Scrapping a compressor for copper. It’s definitely worth it!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 เม.ย. 2020
- Hello scrappers and planet lovers. This video will show you how to safely and effectively scrap a compressor to get the large amount of copper inside.
If you would like to buy me a hot beverage:
PayPal.Me/TinManScrapper
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Thanks for the tip about draining them. The oily mess I was dreading now has a solution. Thanks!
Glad you found it informative. Thanks for the support. Stay well.
Fantastic way of shooting the video. Just picked up my first one. Thanks for all the info.
Very glad I could help. Stay well and thanks for the support.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge ☺️
Hello there from Montreal Canada well I used to open those up it’s knot wort my time but it’s your time it’s up to every individual there is a easier way yes drain from the bottom of course cut in the MIDDEL right in half then the rest is easy make sure u scratch right away thank you for sharing 😃🍺👊🇨🇦
Hey Tin man, I do alot of scapping on the side, I LOVE you videos. your the first person i watch to find super informative videos about scrap metal, absolutely great content man! you helped me alot in my scrap journey!
Thank you for that huge compliment! Glad you found them helpful. Stay well and happy scrapping!
Thank you for sharing this with us 😊
Great video. I was actually looking for a way to open up one of these and I landed at the right place. Thanks...
Glad you found it informative. Thanks for watching and happy scrapping
Technically it takes me five minutes to separate copper aluminum and steel components of a compressor using my plasma cutter . About thirty seconds to cut one open time is money
M8 you did a good job using your Mexican speed range aka hammer. I do scrap metal in Oregon USA, and rely lot on a good comunicator ( sledge hammer ) to process steel and stubborn motors. Keep up the good work. God bless y'all.
Thanks Gus for the kind words and support.
very pleased to see safety glasses and gloves in use
Lol. Thanks, I don’t want to risk damages to myself over a few dollars worth of scrap metal
Great video. I like to watch this kind of video while stripping my cable. So far I've got around 40kg of bright wire which I'm going to upload a video about in a couple of days.
Your video is very helpful so I've shared it. I only take copper cable, copper piping and brass. This is because I dont have a truck or a van. But I think youd be v. surprised at the sheer amounts of cable that I can accumulate.
Great video again. Keep making em. Liked and subbed.
thanks Cycle, it really is amazing how much wire you can find. Always nice to hear others are taking it and diverting it away from the landfill.
Hey! I don’t have a truck either. Where are you getting cable?
Thanks for the video.
Thank you.
A air chisel cuts right through the copper in seconds. No wasted copper into grinding dust. You can use a different chisel in your air chisel to hook the copper and pull the rest of the copper out of the armature.
Wat type of air chisel are u using
Stg
I scrapped for $100 today. Partly with your help. Does that mean I owe you a commission or something? Well, hopefully a thank-you will suffice.
Lol. Glad to see that my videos were helpful. Your support and kind words are good enough. Stay well and thanks for watching.
Great video.
Thank you very much for the kind words and support. Stay well.
@@TinManScrapper I Agree.
"I'm pretty accident prone without precautions I get hurt". Two seconds later " I'm gonna hold this while grinding it."
Angle tricks, I am not as close to the grinder disc as it looks.
@@TinManScrapperin case you really don't know, holding whatever you are grinding is very dangerous. (No matter how many times you've gotten away with it) I have a friend who struggles to pick up a fork with his (once-) dominant hand because so much of the muscle in his arm was destroyed by a grinder. Not to be taken lightly.
Oh boy all the safety Nazis are coming out.... I use a grinder everyday and hold stuff with my hands and I've had accidents but you would have to be a complete and total incompetent idiot to hurt yourself to the point you can't pick up a fork after healing. People like that are not the normal people who use grinders and should probably stay away from them and stick to safe things.
Feel like profesional scrapers here I’m a newbie I start scraping 3 years ago since my new job and I always sell compressors at is E motors and microwaves and a lot more electric components looking forward to watch all your videos and learn to scrap better
Thanks for the comment and watching. Stay well and happy scrapping.
Sending blessings from Louisiana
Thank you. Stay well. Blessings to you as well.
