# is this the right process to refine platinum?



## Bobplatinum (Sep 3, 2012)

Hello!

I want to refine platinum from a catalytic converter.
So I wonder if this is the right video how to refine platinum?

He starting with pt powder and solid beads recovered from retired crucible melting.
But can i make the same process to refine platinum from "catalytic converter powder"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9BIDSA0V4U&feature=related

/Thanks


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## kurt (Sep 3, 2012)

If you really want to try recovering & refining PGMs (Platinum Group Metals) from catylitic converters I would suggest you go to lazersteves web site & buy his DVD on the subject - it is "well worth" the $25

edited: you can find a link to his web site in any of his post 



Kurt


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## jimdoc (Sep 3, 2012)

If you have only one catalytic converter you are probably better off selling it, and buying some platinum with the money. If you have access to more cheap, and a steady supply, then you might want to consider learning this as a hobby. But even there you are probably better off selling them and buying some platinum.
It isn't as easy as it sounds, you must truly understand what you are doing, and invest some money into doing it safely. Most of the big buyers pay very high, and if you have to compete with them when buying, then you lose right off the bat. 

Jim


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## samuel-a (Sep 3, 2012)

Bobplatinum

Kurt directed you to the right direction, Steve's DVD along side the information available here on the forum will give you almost everything you need to know about processing converters.

What you are seeing on the video is the refining process of an already high Pt content material. It is worlds away from the way you would treat converters.

Welcome to the forum.


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## its-all-a-lie (Sep 3, 2012)

Kadriver has posted alot of great info on refining platinum from catalytic converters here on the forum for free.


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## Bobplatinum (Sep 4, 2012)

Okey thanks.

But how much does it cost to refine a catalytic converter to pure platinum?
Is it worth it?

I don´t care how long time it takes or how complicated it is.

I just want to know if you can earn money on it?


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## jamaicanyute (Sep 4, 2012)

It depends on how many cats you have one single cat average size will yield maybe a gram or less of platinum, you will also get Rhodium and palladium , and if your not carefull you will end up with trace amounts of lead, which will mess up your assay. My friend does catconverters here in JA, and if you dont have at least ten to start processing ( which he gets for free ) it doesnt make sense.


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## lazersteve (Sep 4, 2012)

its-all-a-lie said:


> Kadriver has posted alot of great info on refining platinum from catalytic converters here on the forum for free.



Kevin's great photo stills follow my DVD almost to a 'T'. For those of you who learn better from videos, the DVD will provide you 'live action' with commentary by myself. The written version is nice to review, but the full motion video contains a wealth more of information. His photo stills also skip a large portion of the processes that occur both before and after the content he includes.

Steve


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## Bobplatinum (Sep 4, 2012)

Okey!
It seems very good that DVD.
Another question:

I've heard that's easier to refine gold from CPU:s?
Of course it's much smaller than a catalytic.
And it contains more precious metal than a catalytic if you think of it's size.
Heard something about 0.3-0.4 gram of gold in a CPU?
It must be much cheaper too.


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## jimdoc (Sep 4, 2012)

Bobplatinum said:


> Okey!
> It seems very good that DVD.
> Another question:
> 
> ...



CPU's vary in gold content also. The content you gave is for the better yielding ones.
Some are barely worth processing unless you have a large quantity, or are in it for a hobby.

Jim


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## Bobplatinum (Sep 4, 2012)

Im beginner in refining
so I want to begin with something thats not too complicated.
I watched a video on youtube and it seems easy to refine gold from CPUs
And they say it's more gold in the CPUs from old computers.
But catalytics seems a little bit harder to refine.
Is there any other scrap that is easy to refine, and its worth it to make some money?


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## jimdoc (Sep 4, 2012)

Bobplatinum said:


> Im beginner in refining
> so I want to begin with something thats not too complicated.
> I watched a video on youtube and it seems easy to refine gold from CPUs
> And they say it's more gold in the CPUs from old computers.
> ...



Gold fingers are probably the easiest thing to learn with. Getting them cheap or free is another issue.
They sell for about $80 per lb right now, and should yield about 2 grams of gold. Not much profit.
You can make money just selling it on Ebay, without dealing with any chemicals or your time.

Study the forum for a few weeks or even months and see if you want to jump in as a hobby, or as a business. It will take some studying to succeed.

Jim


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## its-all-a-lie (Sep 4, 2012)

lazersteve said:


> its-all-a-lie said:
> 
> 
> > Kadriver has posted alot of great info on refining platinum from catalytic converters here on the forum for free.
> ...


