Scrapping a CRT TV for Copper and Pouring an Ingot!

CRT televisions used to be everywhere! Be honest scrappers, how many have you taken apart for the scrap copper inside? In this video I'll share exactly how much copper you get scrapping an old box tube tv, by melting it all down and pouring a copper ingot. It may be surprising! More importantly, I'll also share how to make the most money from finding a free CRT tv.
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[@matthewelliott2213]

Your tangents always lead to the exact things I'm interested in. It's frankly uncanny.

[@thubprint]

I don’t know how but I’m glad to hear it! 😄

[@jamesperkins5075]

This is my zen me taking apart things to scrap and recycle. I enjoy the videos of you taking all things apart.

[@DianaRea-nv8zc]

LOVE Your commentary. These topical videos are so much fun to watch. Thanks

[@thubprint]

Thank you! I enjoyed making this one 😋

[@unklejohn7381]

I’m actually watching this on a CRT. I have a Roku box hooked up to it to watch old movies and play games on.

[@patrickmorrissey2271]

I do like your advice, and I think people forget that all the time.... The scrap price is the absolute lowest.... If the TV works, it's definitely worth something.... There are people looking for that stuff.... $25 bucks, $50 bucks, is clearly over scrap value.... Even if it doesn't work, if it looks cool, or is a Sony, or is in great shape & looks mint, someone will buy it....

[@joshp6061]

Love these voiceover videos

[@classifiedsnake3947]

You finally did my request. Let's goooooo, I've always wanted to see you do a video on box TVs. Love tour videos

[@trasieinkersole491]

Loved it and was reminiscing of years gone by. Thanks Thub. ❤️💙

[@maritimescrapper]

Love taking TVs apart! Awesome video my friend!

[@vinnienowhere1015]

Well done thub!

[@jayc8180]

I’ve started saving a couple of these that are in good condition in my attic.

[@dr.a006]

I probably would have taken the lazy route and put the CRT in a shopping cart at Best Buy.😂 💪

[@jakerogers9478]

Yes, I love this series. Very Fun to watch.

[@stackerMannsrabbithole]

I had a real good one I gave away a few months ago (free ad on marketplace). Dude was happy, I was happy. But now watching this geez maybe coulda got 20 bucks lol. Recently I scrapped a few of these just for fun and any copper I get I melt into bullion.

[@stuartsmyth3686]

Just scraped one of these. I don't know why, but it's one of my favourite things to scrap.

[@coliedolphinprincess5512]

I see those in the garbage all the time sure is sad but thankfully I've seen people take them

[@gussuperman7565]

M8 on time stamp 7:14 to 7:30 your ability to use the speed wrench is amazing ( sledge hammer.) I have an ol TV in my bedroom that works great , and it has more life than my new flat screen one ( that I replaced twice already .) Keep up the good work. God bless y'all.

[@scrapperbrad]

Thanks for making this video! I love taking CRTs apart but I always felt bad about doing so because I felt like I was destroying part of history, but I'd do it anyway because I didn't think anyone wanted them anymore. I'm really glad to know there a a lot of people who still do.

[@thubprint]

There’s tons, and people are starting to appreciate them more as time goes on! I’m not saying never ever scrap them because for sure a lot of them are total junk, but since it’s near impossible to tell which ones are “special” to a collector, I hoped we could just list them for sale first and if nobody wants this one or that one, we can still scrap it after. At least we’d know

[@scrapperbrad]

@@thubprint That's great to know. I'll try listing them next time and see what happens. Thanks again!

[@Wreck-Gar]

3:53 Park at the front of the store, drop it near the door, find a space to park and walk back to the store. I used to hobble around with CRTs until someone pointed it out to me 😀❤️👍

[@thubprint]

Definitely a better plan! I wanted a second to set up a camera and get the shot tho 😉

[@Wreck-Gar]

@@thubprint I believe you. This time 😉😄

[@ragingelefants]

If you're only dropping it off and not going inside to shop, i don't see why you couldn't just stay parked there where you dropped the tv at. I mean, one minute tops and you'll be back in your car. You'd spend more time driving to spot and walking up, then walking back to your car.

[@AnalogThinker]

Now that's a good video about CRT, and amazing tangent. Glad to see inside a more recent flyback, I rebuilt/rewound older ones, but never took a modern one apart, curious about where the HV diode is located. Very wise, the value of a CRT is higher as is than the scrap value, especially for the effort. Thanks!

