# scrap day blues



## wharfrat (Nov 1, 2014)

Price of scrap took a dive. This was news to me. Copper down .70 cents to $1.80. Brass down too. I still brought home some money but not as much I had planned on.

When did the scrap prices drop? 

I feel the need to shower in chlorine every time I leave the scrap yard. The place is like a meth festival. They all eye my copper and brass like I'm a female in an all male prison. 
Very creepy.


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## marc76075 (Nov 24, 2010)

China is not buying the massive amounts of our scrap that they used to. I noticed the most recent drop was maybe 1 or 2 months ago. 
By me it's better to go to the scrap yard in the morning, the addicts don't like to wake up early.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

marc76075 said:


> China is not buying the massive amounts of our scrap that they used to. I noticed the most recent drop was maybe 1 or 2 months ago.
> By me it's better to go to the scrap yard in the morning, the addicts don't like to wake up early.




we got screwed last week on a dumpster load of 60 scrap water heaters... I loaded up the dumpster they dropped off myself on a hot summer day and expected to see a check for somewhere around 600. 

I get a check mailed to me for only 125.. It was not worth my time to save them or load them up......

the price of scrap steel has gone down from 175 a ton to 45.....


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## Green Country (Mar 6, 2009)

Steel was 75/ton here a couple weeks ago. I think copper was 1.80 and I didn't ask about brass. 

I'd really like to get rid of all the water heaters I have stacked up but at that rate it's barely worth the trouble.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Yep, I don't have a ton of storage space, so three heaters is the max before heading to the scrap yard. That would be about $40 give or take. Earlier this summer, $17. I did one Tuesday and the scrapyard was on the way home.... $4.40. It's a joke anymore. I have to find a different reason to drive into town for a scrap run.


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## Johnny Canuck (Feb 24, 2015)

Just took some scrap on Thursday. $1.30 for copper #2, $1.00 for brass and $1 per water heater.


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## plumberkc (Jun 23, 2011)

I have a few laying around too, 49 to be exact. 

Last night I was talking with somebody that told me an old plumber saved all his copper for 20 years and buried it in the ground. Ended up with enough cooper to retire. Got me thinking that with prices so low maybe I'll dig a hole and just hang in to my copper until it's worth something.


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## Shoot'N'Plumber (Apr 27, 2013)

Y'all need to to find an craft artist who works with sculptures and jewlery. I used to have a retired vet as a neighbor who bought all my copper and brass at 3 times the going rate and in turn would melt it down and makes hand hammered copper sinks and solid brass desktop nameplates. He made lots of money making quality ornamentals he would take to craft fairs.


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

Water heaters here they price as light iron which used to be .08 a pound so roughly $8-10. Now it's .03 I didn't make $4 off my last water heater.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

plumberkc said:


> I have a few laying around too, 49 to be exact.
> 
> Last night I was talking with somebody that told me an old plumber saved all his copper for 20 years and buried it in the ground. Ended up with enough cooper to retire. Got me thinking that with prices so low maybe I'll dig a hole and just hang in to my copper until it's worth something.



my brother-in-law wants to do some dumb ass thing like hanging onto them for the day it goes back up again too..... that could be 10 years and that is a lot of work to pry them up out of the mud or snow this winter.

we stand our up and stack them tight but they still freeze in the snow.

the problem in our area is that the meth and crack heads are getting desperate and their source of income has simply dried up...
I have talked to the scrap houses and they are getting pissed off when 
they are only getting 1-10th of what the haul was worth last year........

I would rather not keep them any longer and just throw them out in the alley instead of horading them for someone to break in and tear the hell out of the fence and basically take nothing 

they would make more money with a sign to beg with
at the interstate off ramps....but they have more pride than that...:laughing:

when I am down at my office I pack my 
380 colt at all times any more....we have too much walk by traffic of
all races and life styles for me to deal with....


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

When Prices are Low I store my scrap...:whistling2:

Supply & Demand....:yes:


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## Gruvplumbing (Dec 26, 2013)

We charge for disposal wether or not the costumers know. That way when it's low we are still making money. I have more than enough room to stack it up but I'm not a scrap yard. 

