send the copper in the copper pile. As far as copper goes, do you clean up your coils? Do you know any good ways to get all that paper and lacquer or whatever polymerized substance off the copper coils to make more money off the copper (short from burning it, of course) or is it even worth it?
Cheers from Québec, Canada
Hope you watch my other videos on transformers, you will learn a lot. I sell the copper as is, I just clip off the wires, The coils I get #2 copper as is. I think you would be wasting your time cleaning them. I'v done it in the beginning but it is unnecessary. I've beat them apart with a hammer and even made a machine to unwind the coils and clean the slack off.
@@ProjectShopFl Have you ever tried to sell em as transformers?
Man all I see is some serious projects here. Electromagnets, spot welders, etc.
i’ve actually been wanting to make a miniature electromagnet for my crane. Definitely going to be a future project. Do you have any ideas or suggestions on building an electromagnet?
Just throw them in the fireplace and they fall apart.
@@normansabel1850 I live in South Florida so we don’t have too many fireplaces. LOL
Man you are copper superman..what a swing! Very good video! I just wish I had seen this earlier....good luck
Thanks
"You really should be wearing gloves but I can't find them"....ok, find your gloves.
I tried but they’re like my socks ones always missing. Lol
Wow. And so interesting. Mater of fact I was working on transformers and my saw quit. I'll try your hammer idea.
What type of saw were you using,I’m always curious about how others do this. Thanks for watching
@@ProjectShopFl I've been junking since I was a young man. If the transformers not too big pota-band. Deep through. I had used saws-all but and thank you using the hammer ahead light on. That move. Recently dismantled some 300 amp welders mostly I used the sawz-all I was about to give up and google scrapping aluminum transformers they were mostly aluminum. After watching your video I took my right angle grinder not cutting that aluminum. I seen the aluminum blade use it freaked me out with a blade the close to my finger, because I've had a few kick out of my hand, I hav a skill saw with a diablo. Metal blade it works great on metal but could find it. Too broke buy a meta) for the 9" right angle. Was ready to just scrap them . The next day I knocked one over seeing how you used the HAMMERto loosen the windings.. twala I seen the parting of the steel and how they were welded grabed the small right angle cut the weld hit it with a hammer .. it was quicker after that the big ones took a few extra blows they would be like the ones you used to cut the coils the pryed them open to get off . Did have too slice them twice. Mine had steel at top cut the weld with the thin cut 4-5" kind. took the hammer to the wedge shaped at the top laid them over hammered where you cut them I hit them. Up& down both all 3 stood it up and the coils slid right up. The all that remains was the giant capital E. Coils of aluminum and the big Es not much to clean up. If I had access like you do I would of figured it outmaybe. One time the changed the lights out to. LEDS. I got all 32 fuxures keep some off the housing by the wat they made good drawers. Add drawer slides they are sturdy. But those 30 grossed me nearly 1k scrap was higher. And I didn't have to buy them. You're right the color of the coils give the copper coils away.
Just maybe the next big transformers look for the welds cut them make so e big capital Es I'm old school. The transformers way back didnt apart t
Like this they seems to interlocked. but they were COPPER! Thanks for reply. Hope your able to make sense of what I'm trying to hunt and peck. Typing. But to be honest I'm 70 find yourself a jib crane look them up on the UTUBE I do because no matter what I do someone
made video. By the way I have a jib crane. Mine is an over braced. They have under braced. if you limited in overhead area. Why I say this SAVE YOUR BACK. Again thanks. From TEXAS
The "E I" laminated transformer with the alternating layered (non welded) are held together with a glue. If you soak it for about 5-10 min in water that's close to boiling temperature you can then hammer the corner and it will break the bond. Once a few sheets come out the rest will simple keep falling with a little shake between hammer strikes.
that sounds cool and I might even try it, but in five or 10 minutes with a grinder I could probably knock out five or 10 transformers. I’m looking at production, and efficiency.
That's extremely helpful dude! I have such a tough time with those
Glad I could help! thanks for watching
@@ProjectShopFl 2²²2222222²22222²22222²²22²²²²2²²⅖zfs$fff
I am an electrical engineering i dream to get transformer like these for my projects...... I can also sell them in high prices after re winding them ❤️❤️❤️
Talk to your local electricians that do lighting maintenance, a lot of times they throw these in the garbage.
How many you need? Brand new
How do I get rid of that tough varnish layer that transformers are sometimes dipped in
I don't. I sell as is the steel as #1 prepared and the copper as #2 copper with no issues
Be careful of those cutoff wheels. They can kickback and eat you up. Speaking by 30 years experience as a welder.
I’m always careful around power tools. Thanks for your concern and thanks for watching
Gloves, loose clothing, long hair around any power turning tools - be cautious as I think you are over all you do.
