# what impact does refining have in your everyday life



## steyr223 (Dec 14, 2013)

Hey guys and gals
I just thought of this today, I will explain but first
The title should be more like "since your first day here at our wonderfull form how has the
Lessons or teachings( what you learned here)stepped down in to your everyday life,

What do you do different than before the grf

I will start
First: I am sorry for any typos(can't find glasses)

I was washing my hands today and I noticed instead of looking at my hand to see if they were
Clean I watched the wash water to see if it was clear with no color :lol: 

I guess I owe cleaner hands to the grf 
Thanks steyr223 rob


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## g_axelsson (Dec 14, 2013)

All my friends think I'm crazy... but I get a lot of free scrap. So the impact is my apartment is full of gold scrap and computer parts. :mrgreen: 

Göran


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## moose7802 (Dec 14, 2013)

g_axelsson said:


> All my friends think I'm crazy... but I get a lot of free scrap. So the impact is my apartment is full of gold scrap and computer parts. :mrgreen:
> 
> Göran



I get the same thing from my friends, but I don't get a lot of free scrap. I tell them all to keep any scrap they might see and they look at me like I should go to the funny farm.

Tyler


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## CBentre (Dec 14, 2013)

moose7802 said:


> g_axelsson said:
> 
> 
> > All my friends think I'm crazy... but I get a lot of free scrap. So the impact is my apartment is full of gold scrap and computer parts. :mrgreen:
> ...



Very funny Tyler, I get the same kind of reactions. It seems like there are two types of people in this world "us" and "them". We see things in a different light and they don't notice the light because they have different kinds of priorities. I used to be one of them, just stuck with the same daily routine. Once I was introduced to this industry the world around me changed. Changed for the good I might add, and I've met and talked to some very great people along the way.


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## steyr223 (Dec 14, 2013)

When shown that little yellow bb
"them" take interest
When holding that little yellow bb
"them" sometimes become us


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## gold4mike (Dec 16, 2013)

I'm pretty sure I've become more annoying as a result of the forum. Everyone I have met in the last few years is now aware of my scrapping hobby and it has helped me get a lot more free material but, when asked "how are you?" or "what have you been up to lately?" my response always has something to do with gold recovery and refining. 

My coworkers at my full time job are probably tired of hearing about my latest "score" and some seem jealous of my extra income from it. Most of them are content to take their weekly paycheck and then complain that they don't have enough money to pay bills. They don't have the initiative to try to do anything extra to better their lives. Thanks to buying and reselling computer scrap for a profit I no longer have that problem.


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## Palladium (Dec 16, 2013)

gold4mike said:


> I'm pretty sure I've become more annoying as a result of the forum. Everyone I have met in the last few years is now aware of my scrapping hobby and it has helped me get a lot more free material but, when asked "how are you?" or "what have you been up to lately?" my response always has something to do with gold recovery and refining.
> 
> My coworkers at my full time job are probably tired of hearing about my latest "score" and some seem jealous of my extra income from it. Most of them are content to take their weekly paycheck and then complain that they don't have enough money to pay bills. They don't have the initiative to try to do anything extra to better their lives. Thanks to buying and reselling computer scrap for a profit I no longer have that problem.



Be careful Mike! Jealous people will throw you under the bus!


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## niteliteone (Dec 17, 2013)

Palladium said:


> gold4mike said:
> 
> 
> > I'm pretty sure I've become more annoying as a result of the forum. Everyone I have met in the last few years is now aware of my scrapping hobby and it has helped me get a lot more free material but, when asked "how are you?" or "what have you been up to lately?" my response always has something to do with gold recovery and refining.
> ...


Some of those "Jealous" people will probably be Driving the bus, aiming for you. :shock: 
I've had at least one try it.


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## solar_plasma (Dec 17, 2013)

My friends think I am crazy,too  and every time they have a new jewelry, I tell them after short inspection its scrap value. Also my vocabulary has changed, - I like to call things for "low-grade" or "low yield" if they are of cheap quality. When my children have some pieces of new technology, they read my thoughts and tell me with a smile, "no, you will NOT SCRAP THIS, dad!" 

And I seldomly leave the house without a magnifier, a leatherman, a torch and some cash  you never know, what will come along...


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## g_axelsson (Dec 17, 2013)

The pursuit of normality is never my goal, it would be the ultimate sacrifice of potential.

In that theme I just got my professional high altitude climbing license. I'm now allowed to climb masts and towers to do high altitude work. So far the highest I've been is 46m to the top of the cell tower we used for training.... and I liked it! :mrgreen: 

Göran


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## steyr223 (Dec 17, 2013)

g_axelsson said:


> The pursuit of normality is never my goal, it would be the ultimate sacrifice of potential.
> 
> In that theme I just got my professional high altitude climbing license. I'm now allowed to climb masts and towers to do high altitude work. So far the highest I've been is 46m to the top of the cell tower we used for training.... and I liked it! :mrgreen:
> 
> Göran



That's awesome stuff Göran
I am jealous ( I think I will find a bus) :lol: 

I once did a plumbing call where the drain on the outside of
The building had to be unplugged
I did it from the outside ledge about 1 foot wide
it was on the 23rd story :mrgreen: 
I charged $100.00 a floor before the job was started I had
my check


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## gold4mike (Dec 17, 2013)

Palladium said:


> Be careful Mike! Jealous people will throw you under the bus!



