Realcent.org

How far do you take down motors? and what does your yard pay in each of these stages?

I have found that on these the top and bottom are cast AL and only take a minute to take apart.





This is the center from a fan motor, anyone seperate the steel from them? I have asked two yards and they will only give steel price with them being dirty. Not sure if they are worth trying to seperate.

In regards to the first picture: My yard pays the same for copper breakage, and doesn't distinguish grades of breakage. So all three of those motors would sell for the same price.

The second picture: I don't really see the copper windings. If there are no windings, then they shouldn't buy it at motor price.

sorry, second pic the core is AL no copper on it. but they wont pay a % of AL cause of so much steel.

A lot of times the outer casing on motors is diecast zinc, not cast aluminum. Double-check, as the former is not worth as much. I can't tell from the photos.

How do I tell the difference?

Both cast zinc (often simply called "diecast") and cast aluminum are silver-gray in color normally but can be coated or painted to look like almost anything. They don't stick to a magnet and they don't spark. They're also both brittle metals and crack apart when struck with a hammer.

To tell them apart:

Cast zinc is much denser than cast aluminum. A comparable piece of zinc will generally way over 2.5 times as much as a piece of aluminum.

Cast zinc usually has a slightly bluish-tone that becomes easier to recognize with experience.

Cast zinc pieces are often more detailed than cast aluminum, though not always. Things like gears, door hardware and ornate fittings.

When in doubt, use the nitric acid test, assuming you have basic knowledge of chemistry and safety. Concentrated nitric acid reacts instantly and aggresively with zinc, producing brown smoke (note if you get white precipitate in addition to brown smoke you have tin, Sn). Reactions with aluminum are minimal.

I did a quick check of ends I have all had about the same weight and were real light, so I would assume cast aluminum. I am taking a load tomorrow and will verify with the yard guy.

Thanks for the great info.

In that first picture, the right most motor, if the string threads do not have a coat of varnish, you can easily remove the threads, snip the wires from one end and pull them out the other. I do this often with ones I remove from compressors from refrigerators and freezers (AC units have the varnish and I just sell the compressors as is, the yard will pay .11 for them vice .07 for steel price) . The windings are easy to remove and sell as #2 copper. I have accumulated over two 5 gallon buckets full.

I cut a few compressors this week average about 4 pounds in each one. Callled the yard today and it is aboit 2.80 per pound. I have about 30 pounds from the motoers and compredssors so far.

wayne1956 wrote:In that first picture, the right most motor, if the string threads do not have a coat of varnish, you can easily remove the threads, snip the wires from one end and pull them out the other.

What type of motors don't have enameled wire? I thought the varnish was what insulated the coils?

theirrationalist wrote:

wayne1956 wrote:In that first picture, the right most motor, if the string threads do not have a coat of varnish, you can easily remove the threads, snip the wires from one end and pull them out the other.

What type of motors don't have enameled wire? I thought the varnish was what insulated the coils?

I have found the motors from the compressors in refrigerators and freezers do not have the same heavy varnish coating as in AC compressor motors. In the AC motors, the varnish causes the string to be sticky and stiff, and the individual strands stick together. In the refrigerator motors, it does not have the same heavy coating. There is a coating on the individual strands, but it does not cause the strings to be stiff or the wires to stick together.