When I was 20 years old I used to love taking scrap. But know it's a damn chore. Most stuff I'll just through out side the shop for a day or 2 and hope some one takes it. But if not it makes its way to the pile.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

When I worked in SoKal there was a "revine" for lack of a better term, behind the shop. All the guys that did water heaters would just toss them over late at night when dispatch was closed. City got on them so they set up a camera to catch the first five guys ditching them. They spent over a week with come alongs, ropes, and their trucks hauling them out of there without pay. (It was a commision based job.)


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## sierra2000 (Sep 19, 2011)

I've got four 55 gallon trash cans full of copper and brass. I went to a new scrap yard last week and they suggested I separate it so I would get more $$ for it. Like it was, all mixed in with each other, they offered me .55 a pound so I came back and separated it. Now I'm hesitant to take it in since hearing how low prices are. I normally go to a place in Los Angeles which is about a 30 minute drive and I always got what I thought was decent $$ for being mixed like it was, I never bothered to separate it. 

This new place is only 10 minutes from me and I just found out they were so close to me but they have horrible reviews about being a shady operation and haggling over the price of scrap.
Maybe I'll keep sitting on it for a while longer.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

sierra2000 said:


> I've got four 55 gallon trash cans full of copper and brass. I went to a new scrap yard last week and they suggested I separate it so I would get more $$ for it. Like it was, all mixed in with each other, they offered me .55 a pound so I came back and separated it. Now I'm hesitant to take it in since hearing how low prices are. I normally go to a place in Los Angeles which is about a 30 minute drive and I always got what I thought was decent $$ for being mixed like it was, I never bothered to separate it.
> 
> This new place is only 10 minutes from me and I just found out they were so close to me but they have horrible reviews about being a shady operation and haggling over the price of scrap.
> Maybe I'll keep sitting on it for a while longer.



Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, we found it was not worth the effort to separate the good clean copper from the dirty stuff..

The same goes for the brass,,, but you really should separate it from your copper. I have been getting 1.25 on the plumbers brass and something like 2.50 for the dirty copper....

I think all the scrap yards will screw you one way or another but there is no reason to let them low ball you for not separateing your brass and copper..


If I throw something out by the dumpster like a water heater or a peice of cast iron stack its usually gone in 15 minutes depending on the weather.... the crack heads get hungry as winter approaches.....


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

One plumber I worked for wouldn't bat an eye about paying us hourly for separating scrap, but would keep all the cash. It was his scrap anyway. Another plumber I worked for made you punch out to separate and would help himself and split it 50/50, plus a $10 bet on the closest guess without going over.

The master I work for now keeps all copper and brass and gives me all the cast, steal and stainless. I've been lazy lately, but normally I bust out all the lead from the cast. It's a pain to turn in, but worth the extra effort.


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## paultheplumber1 (May 1, 2014)

I have a guy that comes by my shop once a month. He's welcome to all the tanks, cast, steel that's in the pile. Provided he does a dump run to get rid of the plastic and the toilets. He keeps whatever he makes. The good stuff stays locked in the shop until it's in the way. Then I turn it in and buy winter gear for my guys. Hats gloves hand warmers and propane for the heaters k cups for the coffee pot ect.


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## wharfrat (Nov 1, 2014)

sierra2000 said:


> I've got four 55 gallon trash cans full of copper and brass. I went to a new scrap yard last week and they suggested I separate it so I would get more $$ for it. Like it was, all mixed in with each other, they offered me .55 a pound so I came back and separated it. Now I'm hesitant to take it in since hearing how low prices are. I normally go to a place in Los Angeles which is about a 30 minute drive and I always got what I thought was decent $$ for being mixed like it was, I never bothered to separate it.
> 
> This new place is only 10 minutes from me and I just found out they were so close to me but they have horrible reviews about being a shady operation and haggling over the price of scrap.
> Maybe I'll keep sitting on it for a while longer.


SA recycling near 210 and 605 is pretty good. Separating the scrap helps to get a lot more money. I don't like to spend too much time working on the small items like hose bibbs or ball valves, I make a separate pile for that stuff.


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

We had a guy who would come to our shop every few months to pick up our scrap and would pay us in cash on the spot. About five months ago he stopped because the prices were too low to make his spread.