[@thubprint]

Oh heck yeah, lovely to see you here AT! You probably recognize every model I showed off lol. I didn’t know the flyback could be rewound, you really are deep into the hobby! Glad you appreciated the vid, I tried to make this one special 👍

[@SollersScrappingandDiving]

Showing the comparrison of the gaming video was epic! I'm so lucky, of all the different types of CRTs I've broken down I've only ever found one aluminum degaussing cable! 👍

[@edwardloduca5975]

I really liked the point of your video. It was well executed and I totally agree. It's better for the environment and pocketbook to find someone who wants something than to scrap it, especially CRT TVs. Way to leave it better than you found it Thub! ~Blessings!

[@bobbylewis1708]

Looking forward for your next video

[@Focy7x7]

Always enjoy your videos, been a subscriber since ypur old how to acrap a tv video

[@bigcountryscrapper6885]

Great video my friend

[@AARON_McKenzie]

Thank you so much for your videos. They've really REALLY have been insightful. Without going into to much detail I started scrapping a while back because the company i work for, and the other companies around us, sometimes throws out some crazy stuff.. Tons of wires.. I had found out that scrap yards take wires and even someone told me I should take them home, strip them and come back. However that sounded like more work then i wanted to do. After doing it for several years, though only 2 or 3 times a year, I came across some extremely large wires and decided i should strip them and i got more then i thought i would. So I started looking for advice and found you. Sorry but believe me this is the short version, 😂. With your advice i got $358 one day. My biggest pay out, that is until i decided to step it up and the other day my scrap yard was at $4 a pound for copper. So i grabbed everything i had saved and went over and came out with over twice my previous payout.. thank you so much. I love your video and they have been incredibly helpful and insightful as well.. please keep it up, your are doing an awesome job!!

[@zlatanmorrison8182]

Nice one Thub, interesting stuff :)

[@RedWalker98]

Great video I love it, I could die happy rn

[@nikkichan550]

A very interesting vid! Like much of your content! Thanks!❤️

[@thubprint]

Thank you so much 😊

[@patrickwilliams4613]

Good video thank you

[@VelserHerrie]

I saw a TV-Spider!!!

[@ebikescrapper3925]

They had better sound as well due to decent speakers

[@thubprint]

I forgot to mention that part, but heck yes they do! Flat panels just don’t have the space so manufacturers don’t even bother trying, the built in speakers are like watching on a laptop. My trinitron has full-size component drivers on the front and a dedicated subwoofer in a ported enclosure all built into the chassis 😄 it sounds *great*

[@lylslugger]

Welp, Im hooked.

[@maxcloutier5285]

Nice video. The grey wire on the right is number 2 plated Copper with some Brass (2:10) The screews and rings from the copper cone must be checked. 3 of the 4 parts are usually Stainless Steel (1:50)

[@E-BikingAdventures]

I found a masive floor model crt tv once. Too big to lift, but it had 2 huge deguasing cables. I just took those. Total 6 lbs of copper just from the 2 cables.

[@jrcrash4644]

I'm really enjoying your videos. I was stoked to take a truckload of scrap to the yard, but disappointed that they didn't offer me anything for it. I guess it's my fault for not calling ahead and asking how that process works. Oh well saved me the dump fees at least.

[@thubprint]

They didn’t buy it from you?? Not sure where the friction happened but hopefully you’ve got the process figured out now and can get a few bucks next time 👌

[@ABrokenSociety]

You can get this "retro" effect of older video games by simply blurring your TV down and fiddling with the color and saturation. You can make older games, even NES games, look incredible on a 4KTV.

[@its_marc]

You describing that tv sounds like you were describing me!

[@vincedibona4687]

🙄

[@veloxdrake1025]

I stopped scrapping CRTs as much because the effort isn't worth the time for me. I have been collecting them and testing them out for potential sales to my Retro Gamer friends. I actually just found a really nice 13 inch one with fake wood grain and aside from a missing piece (a little flappy cover doodad) it's great. I'm not sure what brand it is but as silly as it is it's honestly adorable.

[@thubprint]

And that’s really why I wanted to make this video! I think a lot of us get excited about a handful of copper when we first start scrapping and we don’t really understand what we’re doing. Once you start paying attention and learn a couple things it’s pretty obvious, these are such a waste of time for scrap. I’ve been surprised, people even want to buy the crappy ones!

[@veloxdrake1025]

@@thubprint not only that but they are pretty dangerous. The glass that you have to break just to get the minimum amount of copper is extremely sharp, more so than the average piece of broken glass. When I was little I broke one and decided to throw a piece of the broken glass just for fun, the force of me throwing it was enough for the glass to slice my finger open bad enough that I had to run home and super glue the wound shut to stop the bleeding. As you said here and in many other videos Scrapping is the lowest value you can get from the item and of course scrapping is fun but if you can reuse or repair something you can make far more money, or just get more out of it even if you keep it for yourself. I have a computer setup probably close to a 2000+:USD that I got for free over the course of maybe a year of collecting and repairing it. Scrap value would probably be 10-20 if even that. Sometimes it's worth the risk to check or put a little work into something if you know what you're doing but I think we're on the same page pretty often with things like that. Great video as always.