You sure have a nice assortment of Arkansas Speed Wrenches (hammers) to choose from!! LOL!! Nice Videos, and you sure got this business down!
Thanks 👍
I admire your work (not to because of money) 🙂🙏🙏
Thank you
very good video your a pro at this thank you this helps me a lot !
You’re welcome And thanks for watching
Nice video. I'm in the process of breaking down some large industrial ups backups from a warehouse renovation. The transformers I'm lookin at are as big as a watermelon.
Nice! 👊
It’s not something I’ll probably ever do but is fun to watch
It’s more than meets the eye
I’m about to make another video about transformers and how I use my hydraulic press to do it.
Estwing hammers are the bomb, use them at my work doing renovations.
I don’t know why they just do it better. Thanks for watching
cool video nice amount of transformers
Thanks!
Your blowing my mind cracking them open with a hammer like that!🤯 I have always cut them with the disk. I forgive the thought of "why are we getting a hammer lesson" I will try it on the next unit I find.👍
New subscriber..
The hammer works good if you have something solid to place the transformer on. The blades work good to, they just wear out and you got to keep buying them. That’s why I like that hydraulic press it does not wear out. Mostly. Lol Thanks for watching
@@MatthewHensley8304 What do you mean cut off the bottom? I’d like to see a video of how that’s done. I don’t actually break all those transformers down with a hammer. That’s just a fast way I learn to do it without a press. I made this video for people that don’t have a press. My hydraulic presses can process well over 1 ton an hour with ease. Thanks for the info and thanks for watching
Those smaller ones with the alternating E cores, you can just hammer a hatchet right down the middle(length wise, parrarel with the lamanets). The lamanents will just spread apart and the hatchet will only be cutting the copper. Much much easier and faster.
Thanks for the info. I’m actually making a machine to do just that.
Great video and the method works good for you,
Thanks 👍
BSA Enterprises Approves of this message!
👊
I've always called those E's and I's. I can tell already this is going to be very informative.
I actually just Learned people call them E’s & I’s and it’s actually a better representation, W. Lol
To use the hammer effectively, you should grasp it near the end, not up by the head. It’s physics!
I understand how the hammer works, I am more precise this way and I’m letting that 4 pound head do the work
😂😂😂
@Supa Trending Daily In 10 years I only got my finger one time, and that was enough. LOL thanks for watching
I found your channel. i enjoyable your videos i have watch a few of them so far and sub to you. . but you need to slow down on moving the camera around, i fell out of my chair three times. LOL. i would like to know where and how you found the transformers. thanks. i do a little scrapping, but all i find is a few little ones. you have a nice place there.
I now have a nice go pro camera to shoot the videos. My camera skills are a work in progress, and I have some videos explaining how I get the transformers that I will be dropping soon. Thanks for watching
@@ProjectShopFl . I AM glad you got a go po it will be easier on all of us .. LOL. i will be waiting on the next video.
Nice workshop
Thanks
Great job and video like always
Thanks you 👊
Most of us call that a rasp, not a hoof grinder, lol 😉 😆
The guy I got it from was using them to file hoses feet. lol
Great video
Thank you
Good video thank you for sharing
Thank you, I’m about to drop another video on the subject, If you like this one you’re gonna love the next one.
One really Nifty tool that have is an air chisel
I’m sure that works great, I think I even tried it once but it is not as efficient as my hydraulic press. And I made this video to show the simplest means of breaking them down. Just a hammer, no power tools.
@@ProjectShopFl amen that's how I'm doing it basically the most I have is far as power tools go ar an angle grinder and the sawzall and those are only two recent additions so it's definitely appreciated putting these videos out brother and my God would I be happy if I had a hydraulic press lol
Its crazy how much money their is in scrap I cleaned a few big ac units and got 400 bucks
Most people don't know how much it can be worth. lol
That Hurts,i've a lot of fun with transformers.If you make a new secondary winding you can get vor example a high current Transformer,or a a high voltage transformer.
I build a 10ft tall Tesla coil,powered by 8microwave transformers under oil and i get 14feet lighthing out of it....
A friend Used a big old Transformer,transfered in high voltage secondary.
In my opinion tesla was one of the greatest people to Greece this earth, it’s a shame what they did to him. I would love to see videos of your tesla coil if you have any. Thanks for watching
Thanks for showing this
I’m about to drop another video on the subject with some need to know information. Stay tuned and thanks for watching
@@ProjectShopFl Thanks I will!
Miami prices are so low I think your loosing money do some research on prices it might be worth it to drive an extra hour or two your hard work has me hooked on your channel I subscribed cant wait to see your next adventure. Joe from Niagara falls ny
The prices in south Florida always seem low to me. I don’t sell to a local scrapyard their prices are even lower than what I’m getting. I drive an hour and a half already to get better prices.
