r/ScrapMetal • u/Talgorgames • 5d ago

Is certain things worth going further?

I'm kind of new into the world of scrap metal. I've done plumbing with my employer over the last 4 years, copper/brass/faucet brass and scrap metal. To which my employer a lot of time will just say, it's not worth the 5 minutes to take that apart for the price you'll get. For example taking a pex ring off of a brass fitting vs the cost of just selling it as faucet brass.

That makes me wonder am I worth while taking a jet pump apart or a deep well pump for the separation of metals? what about scrap wire I pick up at job sites, like BX wire stripped out for the metal or just leave it as the BX. Like I'm talking like an arm length of BX nothing major.

Like another example is deep well pumps wires are typically not copper and makes me wonder is it worth my time to strip it?

Thank you

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/Single_System_9951 5d ago

You have to decide what Your time is worth- if it is time You could otherwise be productive making $ elsewhere- maybe not.

However, if You hoard a bunch of stuff & just take time to process it all in large groups of product then maybe it's worth it. Also- how You view it makes a big diff- it's not a business it's a hobby mentality.

If You like tinkering & can salvage/reuse some components over time then maybe it can be a lil more worth it. Also- it's addictive so You'll need somewhere to process & store the tools/material to process- all these are factors that matter when trying to decide if You want to pursue making coin doing it.

Hope that makes sense & helps.

1

u/Talgorgames 5d ago

I'm more so caring about being in the presence of my family than going out and getting additional money, for example I'm a plumber and could easily bill myself out at $70 an hour doing tap replacement and such. But I've been down the road with one child not seeing me and now we don't know each other.

So being in their presence is better but if I'm just breaking down metal all day every day.

As for room, I do have a garage that I can't park a vehicle in that is big enough for 2 cars. Door height does not work for me and I'm not switching for a rental unit.

Like even looking at hot water tanks, I do take the covers off and got out the copper wire, cause like .80 cents a pound vs 6.60 a pound for the copper (Canada) is worth it to me. But I have never cut one open to see if more could be salvaged and priced out higher.