 

I agree your videos are great and full of info, i was merely pointing out the fact that all the info needed is here on the forum for free with use of the search bar. I dont comment very often but i am always in the background reading most every thread and post that has been made since i came on the forum. Seems lately alot of the members here are trying to use the forum for free advertisement for their services, and the forum itself is beginning to become more and more commercialised as it grows and progresses. This is not directed at you personally Steve, but to the members in general, almost everyday there is a new PDF. for sale on feebay. Rather than the members trying to help one another (i have read this is why the forum was created) they are most all trying to sell something to gain profits from those who lack the knowledge they seek almost as if to take advantage of them. 

Though i have only been here a short time, this is what i have observed. Right or wrong, this is my personal opinion and i hope it is not taken as confrontational because it is not meant to be. I am simply pointing out this fact, why pay for something when it can be obtained for free. I completely understand the time, effort and cost involved in making the dvd's and am in no way trying to take away from that, only stating the obvious. My personal opinion is any profits made from sales of any material relating to the forum should go directly to NOXX for upkeep of this great site he has created. After all is said and done, NOXX is the reason the forum exists to provide all of this information for free to all of us. I do not have an entitlement mentality, i am not one who looks for a free lunch, but when it is offered i refuse to turn it down. 

If any of the moderators feel i am out of line with anything i have stated here please pm me or delete this post.


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## jimdoc (Sep 4, 2012)

its-all-a-lie said:


> lazersteve said:
> 
> 
> > its-all-a-lie said:
> ...



Steve has invested in a lot of equipment to make those DVDs, and they are very professional and worth every penny. If he was selling junk, then maybe I would think differently. He is a large force in the building of this forum. You either buy his DVDs or you don't. He actually discusses most of the things in the videos here on the forum, if you feel like sitting down and take some notes. The videos are a great help to those that need the visual.

Jim


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## kurt (Sep 5, 2012)

its-all-a-lie said:


> I agree your videos are great and full of info, i was merely pointing out the fact that all the info needed is here on the forum for free with use of the search bar. I dont comment very often but i am always in the background reading most every thread and post that has been made since i came on the forum. Seems lately alot of the members here are trying to use the forum for free advertisement for their services, and the forum itself is beginning to become more and more commercialised as it grows and progresses. This is not directed at you personally Steve, but to the members in general, almost everyday there is a new PDF. for sale on feebay. Rather than the members trying to help one another (i have read this is why the forum was created) they are most all trying to sell something to gain profits from those who lack the knowledge they seek almost as if to take advantage of them.
> 
> Though i have only been here a short time, this is what i have observed. Right or wrong, this is my personal opinion and i hope it is not taken as confrontational because it is not meant to be. I am simply pointing out this fact, why pay for something when it can be obtained for free. I completely understand the time, effort and cost involved in making the dvd's and am in no way trying to take away from that, only stating the obvious. My personal opinion is any profits made from sales of any material relating to the forum should go directly to NOXX for upkeep of this great site he has created. After all is said and done, NOXX is the reason the forum exists to provide all of this information for free to all of us. I do not have an entitlement mentality, i am not one who looks for a free lunch, but when it is offered i refuse to turn it down.
> 
> If any of the moderators feel i am out of line with anything i have stated here please pm me or delete this post.



Yep --- you can can learn everything you need to know about refining any kind of PM from any knid of scrap for free right here on the forum 

With that said - here is the difference between learning for free here on the forum & buying the PDF guides &/or videos put to gether by the member that share that same info free here on the forum

Learning From The Free Info Here On The Forum --- You spend HOURS searching & you have to "cut through" the redirect, commentary & general conversation to actually get to the point of actual process --- Also many if not most of the threads are only questions & answers to a "part" of the process &/or "generalized" process discussion - not the process --- this can take hours - days - weeks - even months of time & working on trial & error that leads to more questions & answers

Buying A Members PDF Guide &/or DVD --- You get clear, concise complete to the point step by step instuction for a "particular" process of a "particular" meterial that can be put right to work as a proven to work method.

So in my opinion - the "little bit" of money spent to get such instruction is well worth the time saved to learn "the process" --- And agian in my opinion the members that takes the time to put this kind of instruction together has "earned" every penny of the little bit of money they ask for it.

As far as using the forum to promote sales of these guides & DVD --- how else are members old & new supposed to know they are avalible???

Kurt


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## butcher (Sep 6, 2012)

I believe Steve has discussed many times on the forum (what his videos contain), he has shared the information for free, I do not feel he has become commercialized and has over advertized, as it is others of us (that think his videos are so helpful that have recommend his great videos).

I too do not wish to see the forum become commercialized, but I also do not think that is what is happening here, as all of this information is free for those who wish to read about it here on the forum.

These videos are very reasonable and as far as I am concerned are helpful to understand what has been discussed many times on the forum.