[@BOOT]

Lucky for me the town i live in has a deal with the local landfill and they will take like 10 TV's from each resident. Not that I'd ever need to get rid of 10 LOL

[@Belgarion1971]

Unfortunately, here in the USA, you can't give these away, and Best Buy doesn't take them anymore.

[@patrickmorrissey2271]

@ 6:12 yeah, back then, Sony Trinitron was really good, and costly. Any Sony, even today, there will be piles of youtube videos on how to change the bulb, how to do repairs... Because basically it's good, and it's worth fixing..... For retro stuff, Phillips was also really good... They were named best color picture a few years in a row back in the late 80's early 90's.... they sold the same TV under a different brand, but I forget what it was.... If you wanna win a trivia contest, Phillips also invented the 4:3 PTV test pattern, which was a color TV color circle resolution test pattern that was widely adopted & used for many years....

[@thadofalltrades]

You should probably break the vacuum before passing it on. Those things can blow up like a bomb if mishandled. I'm glad you didn't try to break the front glass. I've found the bigger ones don't sell as well as the small ones. They're so heavy

[@andymanaus1077]

I hhave had requests from musical theatre groups for working CRTs because they are the best option for transmitting a zero latency image of the conductor to the performers on stage. The nature of theatre means that CRTs tend to get damaged and broken a lot. Theatre groups are getting desperate because digital TVs and monitors don't work well in this setting.

[@thubprint]

I had no idea there was an industry-specific demand, that’s so cool! I imagine there will eventually be a modern near-zero latency equivalent, but that’s a shame they’re running out of the product that has worked so well for so long

[@andymanaus1077]

@@thubprint Hi mate. There are already zero latency LCD screens but the issue is that weak digital signals get really jittery and can freeze. That is a disaster in the middle of a musical number. CRTs process the signal via analogue so even when the closed circuit signals get really bad the conductor can usually be seen enough to keep going. Sadly, the aging CRTs are getting unreliable. Last year I performed in Phantom of the Opera and the CRT failed during the performance of "Notes", probably the most difficult song in the show. We had to just keep going as best we could. The musical director got really cranky at intermission until we explained the situation and the tech crew fixed the issue for Act II.

[@austinhernandez2716]

Some scrap yards actually allow old tvs in the shred pile.

[@BigVik1111]

I have about 50 of these lol

[@thubprint]

My man 👊 I’m clearly a CRT enjoyer, but if you have the space to stack up some good ones the value is there and they sure don’t seem to be dropping in price

[@wnytrashtrucks]

Around here you can't get rid of them if they have been stripped.They are also hard to get rid of to begin with. I rarely see them

[@c0ry187]

Anyone else see the little spider at 0:56 lol

[@Jason1975ism]

I always heard there is a thing in old televisions that can shock you if it's not discharged correctly? Some kind of diode button thing?

[@thubprint]

Well anything with capacitors deserves caution, but all I know for sure about CRTs is they operate at very high voltage going into the tube so you need to be very very careful when making adjustments with the back off

[@Jason1975ism]

@@thubprint for sure. I remember the old console wooden boxes we had when I was a kid. They'd shock you when you turned them off and emitted a high pitched sound when switched on. We had a local Mr Fix it that always warned me about the button thing in old televisions and he said they'd zap you months after the TV was unplugged. I enjoy your content! Keep doing the thing!!

[@zinithin-8208]

My parents have one of these exact models, I want it from them to play GameCube, eternal darkness on it.

[@thubprint]

I LOVE THAT GAME! I have it myself, such a unique title that deserved to be longer. Another good example of media made for a CRT, some of the “sanity effects” just wouldn’t trick you properly if not on a tube 😉

[@tommymadden9746]

Why do we do what we do? I found 3 of those on the street. Now in my defense I didn't know that there was any value to them like the 20 dollars that you stated. But will that change my mind about scraping them. Probably not. I don't know why. Maybe when I'm out there looking for scrap just finding the scrap is like a victory and I don't want to give up the win.Yes I'm psychotic.

[@thubprint]

Just to be sure I understand: You recognize that you’d get ten times as much money for doing almost zero work, but you specifically want to make life worse for yourself and the people around, even though the alternative is easier and more lucrative? I’m just sharing information about something I’m passionate about in hopes that people will use it to help themselves, I take no ownership over your results. Wishing you the best

[@zinithin-8208]

From an energy use standpoint flatscreens are better. I scrap things because I like figure out why things fail and how they work, oh and the money. It’s one of those hobbies that pay you instead of draining your bank account.