Scrapping seems to be something I wanna get into
Good stuff in those compressors 👍
I agree.... but done wrong they can be messy
Tin Man true 👍
Greetings from northen Sweden and a fellow scrapper. I must say you are a brave man grinding a motor while holding it with your hand. It's not a pretty sight when someones fingers get in the way of that grinding disc.
Good video anyway.
I just drain the oil and get electric motor price as I do get a lot of those compressors.
Stay safe and take care.
Hi Peder, thanks for your support. I know Sweden is one of the best countries to reuse. Nice to see another scrapper. Stay well also
I will check out your channel
Yes, I was hoping your fingers did not go flying.
I AGREE NOT GOOD, YOU CAN LOOK UP THE VIDEO'S THAT HAVE BROKEN PARTS OF THE WEEL COME OFF, YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW, BETTER SAVE THAN SORRY, HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT TO YOUR STUDENTS AT SCHOOL>OH BY THE WAY THIS IS WHAT NOT TO DO, AFTER YOU HAVE TAUGHT THEM THE RIGHT WAY TO DO, ALOT OF YEARS WENT BY UNTILL I UNDERSTOOD WHEN MY MOM AND DAD WOULD SAY, DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO, BECAUSE WE ARE ADULTS, SAFTEY IS THE GREATEST CONCERN AND YOU ONLY DIE ONCE.
The CFC gases are released when the compressor is removed from the appliance so by the time its on your bench its already home, it only oil inside.
Thks you been a great help
Glad it helped
Nice video Tin Man, really nice video showing how to get all the copper out.
Lets go Super Tin Man Scrapper /cheers ScrapBongo
Nice Job :-)
Excellent lecture sir u r really an excellent i really learned a lot today may u enjoy every moment of ur life .may u enjoy the company u like the most throughout your life thank u very much sir
So nice of you. Same to you!
I do a lot of these. Much better copper then appliance motors
A easier way to get the other half of the copper from the motor after you cut it is to clamp each side of the copper until comes out of the casing holes then do the same on the opposite side. so the pushing force of the clap is pulling the copper out of the steel casing. also another hack a clamp is a good way compact the cooper to reduce the size of it so it takes less space so you can store more pounds per inch!
i used a vicegrip and clamp on the copper and hit the steel with a hammer most of the time only takes a few hits.
Its actually just string rapped around coils to keep the bundles of wire together during lacquered coating
the clamp over the electric box at 3:10 is not always tin it is usually stainless .
Build a oil burner an use it to melting , drill two holes top an bottom for a vent so oil drains faster
Been doing alot of research on the contacts for silver content, results are mainly copper, from 2,400 dots of silver came $4.70 cents. cost 40 times more in solution and chemicals, also during this process you may do the copper content too because you have to extract it, i save those buttons but have not taken them off of anything, just put in buckets. all the dots that were in the videos were bought and had been taken off of what they were on. there is a book ,or a website that tells how much precious metals are in each seperate board, no matter what it is in, that is how companys know how much to pay you. and if you depopulate that board it will be downgraded or not accepted because they also resell these boards to be reused again, some companies out there that are selling boards have upwards of 5 millon boards. sure would like to see that warehouse, could give tours and make monies ? i clean and fix the air cond that i get, i have 1 that i tore dow for parts. been wanting to cut one open.
Some stators also have brass on them.
Some compressor motors have aluminum not copper wiring, unfortunately you won’t know until you open them up. So far I have found it to be about 10% or so of the compressors I have salvaged.
I find the older appliances are safer for copper, most things are beginning to be replaced with aluminum. But does depend on brand and country made from.
Great video ....I normally don't tear down these due to the cost of blades
Thanks. Yeah, I think it depends on quantity, price for sealed at scrapyard, blade cost, etc. I get next to nothing at scrapyard for sealed so it is worth it for me. Stay well and thanks for watching.
If you have a plasma cutter you're laughing. I got mine from the scrapyard- didn't work at first but taking the plastic case off showed it needed cleaning badly. Did that and it works fine now!
