Look for Precious Metals where Heat and Metal Meet
If you’re on the lookout for precious metals that can be recycled by a qualified precious metals refinery, here’s a rule of thumb to keep in mind . . .
You’ll often find precious metals in places where high temperatures and metal come into contact
That simple principle can lead you to sources of recyclable precious metals in a variety of scrap metals. Let’s take a closer look.
Welding and Brazing Supplies
Shown: unused welding rods, sputtering targets and other manufacturing equipment can be recycled for their precious metals by Specialty Metals.
In simple terms, welding and brazing are processes that use high heat to bond metals together, often by raising the temperature of a welding rod and the metals that are to be welded together to their melting point. The rod and the metals can then flow together, forming a bond that is nearly as strong as a single piece of metal.
To allow that welding, the temperature can be raised by the introduction of high electrical voltage (in arc welding) and also by using a torch that burns acetylene or another gas at high temperature. Sometimes these processes are done by hand. In other cases, they are completed by robotic and other production-line welding machines.
Welding and brazing rods and fluxes usually contain quantities of silver, manganese, zinc, cadmium, chromium, copper, fluoride, lead, or vanadium. Sometimes those metals are applied to the outside of welding rods, where they help the melting rods combine with the metals that are being welded or brazed. So the bottom line is that quantities of unused welding rods or wire can contain valuable metals, and so can quantities of welding scrap that appears worthless.
Industrial and Other Kilns and Stoves
Shown: the kind of gas appliance that uses a thermocouple wire that contains valuable precious metals that can be recycled and refined.
As we have noted before on this blog, thermocouples are devices that are used to monitor or control temperatures remotely. They can contain platinum, rhodium, tungsten, rhenium, and other valuable metals. So if you have a quantity of old production- line equipment that was used to make ceramics, annealed products, or welded components, don’t toss it away before you find out what kind of thermocouples it contains. And guess what? Even old home appliances like stoves, furnaces and water heaters contain thermocouples that could be valuable.
Automotive and Industrial Catalytic Converters
Catalytic convertors are another place where metals and heat meet – and again, they contain precious metals, most often platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Whether you have 500 or more old automobile or truck catalytic convertors to recycle or are dismantling a factory where diesel or other internal combustion engines were used, remember that you probably own a quantity of those valuable precious metals.
Other Places to Look for Precious Metals and Alloys
You will find silver and other precious metals in supplies and equipment that are used in a variety of other applications that include casting, metal fabrication, jewelry-making, pasteurizing and even food production. If you remember the rule, “heat plus metal equal dollars,” chances are you can discover sources of metals that we can recycle and refine for you. If you call us at 800-426-2344, we can help you turn your discoveries into cash.
Related Posts:
Smarter Recycling: Don’t Overlook the High Value of Noble Metal Thermocouples
Retooling Time Is a Great Time to Recover Precious Metals
How to Claim the Cash that’s Hidden in Used Equipment Containing Thermocouple Wire
How to Eliminate the Middleman and Make More Money from Your Used Catalytic Converters