[@thubprint]

It’s a pretty great hobby for that! I don’t think it’s as simple as flatscreens being more efficient though, that’s probably true when comparing many specific models to each other but the very modern ones are quite power hungry with their complex LED arrays and multiple processors as well as wifi cards and the fact that they’re always on even when the screen is off. There’s quite a bit of heat coming off those panels when in use. Similar to old refrigerators, the compressors may have used more power but the refrigerant was more effective and so was the insulation so they didn’t kick in as often, and then we started adding auto defrost cycles and just kept going with features. I honestly think a power consumption comparison between my 27” trinitron and my 65” flat would be pretty close

[@zinithin-8208]

@@thubprint yeahhh a 27” vs a 65” would be pretty close in energy consumption. You make a good point in that when we get more efficient technology we end up adding features and size. I did mean by a size by size comparison though. One of the things that is interesting is that new central ac units got more efficient, but they just did that with larger condenser coils so the fan doesn’t turn on as often, good news for us scrappers;)

[@edwardloduca5975]

I'm curious what do you do with all the metals you melt down into bars?

[@moonpigeon9]

Drops it off for electronic recycling bit he takes all the electronic parts out hahhahaha

[@jerremm]

Haha you're going for a "The Post Apocalyptic Inventor" style video. You should do it in a german accent.

[@Olliescraps]

hi thumb have you redeemed your silver play button

[@GeorgeMigash]

Look at you LittleStackT

[@trench124]

Amazing isn't it? You get the occasional CRT that's say 10-20 years old but you see newer flat screens only a few years old being thrown out every day. The old tech just lasted longer.

[@thubprint]

I miss when people built things for consumers to enjoy for many years. The truth is that aluminium degaussing cable probably isn’t nearly as good as a copper one, but this particular tv was made when things were already being manufactured with the expectation that it would be replaced in 5-10yrs anyway.

[@andrewcannon587]

i can only keep 1 CRT even tho i like to keep some around but they are just too bulky and heavy to keep around. Destroyed alot of sony trinitron, panasonic, toshisba, jvc tvs

[@andyprigge4754]

Ya the crt is good for 20 yrs for most sets whereas the pcb and components will die first. I know this for a fact for I have a 20yr old set crt type and still has warm colors. Happy days dude.

[@Rook_Lone_Dragon]

I thought you made an earlier video saying not to make ingots ever. .. am I miss-remembering that?

[@thubprint]

I have not made such a video, I may have mentioned it in passing

[@Rook_Lone_Dragon]

I was misremembering. It was from a different channel.I wanted to apologize for that. Thanks for responding to me I appreciate it.

[@patrickmorrissey2271]

@ 5:07 I'll be the last one to defend big corporations.... Buuuut... the switch to aluminum in some of that stuff also made the TV Monitor lighter.... Which WAS being driven by the customers at the time.... So yes, it saved them money, but also, some consumers were seeing that lighter TV Monitor as a positive..... So it wasn't "all" about the profit.....

[@44davewright]

Always be careful with crt's, the caps can hold their charge if the grounding is damaged or not present....they will absolutely nuke you or your tools. Its 1000's of volts

[@RedWalker98]

SUBSCRIBE TO THIS MAN RN PEOPLE

[@thomasmills3934]

Could have picked one with a good copper cable...

[@thomasmills3934]

Also where I'm at no one wants those. They will sit listed for far longer than I want to deal with it. You also have to pay to dump the dome..

[@blackwidowfarms]

21st! :D

[@vincedibona4687]

So?

[@richavic4520]

$20 makes up for a lot of time and travel.

[@Mike-qv6du]

FYI if that works you can sell them.. there is a demand 50- 100 depending on condition and model

[@onogrirwin]

just sell it... someone will pay over scrap for it even if it doesn't work, because some of the components are worth more than scrap value alone, and very hard to find for restoring other CRTs.

[@thatcanada]

Are you getting only $4.50 for #2 copper? it's $5.60 here.

[@thubprint]

What, really?? I gotta bring more in!

[@wrenchboostboi8994]

Sorry bud, i scrap these things every time I find em! No market for them here… Ive tried

[@stephensmith3708]

Flat screans are not better. Crearity on digittal are great but they burn out/ware out quicker than the dino tv's/ CRT's. I loved taring apart them crt's just for the yoke and that #2 copper!!! Editing time. Computers wires around them monitors are mostly aluminum cables...

[@ihearDeadpeople]

@2.10 the silver wire is actually Brass wire I collect them and make things with them