Fairly old (free) tv's?

[dimka]

Hey guys I've been looking around and reading lots, and I noticed that many people are giving away their old tv's, is it worth getting the tv's to process them? Or is it just a big waste of time?

 

[pimpneightez]

The only thing in TV's worth anything is copper. Maybe 5 dollars worth. The problem is getting rid of the glass. It contains lead and is considered hazardous waste. Also they are heavy and contain lots of plastics. The newer flat screens sometime have gold traces on boards. I wouldn't waste your time.

 

[necromancer]

check prices at your local scrap yards, profit is profit !!

 

[pimpneightez]

My local yard charges $5 bucks to take them. Every once in a while I sneak one past them. They don't say much if its just 1.

 

[necromancer]

wow, no recycling program in your part of the world ?

 

[macfixer01]

As mentioned before, Best Buy stores will take old CRT type TV's and monitors off your hands for free. However as I recall they have a limit on maximum screen size and a limited number of units per day.

 

[galenrog]

I am fortunate that I can get rid of CRT TV's just 30 minutes down the road. Prior to turn in I strip all copper and aluminum easily accessible. This includes yoke, degaussing cable, heat sinks, coils, transformers and any IC's. It is dirty grunt work, but when I turn in the TV, with covers reinstalled, I get a small tax-deductible donation receipt. The average donation value where I turn in is $3 per TV.

Not much there if the degaussing cable is aluminum wire, but if copper it is usually #1 grade and can double the value of removed scrap. The last 50 or so for me were all aluminum.

 

[dimka]

Alright so If I want copper/aluminum I can get the tv's, I have also seen a few refrigerators that are being given away for free, does anyone have experience with these huge things? :3

 

[pimpneightez]

Refrigerators are good but in the U.S you have to reclaim the refrigerant. Most scrap places will not except them with refrigerant. I'm a stickler for reclaiming the refrigerant because of the CFC's. Most scrap guys just pop a hole in a line and let it escape into the atmosphere. If you get caught doing this fined can be as much as 10k dollars. I usually take the compressor out. Its hermetically sealed so I grind it open with a grinder to get to the copper coil. If stripped down to the bones you might get 20 bucks. If you give it to them whole around 10. Grunt work but every ounce counts and everything weighs something. There's a reason why these things are free.

 

[Anonymous]

wow, no recycling program in your part of the world ?

Yes probably a regulated one, which is why they will charge for disposal of these. They are classed as hazardous waste.

 

[dimka]

Refrigerators are good but in the U.S you have to reclaim the refrigerant. Most scrap places will not except them with refrigerant. I'm a stickler for reclaiming the refrigerant because of the CFC's. Most scrap guys just pop a hole in a line and let it escape into the atmosphere. If you get caught doing this fined can be as much as 10k dollars. I usually take the compressor out. Its hermetically sealed so I grind it open with a grinder to get to the copper coil. If stripped down to the bones you might get 20 bucks. If you give it to them whole around 10. Grunt work but every ounce counts and everything weighs something. There's a reason why these things are free.

I did a little research, isn't the refrigerant in a a tank similar to a propane tank? Can't I just close the valves, take the tank out and then give the tank to the right place? Or does no one do refrigerant recovery services?

That EPA man, it made me pretty mad. I guess I'm trying to help the environment (in a way) by recycling metals, I don't think they are giving and option for us to recycle these Refrigerators :/

 

[necromancer]

Prior to turn in I strip all copper and aluminum easily accessible. This includes yoke, degaussing cable, heat sinks, coils, transformers and any IC's. It is dirty grunt work, but when I turn in the TV, with covers reinstalled, I get a small tax-deductible donation receipt.

is this not the same as filling your copper pipe with lead and selling it to the scrap yard ?
or putting tungston in the centre of your gold and selling it ?

 

[dimka]

Prior to turn in I strip all copper and aluminum easily accessible. This includes yoke, degaussing cable, heat sinks, coils, transformers and any IC's. It is dirty grunt work, but when I turn in the TV, with covers reinstalled, I get a small tax-deductible donation receipt.

is this not the same as filling your copper pipe with lead and selling it to the scrap yard ?
or putting tungston in the centre of your gold and selling it ?

