# separate the copper top from processors



## baltimorerecyclers (Apr 26, 2012)

Advice is appreciated on how to separate the copper top from processors. Is it okay to use an epoxy solvent? Without damaging the gold content?


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## philddreamer (Apr 26, 2012)

What type of processors Baltimore?
Thanks!

Phil


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## baltimorerecyclers (Apr 26, 2012)

green fiber, metal top
Intel Pentium 

4 pics attached


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## maynman1751 (Apr 26, 2012)

baltimorerecyclers said:


> Advice is appreciated on how to separate the copper top from processors. Is it okay to use an epoxy solvent? Without damaging the gold content?



I put the fiber part in a vise. As you tighten it the fiber will flex (bend) and break the bond on the top or even totally pop it loose.


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## philddreamer (Apr 26, 2012)

I like to take the pins & monolitic cap's off, so I heat them in my iron skillet, then I scrape them off and pry off the heat sink. It comes off real easy.

Phil


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## baltimorerecyclers (Apr 26, 2012)

i tried the bench vise, it works okay, but is slow going ... i was looking for a way to do this in bulk, say 20# at a time

i thought maybe an oven or solvent?


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## philddreamer (Apr 26, 2012)

Don't get then too hot or you'll have a mess in your hands, not to mention a lot of toxic smoke!


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## baltimorerecyclers (Apr 26, 2012)

What type of solvent should I avoid?


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## MMFJ (Apr 29, 2012)

baltimorerecyclers said:


> What type of solvent should I avoid?


I'm not even a refiner wanna-be (I recover and reclaim, but all the chemical work is sent out to those more experienced), but it seems pretty clear to me that you got two great answers, neither of which discussed any type of solvent whatsoever.

When you ask questions of a mentor/master and they are kind enough to give you sound, well tested advice, you should heed it well and not continue asking questions down a different path (even though you may have come to them with that thought).

To be more clear (in case you missed my point...), I'd say you should avoid ANY type of solvent, if you are going to follow the sage advice given!


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## zenophryk (May 1, 2012)

After removing the pins, I stick the fiber edge in a vice (dosn't need to be too tight) then I stick my thin sharpened putty knife in between the copper top and fiberglass. give the putty knife a wack with whatever's handy, and they pop right off. I just did about 30 of them, took about 15 minutes or so.

-Zenophryk


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## pimpneightez (May 1, 2012)

Are some of those copper heat sinks silver plated, tinned or both?


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## baltimorerecyclers (Jun 25, 2012)

I started this thread, and wanted to 'subscribe' to it ... I know that I have done so previously with other threads here, I see them in my control panel > manage subscriptions. But something changed, or I am missing it. I stopped following, and missed some messages ... 

And so I am back to try and revive this thread. I want to thank everyone for their replies. Right now, we are still doing it by hand, as suggested, with: hammer, screwdriver and vise. It is slow going, but it works. There is a rubbery type adhesive joining the 2 parts.

Going in, I was attracted to the idea of using some sort of solvent. That is what started this thread in the first place. I don't know what breaks down the gold, and I didn't want to use something that would destroy the materials.

In the interim, I tried experimenting with what ever I had on hand, letting a single chip soak for a few days.


Alcohol didn't do anything (70% isopropyl, rubbing alcohol).

Nail polish remover (acetone?) softens the adhesive, but doesn't do a complete job, still needs a screwdriver.

In another life, I was in the glass and glazing business. The adhesive looks very much like a small version of double face tape. So I called a buddy of mine that is still in the glass business, and presented my problem to him ... his 'secret' was nail polish remover.

philddreamer wrote > *"I heat them in my iron skillet"*, but warned *"Don't get then too hot or you'll have a mess in your hands, not to mention a lot of toxic smoke!"*.
This is a concern. If both materials, the adhesive and the processor, have similar melting temperatures. It makes me lean towards solvents as opposed to heat.

pimpneightez wrote > *"Are some of those copper heat sinks silver plated, tinned or both?"*
You raise a good point. After checking the first few on the bench grinder, I have been assuming they are all copper. I don't know how to *easily* determine if there is any silver there. And if so, is it worth separating?

All the best, Barry, Baltimore Recyclers


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## Geo (Jun 25, 2012)

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=13308


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## qst42know (Jun 25, 2012)

Very little gold there to be spending money on acetone let alone the fire hazard. Use a second hand electric skillet if you are worried about over heating. I'll take heat or mechanical means any day.


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## baltimorerecyclers (Jun 25, 2012)

Geo said:


> http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=13308


i am not missing the email ... it's not being sent, because i am no longer able to see how to subscribe to the thread ...


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## martyn111 (Jun 25, 2012)

baltimorerecyclers said:


> Geo said:
> 
> 
> > http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=13308
> ...



At the bottom left of the page you will see 'Bookmark topic', click this to subscribe to the thread.


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## philddreamer (Jun 25, 2012)

Baltimore, all it takes is enough heat in order to soften the glue, and then pry with a spatula... I place 8 or 10 with the heatsink against the skillet for 30 or 40 seconds, and I start prying. If you leave them and walk away, they will over heat...
and then you'll have a mess! :mrgreen: 
With some practice you'll do fine. No need for solvents, Bro.
By the way, I only take the heatsink off now. I'll place them later, without the heatsink, in HCl.

