How To Sort Your Scrap Metal

If you have been trying to collect scrap to sell on to dealers or it’s something you have been thinking about doing, you will need to ensure that you properly sort through the metal and keep each type together. This will make it easier for the dealer to weigh and pay you and it will also make it easier for you to know how much scrap you currently have for each type of metal.

First, you will need to get your hands onto six old bins or boxes that are of a considerable size. You should label them ‘aluminium’, ‘iron’, ‘stainless steel’, ‘car batteries’, ‘copper’ and ‘brass’ – make sure that these labels are clear and obvious. The scrap metals you find will fit into one of these bins.

Car batteries, contrary to popular belief, are 100% recyclable, and they have their own bin because the scrap metals do not need to be separated before sale – the dealers will pay you a lump sum per battery and do the separation themselves.

Ensure that you properly check each item of scrap before assigning it to a bin or cardboard box – scrap metal dealers have keen eyes and will immediately pick out items that you have forgotten or miss-binned. A quick way remember this is that dull silver is aluminium, magnetic shiny silver iron, and non-magnetic shiny silver is stainless steel. Copper and brass scrap is easy to spot, as it is red and gold in colour, respectively.

By sorting your scrap metals from the moment you collect them, you will save yourself a lot of time down the track. Not only will you be able to estimate how much your various scrap bins are worth at any given time, you will be loved by the scrap dealers who won’t have to do the sorting themselves.

How To Properly Care For Copper

When it comes to the proper care and maintenance of your copper machining bars, you should ensure that the process begins the moment that they are delivered. Whilst the metal is known for its high thermal and electrical conductivity, it is also quite malleable in some alloys, making it important to ensure that all copper bars are carefully handled and cleaned to avoid damage.

Once you have received a shipment of copper bars, you should always begin by checking that each bar has been fitted with a protective coating. This coating is easily peeled off, but is necessary for the transportation of the metal as it helps to absorb any damage that may pass through. You should always store your copper materials indoors and covered, as this helps to prevent oxidization, which turns the copper a darker colour.

Whenever you need to handle copper bars, you need to avoid letting scrape against each other and against other hard or sharp surfaces. This is because the malleable nature of the metal allows it to be dented when it comes into contact with other objects. It is also important to be highly careful when cutting copper, as it can prove toxic to humans and other life forms when exposed to large amounts of its dust or fumes.

Finally, if you want to ensure that your copper bars are kept looking as good as new for as long as possible, all you have to do is regularly clean them to remove dirt and oxidization build ups. Begin with the least harsh method for cleaning possible, and move up the chain as you need to. A sulfamic wash is great for removing tough oxidization and finishing up with a polishing cloth will keep up the copper’s shine.

Using A MIG Welder To Weld Aluminium

Whilst not an overly popular method when it comes to welding aluminium, the metal inert gas (MIG) welder, also known as a gas metal arc welder (GMAW) is still a useful skill to learn. But how does this process work?

The MIG welder generates the heat that it needs to weld metal together through an electric arc. This arc is created between the wire being fed through the welder and the aluminium metal itself. An inert gas is used to create shield (or a protective atmosphere) around the arc, preventing the metal from turning an ugly brown colour. When it comes to welding aluminium, argon is the most recommended gas to use, however, a mix of argon and helium may also work.

Before you begin MIG welding your aluminium project, the most important thing to ensure is that you have properly cleaned the metal. When it comes into contact with oxygen, the top layer of aluminium will oxidize and you will need to remove this to prevent the metal from cracking. The best way to clean aluminium is to run a stainless steel brush over the surface.

Aluminium has a low melting point and high heat conductivity, which leads to difficulties when it comes to welding. There is a fine line between having no penetration, meaning that the metal will not join, and blowing holes in the surface of your aluminium. It will take some practice to get the balance just right, so never start on your project straight away.

Welding aluminium using a MIG welder can be much harder (and less neat) then using a TIG welder, so it is always a good idea to take a class or to practice on some scrap aluminium first.

Where To Find Scrap In Australia?

If you are looking for scrap in Australia to sell on to dealers for a little bit of extra cash or to use in your own little projects and tinkerings, you may be wondering where you can find sufficient supplies of scrap metal. Really, it is all around us if you look hard enough, but these are the most common (and easiest) places to find it:

Garages and Sheds

Take a quick look through your garage and shed, and even ask your friends and family if you can have a look through theirs. This is where people generally dump their broken or unneeded appliances and equipment. Here, you are likely to find many tools and appliances that contain useful scrap metal.

Machine Businesses

When metal is machined for use in various applications, there is actually quite a bit left over that is unable to be used. The bigger companies and businesses will sell their scrap in Australia onto dealers, but many of the smaller ones will simply throw it out (they haven’t got the time or the resources to recycle or sell it on). Why not ask the owners of nearby machining businesses what they do with their scrap metal – you may be able to scavenge some.

