For Sale 70g MLCC for $17.50

[Alondro]

Hi Alondro,

In the first video at 0:44, it sounds to me as you dissolved the MLCCs in hydrochloric acid.
I guess, you cleaned them from tin/solder by using hydrochloric acid, washed in destilled water from remaining HCl and dissolved the metals in nitric acid (maybe after grinding). These steps got lost…

Your advice "don't touch the liquid" is ok, but you don't wear gloves and in the second video, you're defiling the test tube by placing the used pipette beside it (1:44).

But good informative videos anyway. Thanks!

I wasn't thinking of methodology in the first video, it was just a test to confirm silver. I do mention it in the second video.

That's why I have the tubes in the little glass jar in the second video. The test tubes and pipette (which are just disposable plastic), and the porcelain cup were all put into a specific PGM area afterward. It was simply easier to put the small items all into one thing to carry after I was finished with them. I have a bag full of those test tubes and don't reuse them. They're actually old culture tubes, used for growing bacteria. But they were very old, the bag was sitting open for years, and no one in my old lab wanted to risk using them for experiments (random germs could settle on them and contaminate the cultures), so they were being thrown out. I rescued them for simple chemical tests like this where a few microbes didn't matter.

I tend to wear gloves only for significant volumes or concentrated acids. Tests with a few drops I can manage not to spill.

 

[moogdummy]

Does anyone know why an existing seller of MLCCs would be bidding on my measly ebay listing? What is the incentive for someone that currently sells the same product to be buying mine?

 

[BlackLabel]

Maybe he needs more stuff to sell.
Or he could try to push your auction higher in order to be the cheaper seller. If your auction ends after his, he could take back his bid.
Some people invent strange tactics for cheating on eBay.

 

[moogdummy]

I just read ebay's rules on retracting bids. This might make more sense now if he's being nefarious.

 

[eaglekeeper]

I don't sell on eBay, so I don't really know the ends and outs.... Is there a way to block someone from bidding on your lot if you feel they're be nefarious?

 

[BlackLabel]

At eBay Germany, you can block bidders by defining a blacklist. I never used it.

 

[Psyrix]

I have always used a HDD magnet to pick them up, everything that is picked up goes to the waste pile.
Of course they still are there so I might need to have another round with a weaker magnet.

Same. I've only ever tested using Neo's. These short videos changes my perspective. Thanks, @Alondro .

 

[Psyrix]

I don't sell on eBay, so I don't really know the ends and outs.... Is there a way to block someone from bidding on your lot if you feel they're be nefarious?

Yes, you can Block people from Bidding on your items. I've had to block a number of people who have tried the "Not as described" excuse when the items were EXACTLY as described. Some will try to "Not as Described" excuse on numerous things such as RAM, claiming it doesn't work on their system when the Description clearly states, This RAM WILL NOT WORK IN A DESKTOP OR LAPTOP, and try to get their money back, and possibly exchange their useless, worthless, non-working RAM with your good RAM. Be Very Careful. Take pictures of everything including Serial Numbers. Of course, with Scrap Material, I always put in the description clearly, that this is for SCRAP ONLY. NO REFUNDS.

 

[Alondro]

Same. I've only ever tested using Neo's. These short videos changes my perspective. Thanks, @Alondro .

You're welcome! Closer to spring, I'll be testing other components that get mixed messages about, such as Schottky Diodes and IC transistors.

All winter, I'll be focusing on stripping circuit boards. I have 5 tubs to get through!

 

[Psyrix]

You're welcome! Closer to spring, I'll be testing other components that get mixed messages about, such as Schottky Diodes and IC transistors.

All winter, I'll be focusing on stripping circuit boards. I have 5 tubs to get through!

I've got a lot of stuff to go through, myself. Working hard at getting good weight and good quality.

 

[Alondro]

I've got a lot of stuff to go through, myself. Working hard at getting good weight and good quality.

Nice! I have a ton of CPUs of various sorts, as well as lots of hard-disk platters. The aluminum-core type, which have a plating of Pt-Cr-Co alloy.

