New Refiner in Community

[djbradley61]

Good Morning everyone,

My name is Dan, and I am new to the forum. I have recently started recycling computers. I have been scrapping cars and other metals since I finished up with the Marine Corps and feeding a family of 4 while doing it.

I want to start out by saying that this website is of the utmost professionalism and dedication to refining gold safely as well as profitably.

I could sit hear and read all day, but I want to cut to the chase. I buy computers for 3 bucks a piece. I make roughly 100% of my money back between the light iron, motherboards, etc. I have been stockpiling the clean cut gold fingers and cannot bring myself to sell them at 100-125/lb USD. If they are worth that much to someone, they must be worth so much more in the actual gold content. Needless to say, it brought me here.

I am looking for good resources to refine my electronic scrap. All of my youtube research is great, but there are definitely gaps in the process that keep me from attempting this head on with a blindfold.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

 

[plumbers]

If your going to refine it yourself, this is the best forum to get your answers. Here is a link to get you started on processing fingers.
http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=12914
There are toxic fumes in these process's, so read all you can before you attemp to any. Take the guided tour link, also check Lazersteve's web site, he has some videos you can watch and or buy. A must have book is CM Hoke, do a form search for this and read it. I have read several times and each time I learn new things.
Welcome

plumbers

 

[bswartzwelder]

Dan,

Thank you for your service to our country and welcome to the forum.

For starters, read Hoke. When you have finished, read it again. Your safety, the safety of your family, pets, and neighbors depends on you tackling this process in a professional manner.

First, start amassing chemicals and materials. You will need several gallons of hydrochloric acid (about $7 per gallon) from Lowes or Home Depot. Get the pure hydrochloric acid and not the "green" or environmental friendly type. While there, pick up a 5 gallon bucket with loose fitting lid and a 2 gallon bucket. Next stop is Walmart. Get several quarts of hydrogen peroxide ($0.88 per quart), an aquarium air pump (I bought the one with 2 outlets) and 25 feet of aquarium airline tubing.

Take the 2 gallon bucket and remove the handle if it has one. Tape the bottom and sides with masking tape from the bottom up about 1/3 of the way. Lay out a nice pattern and drill 3/16 inch holes. Enough to let things flow through the holes, but not so many that it will weaken the bucket. Deburr the holes. I didn't do this and ended up picking foils out of the bottom of the bucket with tweezers. Take the airline tubing and heat both ends and crush it shut with pliers sealing it. Cut it into 2 equal length pieces. First piece makes a left to right pattern on the bottom of the bucket. Turn the bucket 90 degrees and do the same with the other piece. It should now look like a nice cross hatch pattern on the bottom. There should be enough tubing left over to exit the top of the bucket and plug into the air pump outlets. Tie the airline tubing to the bottom of the bucket with monofilament fishing line as it will try to float when submerged in the solution.

 

[bswartzwelder]

Step 2.

Place the 2 gallon bucket inside the 5 gallon bucket and plug in the air pump. I made 4 holes in the top of the 5 gallon bucket below the rim. Air lines go through 2 of the holes and the other 2 are exhaust vents. I do this in my back yard and have a second 5 gallon bucket inverted over the air pump and the end of the extension cord where it plugs into the air pump cord. Also, I keep the plug and pump off the table by placing them on a brick under the bucket. This keeps things safe in case of rain. A brick on top keeps the inverted bucket from blowing over. Next, place your cut off fingers in the 2 gallon bucket. Add 2 parts hydrochloric acid and 1 part peroxide to cover the fingers. Put the loose lid on the 5 gallon bucket and weigh it down with a couple of bricks. Leave everything alone for a week or two and reread Hoke. When you come back, if everything has worked correctly, the foils should have fallen off the boards or will brush off easily. Save the used solution. As long as it didn't get contaminated with lead or tin, it can be reused. Once you have captured the foils, process as per lasersteves video. Good luck and God Bless you in this endeavor.

 

[martyn111]

bswartzwelder you forgot to mention putting holes into the air hose to let the air out :!:
Using either a pin or needle which has been heated, make multiple holes in the immersed tubing to allow the air out of the tube and into the solution.

 

[bswartzwelder]

Thank you for correcting me. WOW, do I feel stoopid. I used a straightened out paper clip heated with a lighter to punch the holes in the tubing. My system worked really well and I'm proud to give credit to the great people on this forum.

 

[martyn111]

Hey we all make mistakes, thats why we are all here, to help each other

 

[djbradley61]

Thanks guys! Do lasersteves videos of good pictures of this process? I am a visual learner and would like to see whcih buckets are drilled and how.

 

[bswartzwelder]

Lasersteves videos are great. Not rocket science with drilling holes in buckets. My 5 gallon bucket had 4 holes under the lid. Two allowed airline tubing to enter/exit from inside to outside. I even got creative and made slots out of those 2 holes so tubing could pass through without feeding the end through the hole. Just slide it through the slot. The holes in the smaller bucket just lets the solution and foils pass from the smaller bucket into the larger one. I wanted mine to look as professional as possible, so I laid them out in a pattern and drilled from there.

 

[etack]

I have been stockpiling the clean cut gold fingers and cannot bring myself to sell them at 100-125/lb USD. If they are worth that much to someone, they must be worth so much more in the actual gold content.

If you can get this much for your fingers sell them ts close to the amount of gold you will get and you have to do none of the work. 2g a # is about the average you will get.

Buyers re so close to AGW actual gold weight its funny that people even process ram or CPUs. in the data section there is a threat about ram 4#s = 4oz of fingers and 1# of chips this is close to 1.25g-1.5g which equals $66.00-$79.50 you can sell that same ram for 16.50#-17.00# for $66.00-$68.00 and do none of the work. You might come out ahead but by how much $5-$10 for hours of work?

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=16627

On some things buyers do a bad job of pricing ICs and and gold plate, but this is because it is hard to know till it is removed how much is there unless the material is new with a datasheet. This is the stuff that makes sense to refine.

If you want to hold your gold refine it if you want the money sell it and buy more to move.

And welcome to the forum and thanks for taking your time to find info.

Eric