Scrap Metal

jefflad

Last night when taking down the kids old trampoline I was filling the car to take to the tip to dispose of before my neighbour shouted over to say I should weigh it in and get some cash.

I keep hearing there's money in scrap but have never thought too much about it and was wondering if he's right and if I should follow his advice. Has anyone else done it, is it worth my while and most importantly where do I start?

Thanks, hoping to get money for new bike parts :-)

mudcow007

aye!

different metals are worth different prices though

we just weighed in just under two tonne of scrap brass and got £2500 for it

Silver is worth an absolute fortune at the moment

the brass wasn't nicked before anyone says it..... The company i work for make chalices an other shiny err things

optimisticbiker

There is, but only in quantity. Currently I buy scrap good grade 6061 aluminium alloy from a scrap dealer for about £3 a kilo, about half of what machined plate/bar costs from a metal merchant - but he would have bought it for 80p/kg. Steel is about £1/kg scrap. You need to be selling a lot of it... 250kg+ to get a good price... usually its not worth it for domestic metal waste.

thistle_

I took a carrier bag of domestic mains wire, a steel pole and a couple of chainrings/cranks/cassettes and got £10 for the lot.
The scrap yard was on the way to the tip though and I had other (non metal) stuff to get rid of there.

Most of the value was probably in the copper wire.

optimisticbiker

thistle (MBNW) wrote:

I took a carrier bag of domestic mains wire, a steel pole and a couple of chainrings/cranks/cassettes and got £10 for the lot.
The scrap yard was on the way to the tip though and I had other (non metal) stuff to get rid of there.

Most of the value was probably in the copper wire.

Yep @ £3800/tonne copper is in demand... (hence all the missing cables from train tracks!) Must have been a chunky carrier bag though

vitesse169

A few weeks ago I filled up my estate car with some old bike frames/various scrap metal items & got £15 from the scrappie in Glos. Didn't make a special trip, just did it on the way to see a mate - they weighed the car in and again out and paid me the difference....easy.

mudcow007

old car batteries seem to sell too, there is a polish guy that buys them off a mate of mine (runs a garage) for £5 each

must be all the lead in them>?

jefflad

That sounds great... might look into it, a lad at work wasn't sure if I needed a licence or not due to all the metal thefts going on at the moment but may leave it in the garage and take it one weekend.

tgotb

I cut up a worn-out aluminium rim and put it in the recycling (figuring it's made of the same stuff as coke cans) and the dustmen threw it out. Reckon there's a fair few coke cans in it but if they won't take it, it'll have to go in the wheelie bin for next week's collection and end up in landfill...

vitesse169

jefflad wrote:

That sounds great... might look into it, a lad at work wasn't sure if I needed a licence or not due to all the metal thefts going on at the moment but may leave it in the garage and take it one weekend.

No licence needed - just a piece of photo I.D. and address to prove yourself.

tuktuk

We have started doing this at work last year, just odds an sods of metal and cable that we usually just chuck out.

End of last year we had collected nearly 1.5k of scraps! Made for a nice works xmas dinner!

Ben6899

My dad used Big Fat Pikey Removals the other week. He had an old fridge-freezer he didn't want. Rather than fuck about arranging collection or weighing it in at the scrapper (barely hard up for a few quid), he just put it at the end of the drive so it was visible for all to see.

The next day, it had gone.

mudcow007

tuktuk wrote:

We have started doing this at work last year, just odds an sods of metal and cable that we usually just chuck out.

End of last year we had collected nearly 1.5k of scraps! Made for a nice works xmas dinner!

thats what my mate does at his garage

they save old brake disks, engines and gearboxes etc. at the end of the year weigh it all in an have a Christmas do abroad for free

tgotb

Ben6899 wrote:

My dad used Big Fat Pikey Removals the other week. He had an old fridge-freezer he didn't want. Rather than fark about arranging collection or weighing it in at the scrapper (barely hard up for a few quid), he just put it at the end of the drive so it was visible for all to see.

The next day, it had gone.

Presumably the CFC refrigerant is, at this very moment, working its way up to what's left of the ozone layer...

Ben6899

TGOTB wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

My dad used Big Fat Pikey Removals the other week. He had an old fridge-freezer he didn't want. Rather than fark about arranging collection or weighing it in at the scrapper (barely hard up for a few quid), he just put it at the end of the drive so it was visible for all to see.

The next day, it had gone.

Presumably the CFC refrigerant is, at this very moment, working its way up to what's left of the ozone layer...

Probably.

EDIT: just before I get flamed. It was the intention to use proper methods to remove the offending article. It was placed outside, pending arrangements, because it reeked!

That's the second thing to be nicked from the garden/driveway.

SimonAH

Same as around here, at least once a week you hear a van with a tannoy asking for any scrap metals.

My dead dishwasher went from the end of the drive in minutes, as did a metal tray filled with plumbing bits and the manky tapset I replaced the other week.

The only problem was when we first moved into the house and I put an absolute shedload of metal bits out the front - they took it all except the metal framed fibreglass garage door. Well, they took the metal frame and left my drive covered in smashed fibreglass.

rjsterry

Ben6899 wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

My dad used Big Fat Pikey Removals the other week. He had an old fridge-freezer he didn't want. Rather than fark about arranging collection or weighing it in at the scrapper (barely hard up for a few quid), he just put it at the end of the drive so it was visible for all to see.

The next day, it had gone.

