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Author: Subject: Scrapheap Challenge (industrial scavenging)
uber luminal
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[*] posted on 23-9-2005 at 15:30


keep in mind that Scrappers (people that collect scrap metal for a living) make a lot of their money on Stainless. Its actualy very difficult to find it as scrap. you might have to buy it, or make it if your able. (which your porbably not, if you are looking for SS)

Sometimes its hard to tell what is SS and what is not. Most people would claim you could use a magnet and see if it sticks or not, and this works for most but not all SS. And its hard to describe what the difference is, but its based on how the metal has been processed throughout its entire life. (and what substitutional atoms are added(what impurities are added)).

So how do you tell SS from galvanized or other corrosion resistive coatings? scratching the surface with something harder than steel. you can see color differences. OR how much corrosion has taken place around the suspect metal. If its attached to something that is really rusty, but the metal you are looking at is shiny... or only has mild pitting, then it might be SS... or it might be glavanized heh. You can acid etch the metal as a test. HCl or even Acetic acid will react with the zinc in most galvanic coatings. you can buy food grade SS cups/beakers, plates as used for camping or drinking expensive coffee...

I found a set of SS mugs for $4. thats 4/$4. plates can be just as cheap and can be reshaped or cut.
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[*] posted on 23-9-2005 at 17:21
Stainless


hey, a nice source is your closest Salvation Army or Goodwill. I almost always see stainless cookware on the cheap. A majority is even marked "stainless".

Most people that donate this really don't understand/care what they dispose of. But then again, try to find pure copper in such a place;)

Myself, I have been thinking about buying a ladle and cutting off the handle for an easy steel crucible. :) KOH fusions anyone?:cool:

[Edited on 9/24/2005 by chloric1]




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[*] posted on 24-9-2005 at 01:42


Use a magnet to test your stainless steel.
400 series stainless steels are magnetic high chromium content, the GOOD stuff is nonmagetic 8% nickel, 18% chromium, the REALLY GOOD stuff is 10% nickel, 18% chromium, 3% molybdenum for chloride resistance.

[Edited on 24-9-2005 by Eclectic]
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[*] posted on 24-9-2005 at 08:40


Cheers guys, I'll bear all that in mind while i'm on the hunt. If I were to have access to a forge, Uber, where would you suggest looking to find the neccessary ingredients for Really Good SS???



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[*] posted on 24-9-2005 at 09:56


Ingredients? Pffbt.. just go to a ferrous foundry (look in the yellow pages). They'll pour a shape for you cheaper than you'll even build an arc or induction furnace capable of melting and casting the metal.

It melts around 2600°F = 1425°C.

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Dr.Freemanstein
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[*] posted on 24-9-2005 at 11:11


Hmm....yes sorry for that, could have used a better word than "ingredients".
Thanks tho, very helpfull.




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[*] posted on 24-9-2005 at 17:36


Good stainless= 304 Really good=316, 317. Try a plumbing supply. 316 1/4" tubing is used in soda fountains. Any non-magnetic stainless is likely to be 300 series. 300-304 will become slightly magnetic when cold worked: ie, beat the hell out of a small area with a hammer, and if it does not become slightly magnetic, it's probably 316.

(I like metallurgy and machining)

[Edited on 25-9-2005 by Eclectic]
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[*] posted on 25-9-2005 at 08:16


Wow eclectic that is some profoundly practical information. Do work regularly with ferrous alloys? I was under the impression that NONE of the SS alloys would interact with a magnet. HMMM I will have to remember these tests.



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[*] posted on 25-9-2005 at 10:52


Look around for old boilers and heat exchangers too. Some are made from stainless and contain a lifetime's supply of tubing.
Other possibly useful goodies I've found in a junkyard:
lithium from batteries
mercury level switches
teflon/copper/aluminium in various forms
lead
Thermocouples
ceramic tubing
nichrome wire
transformers
HT diodes and SCR's/triacs
plumbing/hydraulic paraphinalea
basically unused catalyst converters
refrigeration compressors...
the list goes on.

