Scraping metals, melting ect.

[Cypher]

I have a few hundred pounds of heatsyncs that I need to separate and sell. I think they are all copper and aluminum. I don't know if I will be able to physically separate all the material or not so I thought about melting them at different temps.

Is that very easy to do? It looks like aluminum has a lower melting point of about 500 degrees compared to copper. Is there a easy way to get a certain temp without using a specialized furnace? Like use certain type of fuel to get a certain temp?

Really if I could just melt the aluminum away I wouldn't need to do anything with the copper I just need them to be separated.

What is a good price for copper and aluminum scrap metal?

[Krupski]

I have a few hundred pounds of heatsyncs that I need to separate and sell. I think they are all copper and aluminum. I don't know if I will be able to physically separate all the material or not so I thought about melting them at different temps.

Is that very easy to do? It looks like aluminum has a lower melting point of about 500 degrees compared to copper. Is there a easy way to get a certain temp without using a specialized furnace? Like use certain type of fuel to get a certain temp?

Really if I could just melt the aluminum away I wouldn't need to do anything with the copper I just need them to be separated.

What is a good price for copper and aluminum scrap metal?

If these are Intel CPU heatsinks (copper core pressed into a finned aluminum piece), you can separate the two easily with a bandsaw. Just cut the aluminum and it will pop off the copper core.

I'll bet you can get a LOT more scrap value by selling pure copper and pure aluminum as opposed to a chunk of both.

[Cypher]

If these are Intel CPU heatsinks (copper core pressed into a finned aluminum piece), you can separate the two easily with a bandsaw. Just cut the aluminum and it will pop off the copper core.

I'll bet you can get a LOT more scrap value by selling pure copper and pure aluminum as opposed to a chunk of both.

There are a few different models, I need to go through and see which ones I can get apart easily, some though I will have a hard time.

When you say pure do you mean like 200 pounds of copper in one pile and 100 pounds of aluminum in another pile VS. a 300 pound chunk of them mixed together?

[mriddick]

I would talk to the scrap yard before going through too much trouble, what you might consider pure metal might not make the grade for the company that buys the scrap.

[Sergi762]

There are a few different models, I need to go through and see which ones I can get apart easily, some though I will have a hard time.

When you say pure do you mean like 200 pounds of copper in one pile and 100 pounds of aluminum in another pile VS. a 300 pound chunk of them mixed together?

that would be best to keep them as pure as possible. Elecrtic heating elements are the best way to maintain temp. you could also try using copper sulfate solution and electrolytically remove the copper metal from the aluminum BUT it could react; use a small beaker and run a trial separation. the melting method you described might work but I myself would recommend you make the metal as close to powdered as possible.

[Cypher]

that would be best to keep them as pure as possible. Elecrtic heating elements are the best way to maintain temp. you could also try using copper sulfate solution and electrolytically remove the copper metal from the aluminum BUT it could react; use a small beaker and run a trial separation. the melting method you described might work but I myself would recommend you make the metal as close to powdered as possible.

Whats the best way to reduce it to a powdered state?

[stinker]

Metal prices (http://www.kitcometals.com/)

Copper at about $4.07 a pound
Aluminum at about $1.18 a pound

[Infidelski]

[QUOTE=stinker;139641]Metal prices (http://www.kitcometals.com/)

thanks for link

[Sergi762]

Whats the best way to reduce it to a powdered state?

honestly a ball mill with hardened balls( no laughing out there Eddie!) that make a coarser powder would be the easiest and most effective. a big bucket or barrel on rollers with an old fat electric motor would work cheap enough. just rap a rubber belt over the bucket/.drum to the motors axle. you could always take tin snips and cut it up to help hates the process but i need to ask: are you able to use this setup? IE can you get away with melting and casting ingots where you live? I am working on my Chemical engineering degree so what I say will work but it may be a bit much for a small time operation. no I am not saying you can't turn my advice into a small money earner long term but be aware of your castings; you still need to skim off the dross that will from from the metal, and filtering the copper powder from the aluminum will present a challenge. Aluminum melts at a lower temperature than copper so perhaps a powder is not a good idea: use scraps about the size of a quarter or so and then use an iron/steel screen to filter the copper from the molten aluminum. the best way to purify copper metal is to use electrolysis and deposit copper onto a copper wire in a solution of cupric sulfate( copper sulfate). that will get standards grade purity and thus make it more valuable. it isn't practical to electrolytically purify copper as a home operation. so long as you stay below 800 degrees Celsius yo will still have solid copper. BEWARE OF THE FUMES FROM THE MOLTEN METALS!! Exercise extreme caution and do research on the methods you plan to use. dry runs and practicing them are vital for success.