We drop them off ourselves during slow times just to get them out of the way.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Phat Cat said:


> We had a guy who would come to our shop every few months to pick up our scrap and would pay us in cash on the spot. About five months ago he stopped because the prices were too low to make his spread.
> 
> We drop them off ourselves during slow times just to get them out of the way.




you realize that when the bottom falls out of the scrap market it is a pre-curser to a slowdown in the economy???

this time down its gonna be much rougher than 2008


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## stecar (Mar 18, 2012)

I disagree with that, the economy just shifted uphill


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## Flyout95 (Apr 13, 2012)

When China takes a dump, we'll be using our scrap to make bullets to keep them off our farms.


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

Master Mark said:


> you realize that when the bottom falls out of the scrap market it is a pre-curser to a slowdown in the economy???
> 
> this time down its gonna be much rougher than 2008


I sure hope not. Though, if it did slow down, I am in a better position financially than where I was in 2008. Eliminated virtually all debt with the exception of my home.


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## rwh (Dec 17, 2014)

China already took a dump....that is why scrap is so low


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

rwh said:


> China already took a dump....that is why scrap is so low



They have taken a dump but we are still waiting to hear that giant flushing sound.... and it depends on how far down the bowl we get sucked in...:blink:

I am ready as I ever will be... everything is paid off and we are in a good position to ride out any storm that can be thrown at us...

It will be much worse than 2008 in my honest opinion


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

What the heck is everyone complaining about? Adapt or die.


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## saysflushable (Jun 15, 2009)

If I had a spare pile of money I would buy a small shredder and I would take every water heater or what ever I could get . Then I would pile it high until the price comes around. 

I get the biggest kick out of hauling in scrap. even for somebody who enjoys it the price is to low to take a safe load of water heaters in and still be able to buy a new tire if I ruin one in the scrap yard. 

A shredder would make storing scrap easier


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

gear junkie said:


> What the heck is everyone complaining about? Adapt or die.


:laughing: Lot of truth in that statement. 

Adapt or get out sounds nicer though. :yes:


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

saysflushable said:


> If I had a spare pile of money I would buy a small shredder and I would take every water heater or what ever I could get . Then I would pile it high until the price comes around.
> 
> I get the biggest kick out of hauling in scrap. even for somebody who enjoys it the price is to low to take a safe load of water heaters in and still be able to buy a new tire if I ruin one in the scrap yard.
> 
> A shredder would make storing scrap easier


Knock on wood, the yard I use keeps it pretty clean, but I cringe every time I go there for fear of tire damage.


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## Steveking (May 16, 2014)

The scrap is free some free Money is better than no monies.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Returned 1600 pounds of heaters and other scrap steel yesterday just to clear out my garage... $18.20. At least I planned it around a job that was a mile away.....


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## plumber11928 (Feb 18, 2015)

Wow $18.20 what a downer. Treat yourself to a happy meal


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## Dpeckplb (Sep 20, 2013)

We were too busy to do our semi annual scrap run. We only take in wire, copper and brass. Last year we took back two 50 gallon garbage pails of beer caps that we saved for the fun of it for about 15 years. We got 8.50 for them. We don't bother with water heaters/furnaces,boilers black or cast iron. One of our local wrecking yards drops a bin off free of charge for us to put those items. They get what ever scrap money from the whats in the bin. But being at the end of a residential street it looks more professional.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

plumber11928 said:


> Wow $18.20 what a downer. Treat yourself to a happy meal


I have been throwing out my heaters into the alley and it takes about 2 or 3 days before someone hungry enough comes along and takes them... 2 years ago they would be gone in 5 minutes.. 

My brother-in-law wants to save them and fill up our courtyard in the hopes that the price will come back some day ...... we loaded 60 of them in a dumpster last month and we only got 103.00 I refuse to do that again. 

I told him he was totally nuts for wasteing his time and effort and he ought to be generous and feed the winos and meth heads ..

it .being close to thanksgiving and all:laughing:


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## paultheplumber1 (May 1, 2014)

The copper around here is up a little. I got 2.18 for #1 this past weekend. And buisness has been best it's been in the past 10 years.


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## plumber11928 (Feb 18, 2015)

Here in N Jersey they let you drop off the heaters for nothing, cause they will give you nothing anyway. There is one scrap metal place i go to buy my propress ftgs, copper ftgs and valves by the pound, the crack heads from Manhatten make daily trips to this guy.


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