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## nickvc (Sep 7, 2012)

Business is conducted on and through the forum and I see little wrong with that but I have to say that in the case of Steve as Butcher pointed out it's the other members, me included, who tend to promote them not him. For those that find learning without watching a process hard they really are a steal and in fairness I doubt Steve makes enough money on them to worry IRS to any extent.
For those with a good basic understanding or the patience to read and learn the basics the forum gives all the answers for free but we are all aware of the we want it now attitude and at least with Steve,s videos they can follow the processes safely and successfully.


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## arsenic123 (Feb 22, 2014)

Hello guys, I have sent an email to lazersteve few days back but I guess he is very busy. So I will post the question regarding the CD here. 
This was the email... Please answer anyone who has bought the cd. 

I stay in India. I have started collecting catalytic converters and I want to extract pgm from it. I am buying your CD "Fundamentals of Platinum and Palladium DVD- Video Guide to Processing Catalytics and Other Pt and Pd scrap". I have some basic questions. First of all how many days it will Take to reach the CDin india. My city is Mumbai, India. Secondly if I buy the CD will I be able to process the Diesel type catalytic converters mostly from the cars name Swift , swift Dzire, Hyundia I 20, etc. Please tell me that. thanks. I am a newbie so I hope your CD will properly guide me every step. Please reply soon. I have invested a lot of cash in to catalytic converters. Last question I have is I am directly melting the petrol catalytic converter after burning it and I can recover 800 mili from 1 kg. . So if I use the methods in your CD will the recovery increase as compared to directly melting it? I am trying same method to melt diesel catalytic converters but the recovery is none and that is because it has sulhphur and carbons? Anyways please tell me as soon as possible. I forgot the last and important question. I hope no machinery, furnace or Plasma ray is required to extract the PGM from petrol catalytic converter. I want to do it in my garage backyard as I have lot of space. I have access to most of the chemicals so I would prefer chemical methods. Please confirm if your CD method doesn't involve any machinery, furnace, etc. I can arrange some basic machinery which are not costly. I will be processing honeycomb catalytic converter. I hope CD covers it. 

Thanks a lot.


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## butcher (Feb 22, 2014)

arsenic123,
I cannot answer all of your questions, Steve may be busy, but He is a great guy to deal with and I am sure he will help you as soon as he can, as far as I understand there are two ways to extract metals from catalytic converters, smelting and chemical extraction, smelting would require more equipment and fuel, chemical extraction would be easier on small scale, as far as I know everything that is in Laser Steve's DVD has been posted on the forum, the DVD would be a visual and more step by step, without all of the other discussion that is normally involved on the forum, and the information will all be in one place where with the forum many times information can be located in several places and in many discussions, studying both would give you a better understanding of the processes in general.

I suggest keep trying to contact Steve, in the mean time, I suggest reading Hokes book (free download in the book section), studying the safety section and the posts dealing with waste, and doing a study of the processes used to leach catalytic converters, and recovery and refining the platinum group metals on the forum.


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## arsenic123 (Feb 22, 2014)

butcher said:


> arsenic123,
> I cannot answer all of your questions, Steve may be busy, but He is a great guy to deal with and I am sure he will help you as soon as he can, as far as I understand there are two ways to extract metals from catalytic converters, smelting and chemical extraction, smelting would require more equipment and fuel, chemical extraction would be easier on small scale, as far as I know everything that is in Laser Steve's DVD has been posted on the forum, the DVD would be a visual and more step by step, without all of the other discussion that is normally involved on the forum, and the information will all be in one place where with the forum many times information can be located in several places and in many discussions, studying both would give you a better understanding of the processes in general.
> 
> I suggest keep trying to contact Steve, in the mean time, I suggest reading Hokes book (free download in the book section), studying the safety section and the posts dealing with waste, and doing a study of the processes used to leach catalytic converters, and recovery and refining the platinum group metals on the forum.



Thank you for the reply. I am already in to business of refining gold and Silver. I do know the AP process, Cyanide,etc and I can successfully refine gold and silver . Nowadays its hard to get gold dust since there's a lot of competition so I am just moving to catalytic converters. I have mainly Honeycomb and I already read many books like Matthew and small books. So I finally found that people can successfully refine Honeycomb catalytic converters by purchasing the CD if you have basic knowledge coursers. So that's the reason I am posting it here because people have claimed that they bought the CD and they know the contents too plus I stay in India so I have those concerns too. 

Anyways I hope Steve reply me soon. I didn't expect him to be this late. I am sure he is busy.

Thanks for the reply though.


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## lazersteve (Mar 6, 2014)

Thanks for the interest. I do not ship my DVDs internationally. 

As I have stated in our numerous emails, you will need to arrange for someone in the US or Canada to buy the DVDs and send them to you.

Steve


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