;)




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[*] posted on 25-9-2005 at 11:07


WOW! Thanks froot....thats alot of suggestions!!! Should have no trouble finding what i need now



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[*] posted on 4-10-2005 at 05:22
Scrounging


I got some good bits when the local Uni had a clear out of their science dept.s. Helps if you know someone there who can point you in the right direction - i.e. towards the heap of things to be thrown out.

Got 2 x 3dp ballances
Waterbath / heaters and stirrers
various mixers
range of solvents and chemicals
mercury filled pressure gauge

There was alot of stuff I didn't take because I didn't need it at the time, like a rotor evap.

I REALLY kicked myuself for not grabbing an entire HPLC kit from the skip!!!! An injection port, a pump, collomb housing and a detector. I left it there and it was gone 3 days later when I went back for it!! Prob. didn't work entirely but surely some bits would have been repairable.
:(
Also missed out on a vacuum oven. (seals were probably broke - but again, for nought I think I could have tried to fix it)

I really need a scanning UV spectrometer for some work I'm doing - I've been trying to scrounge one but, unsurprisingly, not having any luck.
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[*] posted on 4-10-2005 at 10:54


I just picked up a vacuum pump from my local university scrapheap as well. There was a sticker on it saying the motor was bad but it seems to work just fine. However, there was no oil in it which leads me to the following question.

Is it absolutely necessary to use official vacuum pump oil in vacuum pumps? Could I use, say, motor oil or some other oil in them? Would there just be a decrease in performence or would it seize up at some point in the near future?

I thought about starting a new thread for this but figured I'd just get the old UTFSE ( which I already tried). And, yes, I'm sure I could just order the appropriate vacuum pump oil but why dish out the extra cash if I really don't have to.
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[*] posted on 4-10-2005 at 18:34


If you have a refrigeration worker equipment supply store (like Grainger, etc) you can pick up vacuum pump oil there.



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[*] posted on 4-10-2005 at 18:54


.....s it absolutely necessary to use official vacuum pump oil in vacuum pumps?..........

No, low temp refrigeration oil such as in freezer compressors can also be used if mineral (petroleum) based. The ultimate vacuum is determined by the oil vapor pressure which is lowest in oils specific for vacuum pumps.


............ Could I use, say, motor oil ..........

No, a thin mineral based oil w/o additives is required. Probably motor oil would overheat the pump due to the clearances being very close for the viscosity common to even light weight motor oil.
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[*] posted on 14-9-2008 at 19:08


Bringin' this one back from the dead :P

I've heard that lots of PC components contain some valuable metals. Mainly copper, silver, and gold.

Anyone know anything about salvaging metals from PC parts?? or know any good techs or sites on the subject?
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[*] posted on 14-9-2008 at 20:05


Old computer stuff has a little gold and whatnot in it. REALLY old. Like, devoted collectors' basements old. Modern stuff is just barely economical to recycle on an industrial level, nothing of interesting for an ameteur unfortunately.

Tim




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[*] posted on 26-10-2008 at 15:14


I'm running out of storage space for my chemicals and noticed I had about 1/2 lb of cut up magnesium anode from my old hot water heater. I couldn't come up with any use for it and am ready to throw it out. I'm guessing it is an alloy of Mg so it likely wouldn't be good for Grignards.

Does anyone have any suggestions for using this sacrificial anode material?
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[*] posted on 26-10-2008 at 15:26


How small are the pieces cut up into?
Could be used for producing H2(maybe reductions?), or perhaps some sort of alkoxide?
You could also reduce things with it such as B2O3, or SiO2 maybe?
Have any need for various magnesium salts?

Send it to me f and leave me with this burden ;)
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[*] posted on 26-10-2008 at 15:34


Quote:
from kclo4:

How small are the pieces cut up into?
Could be used for producing H2(maybe reductions?), or perhaps some sort of alkoxide?