Presumably the CFC refrigerant is, at this very moment, working its way up to what's left of the ozone layer...

Probably.

EDIT: just before I get flamed. It was the intention to use proper methods to remove the offending article. It was placed outside, pending arrangements, because it reeked!

That's the second thing to be nicked from the garden/driveway.

There's a lad up the road who seems to be mates with the local scrap dealer. He seems to smell scrap from a distance as when we were heaving our old cast iron bath down the stairs and out of the door, he appeared - Mr Benn shopkeeper-stylee - to give us a hand and asked nicely what we were doing with it. We gave him the old taps too - he seems like the kind of guy to keep on friendly terms.

rolf_f

And I thought this was another thread about ITBs new bike..........

EKE_38BPM

Mrs EKE's jalopy is at the end of its life and a mechanic said, half jokingly, that it may be an idea to scrap it for the weight, rather than 'normal' car scrap.

How much metal is there in a 1 litre Corsa?

rolf_f

SimonAH wrote:

Same as around here, at least once a week you hear a van with a tannoy asking for any scrap metals.

How posh - we have horse drawn rag and bone wagons around here - I'm not joking!

itboffin

Rolf F wrote:

And I thought this was another thread about ITBs new bike..........

There's a huge scrap metal yard down by the thames barrier, almost all of it goes to BMW in Zee fatherland

EKE_38BPM

itboffin wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

And I thought this was another thread about ITBs new bike..........

There's a huge scrap metal yard down by the thames barrier, almost all of it goes to BMW in Zee fatherland

Bloody foreigners. Coming over here, taking our metal and making quality cars. Mutter, mutter, racist mutter...

redvee

Talking about scrap metal and BMW

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... n-out.html

rolf_f

itboffin wrote:

There's a huge scrap metal yard down by the thames barrier, almost all of it goes to BMW in Zee fatherland

That's Dagenham isn't it?

mudcow007

SimonAH wrote:

Same as around here, at least once a week you hear a van with a tannoy asking for any scrap metals.

we have one of them, its quite scary how must "treasure" he can fit in the back of his pickup

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Mrs EKE's jalopy is at the end of its life and a mechanic said, half jokingly, that it may be an idea to scrap it for the weight, rather than 'normal' car scrap.

How much metal is there in a 1 litre Corsa?

i think its about £250 minimum for a scrapped car

Gazzaputt

It's the b'stards who stroll up onto your property without permission and take what they want.

Did this whilst I was out a couple of Saturdays ago. Had an old swing, mtb frame, wheels and other odds and sods amongst other stuff I was taking to the tip. They rifled through it making a mess and when my missus challenged them they said they were doing her a favour! Said next time tell them to do one but as she said they were intimidating. Also left a right mess.

Last year I saw one who was looking over back gates. Luckily I was in and saw him and went out. As I did the police came around the corner and they scarpered. They were caught though. Apparently taking stuff from gardens that they considered scrap! My Canyon AL I'm sure would have been considered scrap to them.

Zamir Kahn

I hope my post will be useful to jefflad and other newbies in scrapping. If you are planning to take scrap metal for money, you need to know several features. First, figure out what types of scrap you want to collect. One thing is to pick up aluminum cans or old pots, and the other thing is the disassembling of electronic gadgets. Such work needs some special skills and equipment. As for me, the easiest way is to collect aluminum scrap. It is a great option for a novice scrapper. Aluminium scrap market is currently developing judging by https://trade-metal.com/news-aluminium- ... ce-11.html. It is not as expensive as other types of scrap, but there is a lot of aluminium scrap and waste around us, and it is easily accessible.
You should know that the price per kilogram (kg) of aluminum scrap depends on the following indicators:
• Aluminum grade;
• Scrap purity;
• Scrap metal weight

Pure aluminum is more expensive. Electrical and food aluminum scraps have the purest aluminum alloys.
Besides, take care of scrap purity. Food scrap has contamination in the form of soot and scale. Other types of scrap can have some inclusions of various metals and substances. Aluminum cans are clean as a rule, but they weigh a little. Pressed aluminum cans take up little space and cost more expensive. The dirtiest type of aluminum scrap is shavings scrap and slag as it usually includes different types of rubbish and contaminations.
Then consider for yourself what is more profitable for you:
• Spend your time and clean the wires or aluminum cookware, unscrew the nuts or press the cans and sell your scrap more expensive or
• Pay for this work at scrap metal collection point and sell your scrap 10-15% cheaper

Try to collect a large batch of scrap. The price of aluminum scrap at wholesale collection points is 5-10% higher than the price at the points which buy at retail1-2 kg of scrap. The wholesale points buy scrap from 1000 kg and above. As you can see, the most profitable deal is to sell electrical and food aluminium scrap in large quantities. I shall be glad if my tips help anyone.

thistle_

Holy thread resurrection batman.

How much should I be looking for when I weigh in the frame of my trance x5? It's a 6000 series alloy, Taiwan's finest.
Last time a scrapped an alu frame I got £3 for it.
Will I get more if I press the bearings and cups out first?

me-109

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Mrs EKE's jalopy is at the end of its life and a mechanic said, half jokingly, that it may be an idea to scrap it for the weight, rather than 'normal' car scrap.

How much metal is there in a 1 litre Corsa?

Try cartakeback.com

Just recently used them for our dead Fabia. Doubled what the local breakers were offering, free collection and cash by bank transfer after collection. You can get a free, no obligation quote on the website from the reg and postcode. Job's a good'un!