# vacuum tubes?



## Anonymous (Oct 27, 2008)

Hello newbie here.
I tried using the search option but found nothing on the subject. Does anyone know if there are any precious metals in any type of vacuum tubes? I have loads!


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## Noxx (Oct 27, 2008)

Got a pic ?


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## Anonymous (Oct 28, 2008)

They look like these. There are all sorts though.


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## qst42know (Oct 28, 2008)

Many of these old tubes still sell. A tube tester can quickly pay for itself. Keep in mind many will contain mercury some in large amounts.


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## patgspot (Nov 7, 2008)

Hi Compscrapper,

Do you have any with the numbers: 
6L6GC
12AX7
EL84

I have a B & K Precision tube tester to check them with. If you're interested in selling any of these I'd be interested. Please let me know.
Thanks


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## Anonymous (Nov 8, 2008)

i have thousands in boxes at the warehouse, ill have to take a peek in my spare time. but i will.


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## Anonymous (Nov 9, 2008)

i took a quick peek at the boxes and turned the other way. lol there are thousands man. how big is it? or do u have a picture? it would help loads. =p


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## Anonymous (Jan 21, 2009)

I had an uncle who worked on old tube equipment and saved all tubes for scrapping the different elements. He had baby food jars (each labeled with element )full of the tiny nuggets that he collected for many years.when he died, people he hadn't seen in years showed up and claimed everything and wouldn't allow access to any of the property.they rented a dumpster and threw away all the tubes,jars, and old radios & tv's and what they didn't want. they stood guard over the dumpster when me and my little brother wanted a bunch of stuff ( ? many pickup loads).It was sad , very sad.we got nothing. Anyhow, I rember seeing diagrams of what was what on the frames in the tubes. This is how my uncle knew what to save.I have been buying old radios for the tubes to be scrapped.I just need the diagrams to do this.I will have to do a massive search on the web to hopefully find such information.


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## butcher (Jan 21, 2009)

3 leg are you talking eletronic diagrams,? I have an old sylvana tube data book, lots of specification of tubes, with pinout and biasing diagrams, but not information of consrutcion materials except somthing like aluminum screen grid.
Compscrapper I would also be interested in a few tubes, and you may find them more value as tubes than metal solutions,


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## qst42know (Jan 21, 2009)

This covers the majority of metals in most vacuum tubes. 

http://www.r-type.org/static/metal.htm

The getter flash is barium and it used to absorb trace gasses. 

Rectifier tubes will also contain a trace to several pounds of mercury. I have seen some very early rectifier tubes that held enough mercury to fill a large coffee mug.


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## Lou (Jan 21, 2009)

Good source of mercury indeed.

As a matter of fact, I am needing some mercury. Anyone have a few pounds they'd part with at market price?


Lou


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## Anonymous (Jan 22, 2009)

qst42know said:


> This covers the majority of metals in most vacuum tubes.
> 
> http://www.r-type.org/static/metal.htm
> 
> ...


Met a fellow on Keremeos B.C. who owned a very large rectifier tube from a German submarine. It stood at least 6ft with approx 4 feet diameter having glass protrusions sticking out like an octopus. The vacuum tube had enough mercury to fill a 45 gallon drum.

The tube was used for charging the subs battery's.


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## aflacglobal (Jan 22, 2009)

I believe some of those tubes were made with platinum wire grids. I'm just not sure which one's. Chris ???? Anyone ???


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## qst42know (Jan 23, 2009)

I found a couple of references to platinum filaments in early tubes, both from the 1920s. They referred to long life tubes from some makers having platinum filaments the others would have the standard tungsten filaments.

I have sold many tubes from the 20s. Generally the 4, 5 , or 6 pin types. Working tubes from this era should sell for $9 to $45 each roughly and some well more than that. I doubt a tube filament weighs more than a couple grains.

Duds would be one thing but you could be smashing thousands of dollars for little in return. I have a box of duds around here somewhere and will do some testing in the spring.

A tube tester would quickly pay for itself. They are not that difficult to learn to test. Audio tubes are by far the most desirable and some will bring thousands per pair. Television tubes not so much. There are plenty of tube sellers on the web and plenty to learn. 

Search the tube numbers you have to find some idea what they sell for.


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