Isn't that fairly smart to do though? Also, heading back to the TV subject, is getting the copper out of the tv's worth doing?

 

[butcher]

Removing refrigerant from the refrigerator takes special equipment, to handle refrigerant here you need a license, to insure it is properly handled.

It is not a tank that you can close valves on and remove the tank full of refrigerant.

Just be glad not mad at the EPA man, he is doing his job protecting you and your environment, do not show the EPA men you are mad, they can make a persons life really difficult if they want to.

Look for better scrap, that will pay more for less work, and is less dangerous to all of us.

Your idea of smart is completely different than mine.

as far as removing the little bit of copper from the TV, and is it worth it, if you know how to work with TV's safely, they can have capacitors that can hold a high voltage charge, touching the wrong part on that TV would not only be fun but could prove very dangerous, the tubes are in a vacuum, handling the tube wrong can cause the tube to implode (opposite of explode but the results would be similar) with sharp glass shrapnel flying around you, for a few cents of copper, if you can dispose of the tube and other unwanted parts of the TV in the proper way, and you already owned the TV maybe, but for a way to prosper in the scrap metal business, forget the TV's and refrigerators.
They are likely to cost you much more than the few pennies you will get from the copper, especially if your friend the EPA man figures out what you are doing.

 

[dimka]

Removing refrigerant from the refrigerator takes special equipment, to handle refrigerant here you need a license, to insure it is properly handled.

It is not a tank that you can close valves on and remove the tank full of refrigerant.

Just be glad not mad at the EPA man, he is doing his job protecting you and your environment, do not show the EPA men you are mad, they can make a persons life really difficult if they want to.

Look for better scrap, that will pay more for less work, and is less dangerous to all of us.

Your idea of smart is completely different than mine.

as far as removing the little bit of copper from the TV, and is it worth it, if you know how to work with TV's safely, they can have capacitors that can hold a high voltage charge, touching the wrong part on that TV would not only be fun but could prove very dangerous, the tubes are in a vacuum, handling the tube wrong can cause the tube to implode (opposite of explode but the results would be similar) with sharp glass shrapnel flying around you, for a few cents of copper, if you can dispose of the tube and other unwanted parts of the TV in the proper way, and you already owned the TV maybe, but for a way to prosper in the scrap metal business, forget the TV's and refrigerators.
They are likely to cost you much more than the few pennies you will get from the copper, especially if your friend the EPA man figures out what you are doing.

Thanks for that, I guess I have to look for other scrap. What are your sources of scrap? Because I am currently out of ideas :/

 

[jimdoc]

Thanks for that, I guess I have to look for other scrap. What are your sources of scrap? Because I am currently out of ideas :/

This forum is full of ideas, if you just take the time to look.

Jim

 

[butcher]

Scrap metal is everywhere,

Here is an idea for you, many people consider most of scrap metals as trash, sometimes business will generate scrap metal and just throw it in the trash, you could provide them with a recycling service, supplying them with recycle bins, and donuts to employees who fill your bins when you regularly pick up your bins.

Advertise you will haul of their trash, and recycle it.

 

[dimka]

Scrap metal is everywhere,

Here is an idea for you, many people consider most of scrap metals as trash, sometimes business will generate scrap metal and just throw it in the trash, you could provide them with a recycling service, supplying them with recycle bins, and donuts to employees who fill your bins when you regularly pick up your bins.

Advertise you will haul of their trash, and recycle it.

I have heard and seen this in my city, I should be targeting mainly electronics companies correct?

Jim, I'm looking in this forum, I'm getting ideas but I don't think they will go through in my city/area....

 

[butcher]

Reading the forum you will gain an education you can use in any city, or country, even in the mountains, basically anywhere.

Until you spend some time reading you will never know what your missing, you may be stepping over a gold mine every day and not even know that it is there.

 

[jimdoc]

This site has a lot of good information;

http://www.scrapmetaljunkie.com/

http://www.scrapmetaljunkie.com/scrap-metal-handbook-guide