Scrapping Large Commercial Transformers

I show the fastest way that I found to scrap large commercial transformers. This process works for aluminum or copper transformers. 90% of the time this type of transformer will be aluminum.

[@jacksonblack9408]

Great channel. I appreciate the way you break all the numbers down on one page and bring it back to an hourly rate

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thank You

[@deejaysavoie7158]

Hey my friend love your channel didn’t catch your name but u are a savage when it comes to scrapping I enjoy your content keep up the amazing work love how u break stuff down and way easyer in scrapping your inventions that u made to get the most out of scrapping and I hire dudes to help u do stuff u really got a great thing going u have a fan thx and keep them videos coming ✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thank you glad you are enjoying the videos.

[@phullofhistory7224]

Cool Video! Keep up the great content! Your camera skills are getting better!

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thank you. I’m shooting everything with the GoPro now and I’m really liking it.

[@startswithjay2315]

I like your channel my man! This stuff is right up my alley! I myself have a plumbing contractor contact and I break down AC units. Big profit for the time involved. Lots of fun too! Keep up the great work!

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thank you, I’m actually starting to build a machine to break down electric motors and AC compressors, so I will be trying to get some AC contractors as customers soon. Do you break down the AC compressors completely?

[@startswithjay2315]

@@ProjectShopFl I do not break compressors down. Last cash in I got 14 cents a pound. Not too bad for my area.

[@carolshawol6699]

Your a professional at what you do very effective

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thank you, no one’s ever called me a professional before. 😂😂😂 Thanks for watching

[@ScalpellyBeats]

And always wear safety goggles. I had a situation where i needed to just make a small cut, so i thought im not going to use goggles for this, and i ended up in the hospital, they took 5-6 pieces of rusty metal out of me eye. Great videos You make

[@ProjectShopFl]

You’re absolutely right, I was wearing safety glasses but I should have been wearing actual safety goggles because of how much that slings the material. Thank you for bringing up a great point and thank you for watching.

[@ramoshurgaia7651]

Good job.

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thank you

[@sams5803]

I love this stuff I want to start a business recycling E-waste I tore apart a 1960s electronic organ. Got a lot of silver and some gold

[@ProjectShopFl]

I’d like to get in to recovering gold. good luck and thanks for watching

[@ScottMcCulloughBmax419]

If it was an old tube organ, you should have taken out the amplifier section and sold it intact on eBay. Same with the speakers. There are folks who get more out of those old organs than whatever scrap value you might get. If it's a later solid-state amp, there's much less interest, but you can still sell the speakers.

[@sams5803]

It didn't have any tubes. Old electronics is where its at if you can get them. Some old refrigerators and freezers use Platinum and palladium thermocouple wires. And if you ever come across servers of any kind the processors alone are worth it. Telecom equipment is good to.

[@sams5803]

I got some rods from that organ 7.4oz 18% gold 81%silver and 1%palladium

[@ihaveadream7658]

imagine if it was a copper trasnformers instead of aluminum , thats will be all day long huge profit , oh man i wish for u to get commercial copper transformers

[@ProjectShopFl]

I get copper transformers sometimes, that carbide blade cuts them just as fast. I can have them broke down and cleaned up in 30 minutes. I’ll make a video next time I get one. Thanks for watching

[@ihaveadream7658]

@@ProjectShopFl okay dude waiting for new scrapping video

[@donnierobertson3088]

Great job and video like always

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thanks

[@judybeckner9047]

Thanks for sharing

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thanks for watching!

[@michaelsteele6902]

Be sure to leave enough room for full travel on the table when placed x y and z

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thanks for the suggestion

[@jd3497]

Can break the end of the core and slide the winding off? Or is that core welded?

[@ProjectShopFl]

The steel is woven back-and-forth. It’s not welded and it cannot come off unless you pull out one sheet of steel at a time which is way too tedious, or cut the aluminum out. Think of them like a W or an E for the shape of the steel they stack them one up one down. It’s really frustrating. LOL Thanks for watching

[@donaldpowers5557]

Funny while watching I thought save the sheet steel . You did.. lol well at least some. I do. But it might be time for jib crane. I like the jib better, I put a brige crane the jib works easer.

[@ProjectShopFl]

I’m always salvage and steel for later projects. LOL what do you mean by jib crane for what?

[@eldiablo8019]

I enjoy these videos, but I'm glad I don't live next door.

[@ProjectShopFl]

I live right next to a Chrysler dealership and the mechanic shop is right across the street from me. They make way more noise than I do so I can get away with a lot more than I should. lol Thanks for watching

[@eldiablo8019]

@@ProjectShopFl Ah that explains how you get away with it. Good location.

[@sddirt6840]

Skil saw with a wood blade or aluminum blade works much better. U can set the depth and angle so u don't hit the steel. And they should be buying it as extruded aluminum because thats essentially what it is.

[@ProjectShopFl]

I mention in the video that you can use a Skil saw, and I have used one in the past. that is an aluminum blade that I’m using in the video. And on the aluminum coils I’ve always thought that they were excluded but with all the paper they will not buy it as excluded anywhere that I found in South Florida.

[@sddirt6840]

@@ProjectShopFl gotcha. I guess if they pay u clean cast price, there's not a ton of difference in price between cast and extruded, maybe $0.05 to $0.10 per lb depending on the markets. Saves u from stripping paper. On copper windings they try to ding u for the enamel coating sometimes. If you tell them nevermind they'll give you clean price. They don't want to lose out on a big purchase.