Bro not scared of losing a finger
👊
Intresting hobby, intresting angle on them hateful things. I never found an easy way to remove the goodies.
I love these things wait to see my next video
Thank you, i have eyed some of the transformers i have thrown to f-it-bucket over the years, that if i would have a easy way to slap that copper off that would be a few extra bucks on pocket, but i have been busy workin so no. next time i'm gonna give em a hammer treatment!
They are definitely worth breaking open especially if they are copper. Wait to you see my next video on transformers, I’m going to break down how much you can make per hour. Good luck and thanks for watching
Were are you located? I really appreciate your detail. Thank you.
I live in South Florida. I get tons of these transformers because I live in the lightning capital of the country. lol
One Day The Fingers Will Be Flying Off.
10 years hasn’t happened yet lol
so what exactly do you do with the last parts?
What do you mean last part? Are you talking about the copper and the steel? I sell them
@@ProjectShopFl Im new.. I have a few. I was just waiting for you to say, this is what I recycle.. So Im still a little unsure what Im trying to get out.. thanks for the video.. I guess I have to open it up and find out myslef..
was tossing those with I was retrofit parking lights to led.
I get tons of them that way
I love my 3 pound cross peen hammer from Harbor Freight
Nice! 👍
PARABENS AMIGO BRAZIL !!!
Thanks
What a great load of personal insight. Will definitely be using. Thanks so, so much.
If I could be so bold. A have a bit of advice. Instead of statements of “garbage” for those other hammers, per your usage. A better statement would be. Good hammer, design etc. yet, that said. For this need, this hammer works best for this usage.
My girlfriend works for company looking to promote tools, etc. they passed on offers based on comments by content creators. Again thanks for info.
Thanks for the advice
thats alot of bang bang ;)
greta video
Those hydraulic presses make quick work of all those transformers. Thanks for watching
@@ProjectShopFl i guess ;)
I saw you were using a railroad spike...I keep two for that exact purpose. I would like to know, in general of course, who or what is your source for transformers? I am up by Chicago so no competition here......
Electricians that have bucket trucks and do lighting maintenance. These transformers come from parking lot lights, I live in a lightning capital of the country so I get a lot of them
howdy- how do you clean the paper and crud left on the copper? could i use hydrochloric acid? or would that be bad for the copper?
I sell it as for #2 copper. its not worth messing with.
@@ProjectShopFl but it could be #1 pencil size if clean?
Dont use red,green or yellow tin snips to cut wire they wont cut sheet metal if you do.wire snips are cheaper
I have been using tin snips for 8 years. I buy them specifically to cut transformer wire. They are the only things that I have found that can cut them in one snip because of the long blades and are spring loaded. That’s very important to me on repetitive stuff. I did not know they made snips for copper wire, thanks for the info I’ll be looking in to that.
Some of those wires are copper coated aluminum. I just took apart two microwaves.
The older the microwave, the greater the chance of both coils in the transformer being copper. The inverter microwave does not have a lot of copper in it .
99% of the transformers that I get come from commercial lighting. They are not copper coated aluminum, it’s aluminum coated with a shellac
hammers, you end up with a model closest to a German bench hammer. heaviest model is 2000 gram 2 kilo or more the 4 us pounds
Anything less than 4 pounds is useless in my opinion. Lol thanks for watching
U get the hookup awesome
I worked hard for my hookups.
@@ProjectShopFl yes sir ❤️
What kind of press machine do you have, and who or were would I enquire with to buy transformers,? I have seen them in micowaves,parking lot lights and even speakers
My press machine is custom built and I buy transformers from electricians. I’m about to drop a video where I explain the whole process and breakdown on those machines and how much money you can make per hour. It’s like $900 an hour, You’re gonna want to watch that video.
@@ProjectShopFl I'd be interested in a closer look at your customer built press. Scrapping in Arkansas
What do you do with the copper once you remove it from the steel? Do you leave the paper and lacquer on?
Yes I sell it as is for number two copper
@@ProjectShopFl oh sweet
do you remove the insulation tape,paper? If so, how, that stuff is on there good.
No I sell it as #2 copper. In the beginning I thought I had to so I beat the coils apart with a hammer but that was a waste of time.
@@ProjectShopFl thanks for the quick reply man, that'll save me a s*** ton of work
I use a old sawzall to cut the copper core off on one side and pound out the windings.... I only scrap the steel... Copper hasn't been high enough yet.... Waiting for $5
I wish I could only Scrap the steel. $5 lb copper would be awesome, most I ever got was 3.60
I hope you are young.
@@johnafagerquist8235 😂😂😂
Electric wood splitter for a press?
I was going to use one for a second press, but I traded it for that vice I have. Have you seen my other videos where I show that hydraulic press in action?
How do you find scrap? Looking to get into scrap collecting and smelting as a hobby lol
I buy from electrical contractors
After you recover the copper coils do you take off the paper/glue?