I Take no responsibility nor will I be held liable for any injuries sustained from the knowledge above; this is for informational purposes and your safety and well being is YOUR responsibility.

[Cypher]

Thanks for the advice but I think just separating them as easy as I can is the best way to go since I don't really have that much and at the moment don't have a way to continue getting more metals, I might be able to get another 100 pounds or so but nothing big.

[Krupski]

There are a few different models, I need to go through and see which ones I can get apart easily, some though I will have a hard time.

When you say pure do you mean like 200 pounds of copper in one pile and 100 pounds of aluminum in another pile VS. a 300 pound chunk of them mixed together?

Yes. When I said "pure" I didn't mean "chemically pure", I meant "all the same kind of metal in one box".

[Krupski]

that would be best to keep them as pure as possible. Elecrtic heating elements are the best way to maintain temp. you could also try using copper sulfate solution and electrolytically remove the copper metal from the aluminum BUT it could react; use a small beaker and run a trial separation. the melting method you described might work but I myself would recommend you make the metal as close to powdered as possible.

Finely powdered aluminum is a very useful substance to have on hand. Especially if you also have some ammonium nitrate, zirconium hydride and nitromethane...

[Sergi762]

Finely powdered aluminum is a very useful substance to have on hand. Especially if you also have some ammonium nitrate, zirconium hydride and nitromethane...

Behave now. I don't wanna hear from uncle batf*ck today

[(AK)1000shots]

Behave now. I don't wanna hear from uncle batf*ck today

Haha, that's pretty tame. Any idiot with an internet connection can do all sorts of stupid things in a motel bathtub, the question is, are they using the knowledge, or simply toting it around?

The information is out there, you can do all sorts of dumb things that will get you killed or arrested just by playing around. Now for instance, if he was specifying methods to get particulate size of aluminium to under one micron, I'd be concerned, but as far Krupski's comment goes, he'll only get six years in Gitmo for being an enemy combatant.

[Sergi762]

Haha, that's pretty tame. Any idiot with an internet connection can do all sorts of stupid things in a motel bathtub, the question is, are they using the knowledge, or simply toting it around?

The information is out there, you can do all sorts of dumb things that will get you killed or arrested just by playing around. Now for instance, if he was specifying methods to get particulate size of aluminum to under one micron, I'd be concerned, but as far Krupski's comment goes, he'll only get six years in Gitmo for being an enemy combatant.

:laugh: well.. yes, but even data such as what you described can be had on the web.. Intelligence and reason are not so easy to come by. me on the other hand I want to make money not get arrested. copper is still valuable so I figured he'd want to get the most copper for the effort.

[(AK)1000shots]

:laugh: well.. yes, but even data such as what you described can be had on the web.. Intelligence and reason are not so easy to come by. me on the other hand I want to make money not get arrested. copper is still valuable so I figured he'd want to get the most copper for the effort.

Fair enough. Copper prices are fluctuating pretty rapidly in an upward trend, so I think the best bet is to try to physically separate them using the cutting technique described above, but as for the smelting, I think that's best done by professionals, and not in someone's garage/toolshed. To do a good job, you really need a temp control furnace, and that is usually done by current induction. I don't know about you guys, but I'm not that handy. I'd probably end up electrocuting and/or setting myself on fire.

[Sergi762]

with maybe 40 bucks or so in fireclay and the right metals/wire/powersupplies an induction furnace( ablbiet a small one) isn't impossible but I digress, he has a solution that will work for him.

[planerman35]

i might be wrong but you might want to check i believe if you burn the copper its not classified as clean and the price is cheaper

[macddesign]

I did some scraping of brass and copper a last year mostly brass faucests and plumbing fixtures torn out in remodels. what I did was cut the brass loose with a sawsall and sold it for clean brass much higher that mixed. there might be a small amount of brass left on the peice you cut from but much eaiser than trying to smelt it . the lower grade metals you cut of that may contain a small amount of brass will usually bring at least the price of the lower grade metal but that could differ from scrap yard ot scrap yard. Hope that wasnt too confusing.