[@ProjectShopFl]

@@sddirt6840 Any copper windings that have that coating is considered #2 copper in south FL, I’ve never heard of anybody getting #1 for it around me.

[@scrapmanindustries]

@@ProjectShopFl I think what he means is sometimes with all that crap on it some yards want to give you like 30 cents a pound for it. I used to run the metals room at a place in Pa and when I did transformers some of the copper I would have to take down the road to the competition because the boss didn't want it in our #2 boxes.

[@ProjectShopFl]

@@scrapmanindustries Wow that’s crazy, I’ve been selling it as number two copper for 10 years

[@TECHNICUSChannel]

I want one this type transformer to make next disassembly episode on my youtube channel series please :)

[@ProjectShopFl]

Ive got 6 I'm about to break down. lol

[@tomb8847]

Don't some of those Transformers have copper windings? What about older welders ?

[@ProjectShopFl]

Yes but 90% of the ones I get are aluminum. The only time I get copper ones is if they are old or came from a government building. One time I helped demo a NSA spy building, I got three 1500 pound copper transformers, and eight 300 pound copper transformers. They were the easiest transformers I ever scrapped, I cut the straps the top cap came right off and I pulled the copper out with my crane. Welders can be hit and miss, sometimes its copper sometimes they’re aluminum

[@scrapmanindustries]

all your cracker box welders made within the last 20 years or so are aluminum. At least Lincolns and millers anyway. I have yet to find a copper one that wasn't older than me.

[@ProjectShopFl]

@@scrapmanindustries That’s why they don’t last lol

[@scrapmanindustries]

@@ProjectShopFl yeah. I just had to rebuild my Sa200 because the aluminum coils were failing. I threw copper ones back in it.

[@raymondcote6669]

What are the white parts you are cutting. You never say what part is copper

[@ProjectShopFl]

The only copper that was on this transformer was the tap leads And the ground bar. I hand stripped the tap leads and I think it was like 3 pounds of copper total. The rest is aluminum and steel. Thanks for watching

[@tep64]

My friend cut his fingertip off last week with one of these blades.

[@ProjectShopFl]

Wow! Sorry to hear that.

[@aaronsimpson8329]

Where do you find this type of equipment?

[@ProjectShopFl]

Electricians

[@ProjectShopFl]

Electrical contractors.

[@aaronsimpson8329]

@ProjectShopFl you buy it or they give it ? I'd presume you but it for more than scrap value as is to break it down and make a profit

[@joesask857]

THANKS MAN

[@ProjectShopFl]

Any time

[@Jason-yb8bi]

Why are all your waste all construction, contracted or free of charge? 🤔 🤔

[@ProjectShopFl]

I pay for all my scrap

[@kylestowe8824]

How do you come about buying the transformers you get?

[@ProjectShopFl]

I buy them from electricians

[@cuscrapping]

Great breakdown video! Will vheck out the Facebook page.

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thank you

[@rodrigom7992]

You are from Texas??

[@ProjectShopFl]

No I’m from New Jersey but live in Flordia

[@huddy32]

People get hurt when they start considering tools as “toys”. So as i watched,, you may say that,m, but you still are respecting it. PPE, 2 hands,

[@ProjectShopFl]

I respect all power tools, especially that grinder with that carbide blade.But for me personally that grinder is way easier to handle than the 20 inch hydraulic handsaw I used to use. Thank you for your concern and thank you for watching.

[@mikejohnson5111]

I hate those. I sell them as dirty aluminum. I find i get better money then i do opposed to processing them. But when i do... I use a demo saw but i also find theres no real money in them.

[@ProjectShopFl]

I don't like the either. lol But if you get them at the right price and process them fast you can make a little money.

[@mikejohnson5111]

@@ProjectShopFl umm yeah not enough money lol

[@nickmiller951]

It’s horrible that some of those transformers are worth three to $400 used I wish I could buy them

[@ProjectShopFl]

You can, I get them all the time and most of the time the are in working condition. I just cut up 7 all good. lol video coming soon.

[@deejaysavoie7158]

Ps I added your Facebook ✌️✌️

[@ProjectShopFl]

Thank you

[@dominic1738]

Theres silver in some transformers

[@ProjectShopFl]

Where? I’ve never seen any silver.

[@dominic1738]

@@ProjectShopFl in the smaller formers the large ones I never se the silver the dots connected with the copper are silver 1 dot on each end

[@dominic1738]

@@ProjectShopFl I'm trying to remember the models that have the silver in them

[@ProjectShopFl]

@@dominic1738 Thanks for the info I’ll be keeping an eye for that from now on.

[@dominic1738]

@@ProjectShopFl your welcome

[@callumwickens7156]

The cutting blade is wrong way

[@ProjectShopFl]

How do you figure?

[@callumwickens7156]

Because the picture on the cutting blade eed to be the other way so it face the grinder not the floor

[@ProjectShopFl]

@@callumwickens7156 That would put the cutting teeth facing the wrong direction.

[@callumwickens7156]

I'm in England and that the way the cutting blades are here

[@ProjectShopFl]

@@callumwickens7156 don’t you guys also drive on the wrong side of the road? You might be doing a lot of things backwards. 😂