Rubbish Dumps

Quite often, scrap in Australia ends up in the local rubbish dump. It never hurts to go to your local dump and have a look around for any scrap that is just lying around – the workers may give it to you or sell it for a small fee (depending on their scrap metal policy). Scoping out car junkyards for useful scrap in Australia is also a great idea, although this will cost you a little more.

Finding scrap in Australia is really not the difficult, especially if you know where to look. Next time you want to sell some scrap for extra cash or you want to recycle it into something else yourself, check the above places for metal first.

Which Scrap Metals Are Worth The Most?

When it comes to scrap metal, a lot of people don’t realize how much it is worth so cannot be bothered selling it on to a scrap dealer. Whilst a single can or piece of tubing is not worth very much, it is important to remember that scrap dealers pay based on weight – not the amount of metal you are bringing in.

Copper

That reddish metal that you commonly see around the house is generally worth more than any other type of scrap, depending on its quality. You can find it in household tubing, such as plumbing and wiring.

Brass

This yellow metal is generally the next highest paying scrap that you can collect. It is found in plumbing fittings, sink drains and fixtures and even doorknobs.

Aluminium

This scrap metal looks very similar to magnesium, but it can be easy to tell the difference – simply take a flame to the metal’s surface; if it ignites, it’s magnesium. Aluminium is also worth more per kilogram than magnesium.

Stainless Steel

This scrap metal is reasonably heavy, meaning you have to collect less in order to raise a profit. It is, however, the third least profitable metal to sell. You can find it in car trim, hubcaps and beer kegs.

Lead

This scrap metal is also fairly heavy, allowing you to sell less items to make some money off it. Even so, it is the second least profitable of all scrap when it comes to selling to a dealer. It is common in piping and fishing sinkers.

Iron

To find out whether your scrap metal is iron, place a magnet on it; if it sticks, you have yourself some iron. Whilst it is very heavy, it is also the least profitable metal and is commonly found in cars and pipes.

Use Brass Scrap for Recycling and Help Nature

Often we don’t sort the wastage of our home while throwing them in bin. Daily home wastage might contain metal scrap which can be recycled. As a responsible citizen we are all liable to the conservation of nature and there could be nothing as good as recycling scrap metal like brass. Although, recycling of brass is not as common as aluminium or steel because the uses of this metal is really limited, yet their recycling helps nature to conserve its resources for all good reasons.  

The biggest benefit of this metal is that it can be repeatedly recycled that too without degradation of its properties. Means, its shine, color and all other feature will remain same and not be influenced by recycling. Moreover, metal from secondary sources are simply as better as metal from the primary sources. Reutilization of metal is being practiced since ancient times. Recycling brass scrap represents the sense of sustainable growth.

We rarely have brass scrap at home, but if we really have in unusable form, it can be utilized to some other form. Brass recycling extends the efficiency of using metals and minerals to one level up. Simultaneously, it cuts down pressures on landfills and incinerators. This in turn provides benefit by saving significant amount of energy required to extract brass from earth crust and purify it in furnaces. This saves a lot of energy, money and time compared to primary metal production. If you want you can also help nature by accumulating brass scrap like unused metal wire, show piece, door locks, door-window handles, etc.

How Beneficial The Brass Scrap Metal Products Are?

The scrap metal recycling industry is the one of the biggest revenue generating business. There are myriads of brass scrap metal recycling industries all over the world. Scrap metal usually refers to the material which can be recycled without changing the basic metallic properties. Many scrap metals are there which can be recycled to create a fresh metal product. Some of the commonly occurring metal scraps which are used for recycling are steel, aluminium and brass.

Brass metal is the oldest alloy found on earth also known as copper alloy that contains zinc. Basically brass scraps are recycled to extract pure brass. The brass scrap can be anything like, brass anchors, cables, fasteners, pneumatic parts, electrical parts, LPG parts, sanitary and energy meter parts.

Compared to other scrap metals brass scrap is quite expensive. Scrap dealers have to pay a huge sum of money to buy used brass material like old pipe fittings. Probably this is the reason that there are comparatively less number of brass scrap metal factories. Companies buy brass metal from these scraps industries to make Brass Stock, Brass Rod, Brass Hex, Brass Alloy 385, etc.

Recycling metal reduce the cost involved in extracting the raw metal alloy from the earth crust. Above all, it minimizes the green gas emission from the factories to purify them. This helps environment to maintain natural balance. Brass scrap metal products also cost less compared to the product made from the freshly extracted metal. It is the way to utilize the metal wastes generated by almost every home in the best possible method.