The rounded cap and make a cover for a piece of pvc pipe, fill with cement put the cap on it paint bright yellow make a great Ballard (for parking lot)
This is fun to watch, and it's interesting to see how you can turn this into money. But considering all the time, and the mess, for about ten bucks it's not worth it for me. Barely minimum wage. Even so, I'm glad to donate it to the local recycler who can do it at scale.
Hi Tin Man, Love your 'is it worth it' videos. It would be really helpful to weigh everything so as to price the who;e V the components. As well, if you timed how long it took you we could see better the true value. Keep up the great work!
Use a small gas blow torch to melt the solder away and heat the paint off.
I would save the oil for cutting oil when drilling
You do hit the seal eith a grinder, u could just knick seal with a grinder save blades then whack seal with a sledge or axe works fast and saves blades ❤
How much more did you make by doing all the grinding, prying, and sorting
You are using a cutoff wheel not a grinding wheel right?
tHanks for the Video. I posted a video about this but I made a mess of things....went home with my tail between my legs.
I decided just to kick them off the truck. You scrappers work harder than coal miners!
Lol. Thanks for the comment. Scrapping for me is a side hustle. I do it for a little cash, stress reliever, and environmental protection. Stay well
@@TinManScrapper Metal finds me. my tires too. I really like the here today...gone today that comes with scrapping appliances. That is my fun hobby. All the micro scrapping I leave for the pros who are way better at it.
“I find myself getting hurt a lot if I don’t take the necessary precautions.” I felt that on another level LOL
Right you are. Thanks for the comment, it made me laugh.
@@TinManScrapper
Just my 2 bits. Difficult , Filthy , not fun . We did it for years . When copper went over 4$ we bought a band saw , crusher , mustang skid steer and a 2 ton dump truck Scraping appliances on a pretty hi level , cutting compressors , sorting alum , copper etc. The 35k$ investment paid 1 man's wages , about 800$ per week . It also kept the yard and store front clear .
and a lot of recyclable materials out of the landfill. They are messy for sure, but I think copper is going to continue to be a much needed material and will go sky high again. Thanks and stay well.@@kennyborek.satsopcityboy..1090
Awesome vid happened to stumble onto it while watching snobby scrap picker. I'm a hobby smelter and melt down all my copper and aluminium brass etc into ingots I've got 3 50 liter storage tubs full of wires that I'm working my way through stripping ready for melting.
Nice, copper is a good one. Thanks for the support
@@TinManScrapper yup it is hehe. No worries liked and subscribed you have some good and interesting videos
@@welshreaperscrapandcasting4029 Thank you very much Ariel. Stay well and thanks for the kind words
After cutting one end instead of hammer and punch use channel lock pilers to pull the copper thru it comes out much faster.
Thanks for the tip, will have to try it.
Thanks for the advice I’m a beginner
Subscribed, sorry it took me so long 😁 really interesting to observe, I recently had to purchase a number of new electrical appliances as my previous ones couldn't be repaired so I was seriously thinking how I can safely and correctly dispose of the parts so they can be re used, I spoke to a couple of people who know a few things about this and they advised me to spend a few days taking apart my electric cooker, refrigerator, mini oven, microwave and even my broken (cannot find the parts) welder, so that's what I'm doing at the moment and I'm finding it quite difficult to figure out which metal is which so I can store them together like you do, I had a good feeling about the core of the welder as there is some good copper in there but when I took the wiring out I cut a bit to see the metal inside an almost waxy coat and it was silver, I quickly searched to see how I would determine if the metal was silver, I put a drop of bleach on the bare wire and it showed a creamy oxidised colour which ,if what I read is accurate, means it's silver.
This confused me as I though it would be copper, it is not magnetic so I feel as though the advice the few people gave me would start paying off, is there a sure way you know of that could confirm the metal as silver, sorry for the huge comment but I would really appreciate the help, thank you for the content 👌🏼
Thanks for the support. Stay well and thanks for watching
it's probably aluminum not silver. why would they make a silver winding? no such thing.
seems like you have help with your wire from family, we have scrapping wars, people try to claim alleys, dumpsters ect, a lot of compaines are putting locks on dumpsters.
