I had to un-plum the washing machine this morning for the new one going in, the drums gone. In it's time it's had a few pumps replaced on it, and in these pumps there is two spools of copperwire, of a excellent guage for flytying. Those who buy UTC wire it's about the same as "Brassie" which is probably the most useful size. So next time your machine conks out , do a bit salvaging.
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Hopefully my machine has a few years in it yet, but thats a great idea.
I'm envious - wish my washing machine would break down :lol:
Don't most things even with small motors in them such as fridges etc., have copper wrapped coils similar to those shown?
I have an angle grinder which has just packed in, should I be able to extract fine wire from it too ?
Quote from: guest on November 22, 2011, 02:56:54 PM
Don't most things even with small motors in them such as fridges etc., have copper wrapped coils similar to those shown?
I have an angle grinder which has just packed in, should I be able to extract fine wire from it too ?
An angle grinder likely uses heavier wire. The last one I dropped from a great height did at least, still usable mind, if one were looking for weight and didn't mind the yarn being dyed green over time :lol:
Sadly, I go through everything I am about to chuck out looking for anything that might be useful.
I bought an all-in-one Epson printer for about £150 a few years ago, it packed up immediately. No problems from Epson, replacement was with me in 24hrs, no cost. Just told to ditch the old one. I took out the power supply, stepper motors, gears and gear trains, scanner sensor, screen and card reader.
I searched the web for the data sheets and put the lot on internet sites/auctions, made a profit (after commission, postage and packaging) of £135.
You'd have to cost in my time of course.
Plenty of stuff you throw out will have a good deal of copper wire in them. Look to the transformers, taking them apart is a b*gger, as the core is interleaved (and waxed) both through and around the copper windings. But half an hour of aggression should yield more copper wire than you tie in a life time.
Also note that a transformer may well have a number of windings of different diameters within it (look for the number of solder tags on the top). The heavier windings can be on the outside, so wind these off (do not discard) to get to the fine stuff.
I heard that any of our of our Weegie members are a good source of lead.
Don't know if that's true or just a nasty story though. :lol: