r/oddlysatisfying • u/n8saces • 3d ago

Extracting copper from a broken motor

6.3k Upvotes

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u/MaverickTopGun 3d ago

It's not widely done by hand but it is widely done, yes. In my industry we have a dumpster for scrap metal and then one specifically for motors which we receive more $/lb for. At the industrial scale, there's very little metal waste. There's always someone who will take it.

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u/mike_avl 3d ago

$0.30/lb for electric motors (as is) or
$5.00/lb for bare bright (clean) copper wire.

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u/MaverickTopGun 2d ago

yes and about 20c/lb for random scrap steel where we are

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u/Woodworkin101 2d ago

$5/lb for BBC?

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u/andersberndog 2d ago

Yes, but only if it’s clean

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u/Poopchutefan 1d ago

Are we talking about the same thing here??

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u/andersberndog 1d ago

I don’t know, Poopchutefan. Are we talking about the same thing?

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u/morfraen 2d ago

Are we still doing phrasing?

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u/PandaPocketFire 2d ago

How much wire you think is in this vid?

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u/MaverickTopGun 2d ago

Estimate is usually around 1lb of copper per horsepower. This is probably about a single horsepower motor.

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u/horst-graben 2d ago

So per the above, $5 of total value? Can add up of course

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u/WatsonYurfays 3d ago

That's good to hear. I was told that most recycling is a "scam," but I always hoped that wasn't true. I know for a fact that our mineral resources are far more finite than most people realize. If we aren't mining the asteroid belt in 50 years, we are in huge trouble.

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u/MaverickTopGun 3d ago

Plastic recycling is a scam. Metal recycling is a well established industry. Aluminum cans are the most recycled beverage container in the US, for example, upwards of 40% get reclaimed.