Combo locks are very easy to open 😆
Remove the string at the knot on both sides, and cut with a pair of side cutters and pull from opposite side and loose no copper with grinding.
RIP all the compressors I threw out 🤦 I got 2 AC's. I'm glad I actually did research before I RIP more copper 🤣
How do you remove the oil?
Why dispose of the compressor oil ? Use as a chain lube and great for loosening nuts/bolts too.
I use some of it. But I have a lot of compressors and can’t use all that oil
Great for running waste oil burners too.
Here in Iowa a lot of shops have waste oil furnaces they will take all you motor oil free, and any other oils.
@@TinManScrapper HAVE YOU TRIED TO PUT ON 1 OF YOUR VIDEO'S THAT YOU HAVE COMPRESSOR OIL FOR FREE IF ANYONE IS INTRESTEAD, CAN YOU USE IT AS FUEL IN A CARN OR BURNER INSTEAD OF PROPANE FOR MELTING COPPER AND SUCH ?
@@markavargosr36 no, have not tried.
I’m not sure if I asked before but is it worth it to cut them down like that
Oh yeah, these ones have probably 1.5 to 2 lbs of number 2 copper inside. Here now #2 copper going for 4.85 Canadian. The one video I just uploaded with home ac unit compressor had 3.13 pounds of copper. Well worth the time. However, some of the smaller ones, may have aluminium not copper inside. At least worth opening, but before taking windings out of the motor do the scratch test to make sure copper.
I have disassembled 2 window type aircondition units that our neighbor have given to me yesterday.( 1unit is hp and the other is 2 hp). I have first sold the casings to the junk shop dealer and i got Php 180.00 for 18 kilos ( more or lessUS$ 4.00 ) I have set aside the compressors and electric motors to extract copper for another day. Its better to watch you tube first to learn the art of removing the copper from the compressors and motors the easy way since im a neophyte on this kind of job. Here in the philippines, the price of red copper is is P 350.00 per kilo. ( more or less US$ 6.00). If i can get 5 kilos, ill have around Php 2,100.00 which is enough to buy 35 kilos of rice. ( 60/kilo rice variety)
hey, not a bad score then. I use my scrap money for some extras. I will not get rich from scrapping, but it does help bringing in some side money. Thanks for the comment. Stay well and happy scrapping
There's a real lot that can go wrong with cutting that copper with the angle grinder while holding it in your other hand. I'd like to see you put it firmly in your vice and use 2 hands for the angle grinder too.
Where is the best to cut a long compresser, from a few inches from the top or in the middle or both ends top and bottom?
Hi Scot, I actually did a video on that called ‘scrapping compressors for the copper, some tips and tricks’. The tube you see in the video is actually my first attempt with a cylinder type. Best place to cut is a little under middle....toonhigh and can’t get motor out.
Thanks for the video tin man! Well explained, but how much generally do scrapyards pay for compressors as is, unfortunately I do not have an angle grinder but I have three compressors, how much do you think they are worth as is? Again, great video 👍 (btw do some compressors have aluminium windings or is it guaranteed copper?)
Right now in London, On 19 cents apound
Drill a hole in the bottom of the compressor as well so the oil will drain out faster
Awesome thanks got to get going alot to take apart 😊 thanks. I love making money of people broken appliance's.
Hello, great videos, question? Why cant you just take the old motors / compressors to the scrap yard and get cash instead of all that work to take out the copper? Is it a case of the scrap companies will pay more for the actual copper that has been removed? Please explain thanks. PS where do you get your old motors / compressors etc.........must be cheap if you can resell for profit?
How much time from start to finish on each compressor to finish tear down, include removal from item, trying to figure out if i want to get involved in this part of scrap, come across around 40 to 50 ac units at the end and beginning of summer
Take me about 6 mins to cut open the unit and 2 minutes to cut out the copper. It would be quicker if I did not have to stop and replace the grinding wheel. So I think if you found the diamond cut ones it would speed up even more.
O ps I use a saw all for copper cut
My power hand saw HSS.