Take care!

Phil


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## baltimorerecyclers (Jun 25, 2012)

martyn111 > At the bottom left of the page you will see 'Bookmark topic', click this to subscribe to the thread.

Yes. It says 'Remove from bookmarks'. What I was looking for, is to get an email when the thread is updated.


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## jimdoc (Jun 25, 2012)

baltimorerecyclers said:


> martyn111 > At the bottom left of the page you will see 'Bookmark topic', click this to subscribe to the thread.
> 
> Yes. It says 'Remove from bookmarks'. What I was looking for, is to get an email when the thread is updated.




The emails are not working for anybody right now, since Noxx stated that in the post in the link that Geo posted.

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=13308#p134291

Jim


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## baltimorerecyclers (Jun 25, 2012)

Hello Phil, 

> I place 8 or 10 with the heatsink against the skillet for 30 or 40 seconds, and I start prying. ... No need for solvents, Bro.

I haven't timed myself, but I think I could clean 2 processors a minute with a hammer, a small screwdriver, and a bench vise. I was hoping to process them in batches from 5 to 20 lbs of processors. I have no personal preference towards solvents, I just thought they might be good for this.

> By the way, I only take the heatsink off now. I'll place them later, without the heatsink, in HCl.
I am a primarily a 'scrapper', I guess our goals might be different. What I am after is ways to increase the value of my materials. Am not further processing, I am selling.

All the best, Barry


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## baltimorerecyclers (Jun 25, 2012)

jimdoc wrote > The emails are not working for anybody right now ... 

bummer, okay i got it, just gotta stop in on a regular basis


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## etack (Jun 26, 2012)

why are you taking the heat spreader off anyway. soak them in a shallow dish of HCl and just take the pins off. The fact is if you soaked them in HCl a pound at a time completely submerged the pins will fall off before your heat spreader will dissolve and more than likely it will only remove the tin on top with minor pitting. Hot HCl is cheep time is expensive.

personally they are not worth the time to refine. 


Eric


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## Geo (Jun 26, 2012)

baltimorerecyclers, Noxx explains in the thread why you, nor anyone else is getting Emails from the board right now.

as far as the tops, solvents that are strong enough to break the bond of the sealant between the base and the top will also break down the resins in the fiber base. if you are flipping the CPU's for profit and removing the metal top to increasing the resale price, you may be working for nothing. if you sell by weight, i can see where the extra expense would be beneficial. if you are selling by the piece, you are only hurting yourself. i am not privy to your operation, but if you have more CPU's than you can deal with one at a time by hand, i dont think you want to reclaim the lids for the copper content. i would sell per piece and make sure the price asked reflects the price of the copper tops and just leave it on.


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## WTAstronaut (Jun 26, 2012)

I did not know those were cpper. Thanks!


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## baltimorerecyclers (Jun 28, 2012)

Geo said:


> as far as the tops, solvents that are strong enough to break the bond of the sealant between the base and the top will also break down the resins in the fiber base.
> 
> if you are flipping the CPU's for profit and removing the metal top to increasing the resale price, you may be working for nothing. if you sell by weight, i can see where the extra expense would be beneficial. if you are selling by the piece, you are only hurting yourself. i am not privy to your operation, but if you have more CPU's than you can deal with one at a time by hand, i dont think you want to reclaim the lids for the copper content. i would sell per piece and make sure the price asked reflects the price of the copper tops and just leave it on.



> if you sell by weight, i can see where the extra expense would be beneficial ... i am not privy to your operation ...

I process scrap for corporate clients in the Baltimore MD / Washington DC area. Just looking for little ways to increase the value of the materials.


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## schomisch (Jul 4, 2012)

Will somebody clarify this for me: I read in a previous post that the lids were 30% copper 70% nickel. If this is true they would be worth more then the $7.50 a lb they currently are going for. I would just like someone to clarify this for me. 

Thanks ~Chris!~


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## nivrnb (Sep 23, 2012)

To All,

While removing one of the lids, I came across a heat sink that had a gold tint on the underside. Is this common? The processor was a burnt 2.8 Ghz P4. Has anyone else come across this? To get the lid off of this processor, what I did was scrapped the epoxy off the entire outer edge of the heat sink. Then I tried to pry it off using a small metal wedge. What had happened is that the die was soldered on and I ripped a whole straight thru the processor. The die was stuck to the bottom of the heat sink. Then I just used a heat gun to separate.

Update just found this link discussing the gold plating. http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=15471&p=156631&hilit=heat+sink#p156631

Also this link, good stuff!!!! http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=14801&p=149245&hilit=heat+sink#p149245




Rob


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## Geo (Sep 24, 2012)

if you incinerate the copper lid, the gold color will fall off. im afraid its just a piece of film, perhaps Mylar. its not metallic as it will burn if you get it hot enough. i thought it was some thin gold plating too. its amazing what a torch will do to some things.


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## pimpneightez (Sep 24, 2012)

schomisch said:


> Will somebody clarify this for me: I read in a previous post that the lids were 30% copper 70% nickel. If this is true they would be worth more then the $7.50 a lb they currently are going for. I would just like someone to clarify this for me.
> 
> Thanks ~Chris!~


No way are these 70% nickle. I would say 99% copper,1% plated with whatever


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