I have the rod cut up into 4" pieces. They fit well in a pint jar.

I like your suggestion for making H2. Why waste good mossy zinc when I could use this anode junk. ;)
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[*] posted on 26-10-2008 at 21:47


I think anodes are usually quite pure. After all, aluminum or silicon (possible incidential impurities) would reduce corrodability. Other elements (copper?) are only added, and I see no reason why they would be present. The anode bits I've melted before were quite flammable, much more so than the alloy magnesium I have. Clean 'em up and grig (pronounced "grin") away... :D

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[*] posted on 29-10-2008 at 02:24


Speaking of reclamation there was an unguarded suprerfund site 12miles west until about 10 years past.Consisting of a very large ww2-'60' munitions depot post w/some 400 'Igloos' or steel reinforced storage bunkers filed w/all sorts of small arms to 8in arty shells-hand and rifle grenades as well nearly all the US inventry at the time even mustard gas though denied there are the remnants of high temp furnaces and episodes of whole herds of sheep/beef dying and government quickly reimbursing owners. Quality test equipment and what were referred to as burn pits to dispose of either unfit/unneeded product.These were hauled to what was known as burn pits as a wat seems a halfharted, vain attempt to detonate all the explosives deemed unsafe/surplus etc would pile the projectiles rfles grenades,40m aaa shells 105s,155s,8in and some typef a very heavy bomb either 500-1000lb or more judging b the several hundred Lb remaining steel casngs ndicating likely low order explosions as they generally disposed of the ordance as described.

Piling the ordnace into lare piles w/small charges or none at all and relying on thermite to ignite the explosives and resulting in deflagration then detonation.Im sure I don't have to tell you many or most at least ignited but many also didnt detonate leaving unmelted W2 -60s HE intact in the shells in a very arid enviroment with very llitle deterioration as the shells were often bulldozed into pits as soon as cooled.Staying undisturbed for 20-50yrs untill many began to erode back out of the gullys.The 155-8in shells actuallty used to be popular yard ornaments for homes in the 50s-60s.Im not completely sure of everything that was buried out there.If youve ever been in the military thay could have bured anything! I had heard a fully functioning jeep buried as motor pool idnt have the proper papperwork for the jeep! stranger things have happened like this burn pit and declared supefund site due to unexploded ordnace and chemcontamination that for 30years had been unguarded except for a loclkless chain link fence, upon driving up on the hill where the pitswere located flat tires had to be watched as the shrapnel was still quite sharp used fuse initers everywhere and a walk around 100-120 acres yielded all calibers and conditions of large and smal ordnance.Most common being the 40mmAAA
w/o the nose fuses still in the original wood crates appearig to just need a cleaning and a fuse to detonate as the hadn been exposeed to heatIn addittion of the countles 40mm there wer varous caches of 155-8in shells tough far rarer and no grenades or any RGs that I recall though not keen to shovel about being a heavily used obviously carelessy used dsosalse for HE.

Today it makes me think of the Russ Mob discovering old battlesights with the w/metal detectors and other methods and mining the batlesights for HE and rebuildable small arms.Since the Mide 90s he place has been cleaned and I believe at least located,Ifitwerentthe fact all the shells had


[Edited on 29-10-2008 by grndpndr]
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[*] posted on 31-10-2008 at 09:16


Oh thats cool, I would have gotten some munitions just for the kicks from there if I would have lived around it.

I have done some low level scavengin, my biggest score being houndreds of 1,44mb floppys and few houndred custom ic's.




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[*] posted on 12-11-2008 at 14:47


I did have some aquaintances who did use double boilers back then with some of what washed out of the burn pits just to show it was practical and the quantities were there
and the product still good w/o any solvents /recrystalization.Melting points, deflagration/ decomp temps seemed correct?

[Edited on 12-11-2008 by grndpndr]
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