That would work as well.
brother in 1 water dispencer compressure how manny gram copper have ?
how manny gram brass ?
how manny gram aluminum ?
scrapping can become addictive
I totally agree. Thanks for watching. Stay well.
Thanks!
You should raise up that bench too low probably hard on your back
Good vid. Tin man can you. do vid how to. take copper out off rosters please cheers
Hey Seamus, sorry, what is a roster? Hope you are well
@@TinManScrapper sorry router out of. Moter
@@seamusmcelroy8352 will do
Don't want any oil to get on my oily work table lol love Canadians
Lol, I know.
the ptc and starter relay are if working worth more for reselling than breaking up for millgrams of silver, i have had to pay upto £15 dollars us for some ptcs
I know, but unfortunately a lot of the ones I get don’t work. Reselling is definitely a more profitable method if they work.
less pressure on the grinder let the blade do the work
I've taken apart a few compressors and I have come across aluminum windings before, probably on new air conditioner models and that is not worth the work. Thanks for your videos
Yup, unfortunately the new models are starting to become all aluminum windings, cheaper material to use and still conductive
@@TinManScrapper as a whole our industry is going to aluminum. Will have another 5 or so years left of old good stuff then it will start changing. Motors are pathetically cheap now
@@jonsaircond8520 can’t agree more. Transformers in microwaves are also going aluminum
Watching you use a grinder is scary, you want the cutting disc going the other way. That's because if/when it catches, it will pull away from your body instead of towards you.
What part, if the grinder catches it will go up, not towards my body
You'd be surprised what a grinding disk will do if it gets stuck. Not to mention when they explode.
Your best locking down your piece in a vice.
First thing I thought. Blowing sparks the wrong way. Using Cut off wheels can go bad real quick if it binds up
👋👍
I was horrified the way you were using that grinder to cut the copper. That's a good way to cut a finger off. You have a vice right there. You should use it. Also it's easier to pull the copper with fencing pliers than to punch it through. Also the strings make no difference at all to the grade. It's no. 2 regardless of having string or not. I process about 50 of these per week so I bought a cheap plasma cutter from Amazon and it is so much faster. Great video all around though.
Thanks woodguy. I've been pulling that string, it's a pain..
@@unfortunately.not.a.psyduck ya we all do until we find out. I'm a little OCD so I still do if it's easy. Looks so much better.
The motherfucker is too big to fit in an average vise dumbass!
What’s that black half round thing on your grinder?
A guard to direct the grindings
Blade safety guard
new just found you
Hello, fellow scrapper and environmentalist! I just subscribed to your channel as well.
Free Punch; take a broken screwdriver cut off the broken end and flatten it and Free Punch.🐎🌻✌️
I was working on the roof of a commercial building many years ago and and there was probably 75-100 of those scattered on the roof of this 10,000+ Square foot building. Any idea why there would be so many up there? I could have taken them all and the building owner would have been stoked to have them gone But I was told at the time or heard that there was nothing but oil in them This roof had 4-5 operational ac units on the building But there was like 20 old compressors per ac unit
Not sure why someone would store them on the roof other than trying to hide them and not know how to get rid of them properly. Too bad you did not take since it would have been a great score of copper.
u can apply a torch to those silver contacts and the silver will roll off
Tried today never worked ?
It's a shame that are replacing that number 2 copper with aluminium Windings but on the flip side also changing the Freon gas to a much more environmentally friendly one
Yeah, a lot more aluminum coils these days, but very true about the elimination of freon.
Hello, northen Sweden here.
Good thing freon is gone.
Here we have used R410a for a long time and now getting changed over to R600a wich is even better from what I hear.
What is the weight of sealed compressor and then weight of copper?
There are different sized compressors, but I just weighed one now and it was 10lbs. unopened. The copper I just got out of another compressor was almost .75 lbs.
So if I took the copper in, as #2 because of oil and coating, I would get almost 1.50$ for the copper.
At the end of the video, is the motor core considered #1 hms steel ?? It's thick and heavy
I put it as steel. Although there is some cast aluminum on it, so you may actually get more as dirty cast aluminum. Depends on your yard and country, but yes You could put as steel too.