 

[kurtak]

The aluminum-core type, which have a plating of Pt-Cr-Co alloy.

Don't waste your time

It's more like they have a plating of Cr-Co-------------------Pt

Kurt

 

[Alondro]

Don't waste your time

It's more like they have a plating of Cr-Co-------------------Pt

Kurt

This type has an average of 20% Pt in the plating. They're mostly the big old type, the generation just after the 'red' ones that had gold in the plating. I have a little pile of the small ones too, not sure what I'll do with those yet. They're quite reflective, so I might make a parabolic reflector array out of them.

 

[patnor1011]

Even magnetic mlcc contain some value. There will be small amount of gold as some are soldered on gold plated pad on boards. There is also silver in them and in solder. People tend to think about Pd but if you do have quantity then if you do not find much of Pd there will be some silver you get. There is old thread with one member successfully recovering bunch of silver from them. Also resistors should not be overlooked as they some of them do contain silver.

 

[Wonka]

What’s the expected yeild of PGMs from a pound of MLCCs? I have about 5 LBs saved up but I don’t wanna mess with them until there’s a yeild worth messing with.

 

[Yggdrasil]

What’s the expected yeild of PGMs from a pound of MLCCs? I have about 5 LBs saved up but I don’t wanna mess with them until there’s a yeild worth messing with.

It depends on the age and what kind of equipment it came from.
Older MLCCs had excellent yields, newer has noting in the MLCCs themselves but a bit of Silver in the solder.
Anyway the only feasible/recommended way to process them are smelting.

 

[anachronism]

What’s the expected yeild of PGMs from a pound of MLCCs? I have about 5 LBs saved up but I don’t wanna mess with them until there’s a yeild worth messing with.

Check them with a normal magnet. NOT a rare earth magnet. The mistake people easily make is using too strong a magnet because many Noble metal MLCC still have nickel plating on the ends. There are also other "tells" but this is a good starting point. For Noble metal MLCC you're looking at up to 6% Pd by weight assuming you know how to get it all of course. 6% being 60g per Kg....

Also some MLCC also contain Pt.

 

[Alondro]

Check them with a normal magnet. NOT a rare earth magnet. The mistake people easily make is using too strong a magnet because many Noble metal MLCC still have nickel plating on the ends. There are also other "tells" but this is a good starting point. For Noble metal MLCC you're looking at up to 6% Pd by weight assuming you know how to get it all of course. 6% being 60g per Kg....

Also some MLCC also contain Pt.

Do you happen to know about the Pd content in those multi-legged resistor arrays? Some are plastic coated, some are resin or enamel-coated.

I assume the MLCCs in 'hot dogs' will be must lower in Pd by mass due to all the coating and electrodes.

I also found a bunch of nonmagnetic MLCCs encased in glass, formed like old diodes, with the MLCC sandwiched between two copper electrodes. And I have some very old military-grade MLCCs from 1976. They're far larger than the later types, over half an inch in diameter, with very thick electrodes.

 

[anachronism]

Do you happen to know about the Pd content in those multi-legged resistor arrays? Some are plastic coated, some are resin or enamel-coated.

I assume the MLCCs in 'hot dogs' will be must lower in Pd by mass due to all the coating and electrodes.

I also found a bunch of nonmagnetic MLCCs encased in glass, formed like old diodes, with the MLCC sandwiched between two copper electrodes. And I have some very old military-grade MLCCs from 1976. They're far larger than the later types, over half an inch in diameter, with very thick electrodes.

Thats a really good point about the multi leg arrays Alondro. I haven't- maybe I should!

 

[Alondro]

Thats a really good point about the multi leg arrays Alondro. I haven't- maybe I should!

I would guess they have a high variability, since they're constructed in so many different ways. Might be possible to group them roughly into 2 groups: the enamel/resin-coated ones which tend to be thin, vs the plastic ones which can be up to the size of smaller PROMs with thick plastic.