If you are interested in making some extra cash by scrapping, you might be wondering which of the items you encounter are worth taking apart and which should be left as is. The reason for this is that many of the items you encounter will be made up of multiple metals; it’s actually possible to make more money by taking them apart and selling them separately. In this article, we have outlined those items that are worth the time taken to disassemble them.
- Electric Motors
It can be tempting to take these apart because of the copper wiring that they contain, but it’s important to think about how long this is going to take. The wiring found inside a motor is not bare bright copper or #1 wire – instead it is #2 copper wire, which isn’t as valuable. - Sealed Units
Quite like to electric motors, these units are quite heavy and also contain copper wiring. They are, however, encased in a solid steel outer casing that can be hardly to get open. Usually, you’ll need a special saw, so it’s not something that we suggest taking apart. - Computer Towers
The Computer Towers becoming increasingly common in scrapping because many people are turning to laptops. They are very easy to take apart, but if you don’t have a lot of them you might actually find that you lose money – the individual components aren’t worth as much as the whole unit. - TVs & Monitors
Televisions and monitors might seem like a great grab, but not many yards will actually accept them so it can be difficult to find someone to take them off your hands. What you can do is snip the wires off and remove the copper yoke – these are worth something. - Microwaves
If you’re interested in scrapping a microwave, you should remove the copper wire the electric motor and of course the low-grade board. We advice taking these components apart when you have them, because the items are materials that you should be otherwise picking up. - Driers, Washers and Dishwashers
These appliances are large and they are a great find when you first start off scrapping. However it can be very difficult. If you have quite a few (more than 5) you should take the tubing, the sealed units and electric motors out of them. You can scrap these items separately. - Refrigerators
Whilst they might be big and heavy, refrigerators aren’t actually worth a lot of money at the yard. It might be a good idea to remove the components from inside them for some extra money. Just be sure that you’ve had the Freon removed by a professional. - Air Conditioners
AC units are similar to refrigerators. They can be scrapped whole or they can be taken apart for the items inside. You first need to have the Freon removed by a professional. Then you can remove the steel case, copper tubing, sealed unit, electric motor and fin coil.
We hope that the information provided in this article has given you an idea of which items you should be taking apart when scrapping and which you should be leaving as is. At the end of the day, the goal is to make as much profit as possible whilst doing something good for the environment (recycling). Even if you don’t take apart some items before scrapping them, you can rest assured that they will be taken apart later on in the process.