@@TinManScrapper I was asking about the heavy steel on the bench vise, where you popped the copper out, thank you for your response👍
Sorry yes that is steel pile.
The wire you pulled out is that number 1 or number 2
Number 2 because the strands are thinner than 16 gauge...which is thickness of lead of pencil. Also the oil on wire makes it dirty.
are all of them copper motors
Pro tip from a gear head.. Cat litter, pour it on the oil, step on it & twist your foot.. Learned it in autoshop class in high school soaks it right up & sweep it up & toss it in a bag.. 😉🤙
Oh you are right, but I am also talking about the dripping out on the workbench. I too use that trick. Stay well and thanks for the comment
We used to do that back in the day, just like we used to pour antifreeze down the storm drain. These days most reasonable people don't want their ground water contaminated. Better to take it to the recycler in a container and tell them what it is.
How did you get rid of the Freon?
Luckily I got it flushed from a registered person.
Is there any chance of a fire from grinding that compressor ?
I have never had one and don’t think so, but there is always a chance for something to happen.
Its lower grade copper as it is coated in lacquer. Just use grips to hold the other end and bang of the metal 5 seconds to remove the remainder of the copper.
I get #2 price at my scrap yard in Sarnia Ont.
@@TinManScrapper Sorry I meant to say as its No2 no need to clean it as much
@@thebeekeepersworkshop no worries. Happy New Year’s to you.
Rather than grind, I would cut Cu on one side & probably I could pull Cu out other side using needle nose pliers. Grinding wastes Cu. Grinding Cu on very tight transformers is good.
You can use cutters, but I find grinder speeds up process.
Have you tried selling the motors on ebay? That might get you more money? And you avoid the labor of extracting the copper wire.
All sealed unit copper is #2 because of the oil residue
Yup and all other wire with paint, tape, or glue and less than 16 gauge is also #2
Hey dude, I take copper out of compressors a lot, but have the hardest time taking the string that is wrapped around the copper windings. Can I just turn in the copper with the string on it and have it count as copper number two?
@tinman
I would say yes, since #2 copper can have soddering, paint, glue, etc. What I do to get the string off is very easy. I use a knife and just cut over the string, it comes off pretty easy. Hey, I think you just gave me another idea for a quick video.
@@TinManScrapper awesome man thank you so much. I noticed fan motors and some air condition Moyer have a really thick glue and sticky stings wrapped around the motor. Every time I try taking string off it crumbles and I noticed on those the copper windings are very stiff and hard as well. Any suggestions on a easier method or if I should jsut leave the string on those ones? Or separate the copper that has stings till attached vs not attached ?
@@natheneyman3022 that glue and stuff I try to get off as much as possible, but since it is #2 not get any problem from the guys at the scrapyard
Hi, Full of Knowledge Video I want to buy large quantity of Fridge compressors for export. Suggest me please where i cant find at good price.
You might want to ask local scrap yards to buy them whole. A lot of people will bring them in without opening. You could ask them to buy from them outright. Other than that, maybe a appliance company. They would have old, used ones I am sure. Hope this helps.
@@TinManScrapper what about putting out an sos on you tube for all compresor motors
what is the black colour tool name which you have fit on your table ???
The object attached to my bench is a vise. Nice thing is there is a steel slab on back that I can use to hit objects on and the vise to clamp things.
@@TinManScrapper thanks buddy just ordered one
How much is the weight of compressor for 1.5 Lb of copped?
Compressor weighed 20lbs. Nice thing is that after removing the copper the rest of the compressor would be steel weight and go for .10 a pound. A whole compressor you are getting 5-7 cents a pound.
Does the oil have PCPS in it?
Not that I am aware of. I use it as a lubricant for some things.
How much is the recovered copper worth from doing all the separation? Is it for your own use or is it sold?
copper is #2 copper and right now in London Ont. going for $4.40 lb. well worth the time and effort.
@@TinManScrapper how many pounds were recovered from that compressor? Is #2 copper a wire gauge or a purity designation?
WHATS YOUR COMPANY NAME DO YOU SUPPLY UNSEALED COMPRESSOR