No, I sell it as is.
@@ProjectShopFl does it affect the price?
I use an old hatchet to open them up
I’ve heard a lot of people say they do that, I’d like to see a video of that. Thanks for watching
You just hit the welds with it and the sides fall away.
@@gergc4871 how is that different from hitting it with a hammer? I’m gonna go to Home Depot and buy a hatchet and see what all the fuss is about. LOL
@@ProjectShopFl
Its not. It's just cheaper than using a grinder if one doesn't have a hammer.
You should still try it though. But get a harbor freight one instead of home depot. Or...a cold Chisel and hammer.
Very clever
Thank you
What a strange frame rate.
That was shot on my iPhone.
Have you ever tried a air hammer for some of that
Years ago I did but I was not impressed. It could have been the air hammer was from Harbor freight, lol Are you talking about for the welds or the copper? Do you break them apart with an air hammer. I’d like to see someone else do it maybe I was doing it wrong. Thank you for watching
Have you ever tried a metal skill saw? Save a ton on disc's if it works.
I actually use a Skil saw blade to cut large transformers all the time. It’s kind of sketchy on the smaller ones because if you hit the steel the blade don’t like that. 95% of the transformers that I get I can run through those hydraulic presses. There’s a giant bandsaw sitting there I’m Thinking about fixing it and trying to use it for the ones the hydraulic press won’t break. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for watching
That looks like a whole ass fuck ton of work for a tiny ass amount of money.
I don’t sit there and break them down with a hammer. I made this video for people that don’t have a hydraulic press like me. My hydraulic presses can easily process 3-4 a minute at an average profit of $5 each for copper transformers. I did not build the hydraulic press because there is a tiny ass amount of money in recycling transformers. I built those hydraulic presses because I triple my money recycling transformers. Let’s take the low end, 3 transformers per minute times $5 apiece.That’s $15 a minute profit. $900 an hour. If that is a tiny ass amount of money then I must be doing something wrong. I’ll work hard to increase those numbers. Thank you for your feedback and thank you for watching.
@@ProjectShopFl If you could make $900/hour doing this, everyone would be doing it. No fucking way you make that much in hour. There is not that much copper in ANY of those transformers to make $5 pure profit per transformer. Especially not those smaller ones.
@@Claymore1977 Well being someone that has owned a company called ETR, Electrical Transformer Recycling for the past 10 years I would have to disagree with you. I said my AVERAGE profit on a copper transformer is $5. I’ll be making a video tomorrow and I’ll show you.
Put them on the log and whack it with choping axe across wire on both sides, and then cut it in the middle
Thanks for the suggestion
Hey fellow scrapper, great video! We've got a whole box saved up to process and this will save us time and money!! Thanks for the informative video! Come check us out sometime!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :D
Thank you, merry Christmas and happy new year to you as well and good luck on your channel
@@ProjectShopFl Thank you! Welcome aboard! :)
Does the yard give you a problem with the paper on the wire.
No, I’ve been selling it as #2 copper for 8 years now.
@@ProjectShopFl you have a new supporter here brother. Great operation. 👍
@@scrapperdscrapperj3948 Thank you
👀
Every transformer has copper and only copper? I've came across some that had aluminum wire coated to make it look like copper
So where and how do you get the transformers?
Buy them from electricians
Let me guess!! U own 1 pair of gloves!!!! L O L !!!! new sub here!!!
Yeah, They are a really nice pair to, but I can never find them. Lol Thanks for watching
@@ProjectShopFl Look at the toilet.
Shit man, id buy them for you from more that that copper is worth
The only problem is most of the time these are burned up and have been replaced by an electrician. Now I do get good used ones when I do parking lot lights that have been changed out to LEDs. 99% of the time the lights still work they’re just changing them to LEDs for the cost savings.
Are you smelting the copper?
No, I’m selling copper. I would love to melt the copper and make a product.
That’s a lot of MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
😂👊👍
This some Cyberpunk on console type FPS.
😂😂😂
Damn hurts to know all of those transformers are gonna get just scrapped for a few dollars of copper . I do electrotechnics and i have very little resources , where did you get all of them from? like i'd be happy to even have one of those things .
I get them from electrical contractors. They mainly come from parking lot lights. Most of these are burned up and cannot be reused. I live in South Florida the lightning capital of the country, it cooks these all the time. Lol
They're generally not working anymore if they are being scrapped bud.
@@Claymore1977 You’re absolutely right. I live in the lightning capital of the country most of these have been burned up from lightning strikes. Sometimes there’s even a big gobs of melted aluminum or copper. Those ones really stink though. Thanks for watching
Who. Do. You go to in your city to buy. Those from
I buy them from Electrical Contractors, Watch my scrapping videos I show you everything.