One already did. My boss was told that I was taking long lunch breaks without clocking out. He told me I was free to do what I wanted so long as I clocked out and back in upon my return. I told him I would be willing to do that but that I would begin to charge the company for the computer equipment I have been giving the company for free. I would also expect to be compensated one hour for each work related phone call I receive at my home after hours. (I am Operations Manager for a trucking company and receive all of the breakdown calls) He agreed.

The result has been far better than I anticipated. Last week I added 12 hours (all overtime) to my paycheck as well as $100 for a used laptop computer for our maintenance shop.


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## solar_plasma (Dec 17, 2013)

Maybe he even knew, that it would come more expensive, but that way he has less trouble - in this decision he seems to be a good leader.


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## quicksilver77PM (Feb 6, 2014)

Well i'll tell you, what originally started as a fascination with discarded electronics and a desire to recycle has become a full on obsession of mine. This hobby, recycling E-waste, has been an adventure from the start;I can't tell you how important reading about something prior to doing it is. Some of the first devices i ever opened were old-style CRT television's; they tend to hold a good charge right after being unplugged and if the + or - leads disconnect without shorting it out first you can seriously hurt yourself. Anyways i knew very little about electronics then(always learning), and i looked up the solution and found it to be quite simple. One would alligator clip a flathead screwdriver, clip the other end on grounding piece of metal and touch the metal underneath the black wire(anode) thereby discharging the CRT capacitor. 

When i first did that i had somewhat of an idea of what i was doing but i didn't know why a CRT would hold a charge or even that old-style tube TVs used cathode ray tubes; let alone how an antenna could pick up a favored TV show as a frequency and translate it into a familiar image. Recycling and refining started really more as scrapping in back alleys, and taking "junk" apart in an effort to understand how the device worked. 

One day as i was wandering about and came across two scrap computer towers; needless to say i broke them down in a hurry, even then i don't think i really thought to recover the gold myself. Ultimately i just wanted the copper, iron, and aluminum; and to stop as many ray tubes from being throw into dumpsters(technically illegal but most people don't know). When i looked up the prices on RAM/CPU scrap i was amazed, from there the gears started to turn and i got it in my head that i was going to refine gold and perhaps a bit of silver. 

Then i started thinking about platinum group metals, electrolytic cells, and quite a few questions on basic chemistry. I have always loved chemistry, and i can safely say that in the short time that I've been recovering metals i feel I've begun to really grasp the foundation of electrolytic potentials, ionization, pH, and basic procedure. This practice is a hobby for some, and a profession for others; really there is no limit to human ingenuity and design.


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## quicksilver77PM (Feb 6, 2014)

Well i'll tell you, what originally started as a fascination with discarded electronics and a desire to recycle has become a full on obsession of mine. This hobby, recycling E-waste, has been an adventure from the start;I can't tell you how important reading about something prior to doing it is. Some of the first devices i ever opened were old-style CRT television's; they tend to hold a good charge right after being unplugged and if the + or - leads disconnect without shorting it out first you can seriously hurt yourself. Anyways i knew very little about electronics then(always learning), and i looked up the solution and found it to be quite simple. One would alligator clip a flathead screwdriver, clip the other end on grounding piece of metal and touch the metal underneath the black wire(anode) thereby discharging the CRT capacitor. 

When i first did that i had somewhat of an idea of what i was doing but i didn't know why a CRT would hold a charge or even that old-style tube TVs used cathode ray tubes; let alone how an antenna could pick up a favored TV show as a frequency and translate it into a familiar image. Recycling and refining started really more as scrapping in back alleys, and taking "junk" apart in an effort to understand how the device worked. 

One day as i was wandering about and came across two scrap computer towers; needless to say i broke them down in a hurry, even then i don't think i really thought to recover the gold myself. Ultimately i just wanted the copper, iron, and aluminum; and to stop as many ray tubes from being throw into dumpsters(technically illegal but most people don't know). When i looked up the prices on RAM/CPU scrap i was amazed, from there the gears started to turn and i got it in my head that i was going to refine gold and perhaps a bit of silver. 

Then i started thinking about platinum group metals, electrolytic cells, and quite a few questions on basic chemistry. I have always loved chemistry, and i can safely say that in the short time that I've been recovering metals i feel I've begun to really grasp the foundation of electrolytic potentials, ionization, pH, and basic procedure. This practice is a hobby for some, and a profession for others; really there is no limit to human ingenuity and design.


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## Geo (Feb 6, 2014)

Hmmm.. lets see, how has refining impacted my life? people i have never met before ask me where i teach sometimes. i have barrels, boxes and bags of electronic scrap everywhere. i now go to the landfill more often (though with smaller loads). i have been visited by the local, county and state law enforcement (at different times) checking for drug production. two people that works at Lowe's knows me by name. i have more green in my buckets than i do in my pockets. i have more iron oxide where good steel used to be in certain places.

in all, everything is pretty much on track. 8)


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## Dawg (Feb 6, 2014)

My wife is very happy with me after I hit yard sales, she sorts thru the Jewelry and on occasions she has found and cleaned up items to us as Birthday gifts. On the flipside she has also hidden her stuff once she hears me rambling all I need is 9 more grams of silver to even this measurement out.


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## solar_plasma (Feb 6, 2014)

My school experiments have become much more precious. Refining is a perfect example to demonstrate oxidation stages and I think my students get a much better knowledge about that it's all about electrons, than I got when I had been a student. 8)

And the forum has teached me what to do and how to prepare so the experiments always work and always fast enough to use it as a 15min-experiment.


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## pimpneightez (Feb 6, 2014)

I can't look at any electronics without wanting to rip them apart.


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## Anonymous (Feb 6, 2014)

That's one heck of an interesting name you've got there - what does it mean exactly?


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